Prospects of organic saffron kitchen gardens as a source of phytochemicals for boosting immunity in common households of semi-arid regions: A case study of trans-Himalayan Kashmir valley

Abstract

Saffron grows well in arid regions with well drained sandy soil, under warm and dry summers. It requires minimal irrigation, mostly during critical stages prior to flowering. Currently, saffron is faced with a number of challenges, especially outside Iranian region. The few prominent ones are lack of good-quality corms as seed material, poor soil fertility, lack of assured irrigation, increased urbanization on saffron land, and rampant adulteration. Initiatives are needed to reverse the declining trend by its cultivation in non-traditional sites like in arid as well as semi-arid regions. Instead of spending huge amount on large irrigation projects for big areas especially when financial resources are a constraint, a good alternative strategy is introduction and popularization of organic saffron in kitchen gardens. This would ensure small-scale cultivation as it would be easier to assure irrigation during critical growth stages, and hence supply of good quality genuine saffron for in-house consumption, and also increase awareness about organic agriculture. Herein we present a first report on the establishment of organic saffron kitchen gardens by women in their households, and successful cultivation of saffron in non-traditional semi-arid trans-Himalayan regions of Kashmir valley.