Abstract Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) yield and quality are affected by many pre and post-harvest activities. Therefore, four separate experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of some agronomic (irrigation, fertilization, and organic/ conventional cultivation) and post-harvest practices on color parameters (L, a, b, h°, and C) and apocarotenoid content (crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal) in stigmata. Required plots for the first and the second experiments were constructed in September 2013 and again in 2014 for corm planting. Sampling of the first experiment was done one year after each planting. When two years passed since corm planting, sampling was done for the second experiment. In the first study, the combined effect of the production system (one-year-old organic or conventional fields) and drying temperature (25 °C at shade; 55 and 75 °C in the electric oven) were evaluated during two flowering seasons of 2014 and 2015. In both production systems, oven-dried samples at 55 °C had better quality. In the second experiment, the organic and non-organic stigmata (obtained from two-year-old fields in flowering seasons of 2015 and 2016) were stored for 1, 2, or 3 years under room temperature in a dark place. Color coordinates (a, a/b, and C) increased by longer storage duration. The maximum crocin and safranal contents were obtained from organic samples, which were being stored for less than one year. In the third experiment, the effect of irrigation level (3600, 4200, and 4600 m3 ha−1) and fertilization (humic acid, Rhizophagus irregularis, and unfertilized control) was evaluated during two flowering seasons (2016 and 2017) on saffron yield and quality. Deficit irrigation treatment (3600 m3 ha−1), associated with the use of humic acid, had the highest yields of flower and stigmata. However, the effect of mycorrhizal inoculation was negative on flowering. Lower water availability plus mycorrhizal inoculation had the highest picrocrocin and safranal content but the lowest C, a/b, and a color parameters. In the fourth experiment, 48 stigmata samples were collected, and then the relationships between color parameters and apocarotenoids content were evaluated using correlation and regression procedures. Safranal had a correlation with a (-0.411**), b (0.295*), a/b (-0.454**) and h° (0.410**). Similarly, crocin had a positive correlation with b and h°, but a negative one with a and a/b indexes. Overall, the results of four separate experiments revealed that saffron stigmata quality is highly affected by pre and post-harvest practices. It was also concluded that stigmata quality assessment is somewhat possible through measurement of color parameters as a quick and cheap method.

中文翻译：

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一些收获前和收获后的做法对藏红花柱头质量的影响

摘要 藏红花 (Crocus sativus L.) 的产量和品质受到许多收获前后活动的影响。因此，进行了四个单独的实验来研究一些农艺（灌溉、施肥和有机/常规栽培）和收获后做法对颜色参数（L、a、b、h° 和 C）和类胡萝卜素含量的影响（藏红花素、苦藏红素和番红花素）在柱头中。第一次和第二次实验所需的地块分别于 2013 年 9 月和 2014 年再次用于球茎种植。第一次试验的取样在每次种植后一年进行。球茎种植两年后，对第二个实验进行采样。在第一项研究中，生产系统（一年生有机田或常规田）和干燥温度（阴凉处 25°C；在 2014 年和 2015 年的两个开花季节对电烤箱中的 55 和 75 °C 进行了评估。在两个生产系统中，55 °C 下烘干的样品质量更好。在第二个实验中，有机和非有机柱头（从 2015 年和 2016 年开花季节的两年生田中获得）在室温下避光储存 1、2 或 3 年。颜色坐标（a、a/b 和 C）随着存储时间的延长而增加。最大的藏红花苷和番红素含量来自有机样品，这些样品储存时间不到一年。在第三个实验中，评估了两个开花季节（2016 年和 2017 年）期间灌溉水平（3600、4200 和 4600 m3 ha-1）和施肥（腐植酸、不规则根瘤菌和未施肥对照）对藏红花产量和质量。与腐植酸的使用相关的缺水灌溉处理（3600 m3 ha-1）具有最高的花和柱头产量。然而，菌根接种对开花的影响是负面的。较低的可用水量加上菌根接种具有最高的苦藏红素和番红素含量，但最低的 C、a/b 和 a 颜色参数。在第四个实验中，收集了 48 个柱头样品，然后使用相关和回归程序评估了颜色参数与类胡萝卜素含量之间的关系。Safranal 与 a (-0.411**)、b (0.295*)、a/b (-0.454**) 和 h° (0.410**) 相关。同样，藏红花素与 b 和 h° 呈正相关，但与 a 和 a/b 指数呈负相关。全面的，四项独立实验的结果表明，藏红花的质量受收获前和收获后做法的影响很大。还得出结论，通过测量颜色参数作为一种快速且廉价的方法，在一定程度上可以评估柱头质量。