agriculture review
by aditya abhishek
Saffron whether from Kashmir or anywhere else, it is regarded as the "costliest spice in the world." However, Kashmir saffron holds special place because of many factors...
The yield of saffron is very low compared to other crops. From one acre farm, only 1.8 Kilograms of saffron can be harvested. Moreover, it is required to harvest manually.
Not only saffron has to be harvested manually but it requires skilled labours that can collect the delicate saffron threads from the saffron flower.
As harvesting has to be done manually and carefully, that's why on an average around 48 hours is spend to harvest only 1 kilogram of real saffron.
Apart from harvesting saffron, cultivation of this spice crop itself requires skill. The farmer must be knowing the planting methods of corms, the selection of planting areas, etc.
Saffron only blooms once or twice in a year and that too only for one to two weeks. In this short period, it has to be harvested during early morning to maintain quality.
Saffron of Kashmir is known to be of the best quality in the world because of the presence of red soil in the region, ideal climatic conditions, etc. That's why it is so expensive.
However, from 2017 to 2018, saffron production in Kashmir fell by 70% due to drought & climate change. Therefore, it is estimated that the price will rise even higher.
thanks for reading!