PERFORMANCE OF SAFFRON (CROCUS SATIVUS L.) ACCESSIONS UNDER DIFFERENT GROWING ENVIRONMENTS IN THE SHERVAROY HILLS

Abstract

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a high-value spice crop traditionally cultivated in temperate climates, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. The possibility of introducing saffron into suitable non-traditional regions has increased the need to identify promising accessions and appropriate growing environments. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the preliminary growth performance of selected saffron accessions under the hill agro-climatic conditions of Yercaud, Shevaroy Hills, Tamil Nadu. Twenty saffron accessions were evaluated under three growing environments, namely open, shade and polyhouse conditions, using a factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications at HRS, Yercaud. Growth and multiplication parameters, including plant height, number of leaves, leaf length, number of corms and number of suckers/daughter propagules, were recorded. Significant variation was observed among accessions and growing environments, indicating differential adaptability under the Yercaud conditions. Plant height ranged from 8.42 to 11.89 cm, with accession T123 recording the highest value. T123 also recorded the maximum number of leaves (20.47) and leaf length (10.68 cm), indicating superior vegetative vigour. In terms of corm production, T123 produced the highest number of corms (9), followed by T112 (8), while T107 and T84 produced seven corms per plant. Variation in sucker production further indicated differences in vegetative multiplication ability among accessions. T123 recorded the highest stigma yield, with 5 stigmas under open field, 4 under shade and 2 under polyhouse conditions. Stigma production was limited under Yercaud conditions, likely due to climatic constraints, resulting in insufficient samples for reliable estimation of stigma weight. Overall, T123 exhibited superior performance across major vegetative and multiplication traits, while T37, T139, T84, T107, T112 and T134 also showed potential for specific traits. The findings provide preliminary evidence for the establishment and vegetative growth of selected saffron accessions under the Yercaud hill ecosystem. However, multi season evaluations involving flowering, stigma yield and quality, corm size and multiplication rate are necessary before assessing the commercial feasibility of saffron cultivation in the Shevaroy Hills.