Jyoti Vakhlu
Every autumn, the karewa plateaus of Pampore and the mountain slopes of Kishtwar turn purple with saffron blossoms. For generations, this "Red Gold" has been the pride of Jammu and Kashmir a symbol of culture, livelihood, and identity.Today, that legacy stands in peril. Saffron production has dropped by nearly 70 per cent in two decades, from 15.9 metric tonnes in 1990 to barely 2.6 tonnes in 2023-24. Behind the fading blooms lies a dangerous mix of climate change, corm smuggling, and rapid urbanization.
Climate Taking Its Toll
"Saffron is not just a crop, it's a climate sensor. Its flowering rhythm tells us exactly how our seasons have changed, Saffron's life cycle depends on precise temperature and moisture conditions. In 2023, September rainfall fell to 40 per cent of normal, delaying sprouting. October brought untimely showers that damaged corms rather than feeding them (Kashmir Observer, 2024). Snowfall .once a natural protective blanket is now rare, leaving corms exposed to frost injury and nutrient stress. Erratic weather, higher temperatures, and shrinking snowfall have disturbed the crop's delicate phenology, causing poor flowering and low yields across Pampore and Kishtwar.
Urbanisation Squeezing the Fields
Urban expansion and construction have eaten into traditional saffron lands. The area under cultivation has fallen from 5,707 hectares in 1997 to just 2,400 hectares in 2019, according to the Agriculture Department. Cement plants and housing colonies on the karewas have degraded soil quality and fragmented farms. Farmers say the soil no longer "smells of saffron."
Corm Smuggling Deepens the Crisis
Unlike most crops, saffron propagates through underground corms, not seeds. Each "mother" corm flowers once, producing smaller "daughters" that take nearly three years to mature. Losing corms means losing future harvests. Social media reports, particularly on youtube have led to illegal export and smuggling of corms from Kashmir and Kishtwar to feed soilless-farming experiments elsewhere despite ban on corm export.Requests for comment sent to the YouTubers about daughter-corm production went unanswered.Kashmir News Observer (Aug 14 2025): "Kashmir's saffron industry under threat as corm smuggling persists." Rising Kashmir (Aug 17 2024): "Agri Deptt enforces blanket ban on saffron corm export."
In August 2024, the Kishtwar administration formally banned corm export after seizing 1.5 quintals of bulbs at Kachkote Toll Plaza. The shortage has driven corm prices from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 per kg beyond most small farmers'.
Injury, Not Infection, Behind Corm Rot
For decades, Fusarium oxysporum has been blamed for the dreaded corm-rot disease. However ,research at the University of Jammu has shown infection occurs only when corms are injured by rodents, nematodes, or rough handling not through the healthy corm. Researchers at University of Jammu found that even beneficial fungi such as Trichoderma harzianum can turn harmful on wounded corms(Bhagat,N , 2023; Mansotra R, 2024Ph.D thesis).
"Managing the injury sources is more effective than repeated fungicide sprays that kill beneficial microbes,"leaving the soil in poor health that can not sustain saffron growth.
Excessive fungicide use, causes microbial dysbiosis an imbalance in soil microbiota that weakens fertility.
New Hope from Poonch
Amid decline, new promise has emerged in Poonch district, where saffron has been successfully cultivated under a transdisciplinary project of the University of Jammu.Following a systematic site-selection process based on pedoclimatic suitability (soil texture, drainage, winter chilling and rainfall patterns), trial plots were established across Poonch. To date, plots at Baila, Hari, Loran, Fatehpur, Azmabad and Gursai have completed two successful growth cycles, with consistent establishment and flowering evidence that these non-traditional locations can sustain saffron cultivation under locally adapted agronomy.An indigenous bio-fertiliser, BarD5, a Bacillus-based Plant Growth-Promoting (PGP) bacterium native to saffron . BarD5 strengthens roots, enhances nutrient uptake, and naturally suppresses pathogens. Field trials have shown 50% higher flower yield, healthier daughter corms, that reduces life cycle of saffron from 3 to 2 years. "BarD5 can make saffron sustainable again not by replacing soil, but by re-awakening ( Ali, T.,2025 Ph.D thesis) , Encouraged by these results, similar eco-friendly trials are underway in elsewhere in other conducive locales in the NWHimalayas , whose altitude and climate closely resemble Pampore's but where soils remain less disturbed.
Five Steps to Save Saffron
1. Protect the propagation base: Enforce corm-export bans and establish certified nurseries in Pampore, Kishtwar and Poonch.
2. Geo-diversify cultivation: Expand to other cool micro-zones of Jammu division and Himachal Pradesh.
3. Adopt microbial bio-fertilisers: Promote indigenous strains like BarD5 through government-university collaboration.
4. Curb soilless hype: Regulate misleading aeroponics ventures that deplete Kashmir's corm stock.
5. Invest in technology: Drone irrigation, AI-based flowering forecasts and community drying units can modernise the sector.
A Heritage at the Crossroads
From Pampore's purple plains to Kishtwar's hill farms, saffron remains the heartbeat of Jammu and Kashmir's cultural identity. Yet its survival now depends on restoring the balance between climate, soil and science.In Poonch'smountainous experimental plots, BarD5-nourished corms bloom proof that innovation and tradition can coexist. If Kashmir, Kishtwar and Poonch embrace this synergy, the Red Gold can continue to gleam each autumn not as a relic of the past, but as a story of renewal.
( The author is Professor, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu.)