The Effect of Soil and Foliar Application of Effective Microorganisms on Growth Characteristics of Saffron in the Presence of Chemical and Organic Fertilizers

In order to investigate the effect of effective microorganism application method on saffron growth characteristics in the presence of chemical and organic fertilizers, a field experiment was conducted at Sheshtamad County during the growing season of 2013-2014. The experiment was carried out as split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental factors included effective microorganisms (EM) application method as main plots (no application, soil application and foliar application of EM) and chemical and organic fertilizers application as subplots (no application, soil application of humic acid, soil application of 20, 20, 20+TE and soil application of humic acid + 20, 20, 20+TE). The results showed that soil and foliar application of EM had no significant effect on plant height, but it significantly increased corm number, corm yield, shoot dry weight and number of buds per corm. The average corm weight was reduced in response to soil and foliar application of EM. The highest corm number (220.33), corm yield (1023.33 g m-2) and shoot dry weight (43.02 g m-2) were obtained in soil application of EM treatment. The maximum number of buds per corm (8.68) and average corm weight (5.10 g) were observed in foliar application and no application of EM conditions, respectively. Application of 20, 20, 20+TE and combined application of humic acid and 20, 20, 20+TE increased corm number, corm yield, shoot dry weight and number of bud per corm compared to control and soil application of humic acid. Soil application of humic acid produced the highest average corm weight. Soil and foliar application of EM improved the response of saffron growth characteristics to organic and chemical fertilizers. According to the results, soil applications of EM and 20, 20, 20+TE are recommended to produce maximum corm yield in saffron.