FEASIBILITY OF SAFFRON (Crocus sativus L.) CULTIVATION IN AEGEAN REGION, TÜRKİYE

V. International Agricultural, Biological & Life Science Conference, Edirne, Türkiye, 18 - 20 Eylül 2023, ss.340-345

In the past few years, an increasing interest in saffron (Crocus sativus L.) cultivation has been

observed due to its high economic value and low requirements to agronomical inputs. Based on

this, a study was done to investigate the climatic parameters in Aegean region (Türkiye) for the

development of saffron cultivation using spatial analysis of geographic information system

(GIS). Some climatic parameters including annual rainfall, annual average temperature,

minimum temperature, maximum temperature, relative humidity and number of frost days were

chosen for saffron-land suitability analysis in Aegean region. This climatic data was obtained

from metrological stations located within the study area. The total data was averaged from 1991

to 2020. In this research, the climatic requirements of saffron were determined and classified

based on scientific sources and the opinions of local experts. The final land suitability map

indicated that the most suitable areas for growing saffron were located in the south, central and

western Aegean region. Also, in the viewpoint of the number of frost days, the north of this

region was located in non-suitable (NS) zone especially Kütahya. The results highlighted that

in the areas with limited saffron production potential across the region, the main limiting

features were number of frost days and minimum temperature. In general, development of

saffron cultivation is possible in the southern part of Aegean region especially İzmir and

Denizli. In addition, Aydın, Manisa, Uşak and Muğla provinces were classified as moderately

suitable (S2) zone. These results can be useful as a planning support tool for decision makers

and farmers to determine feasibility of saffron cultivation in Aegean region.