In the Indian Kashmir, the saffron-main region of cultivation, fought with farmers for years, with increasing crop failures. This Barbara Reinhold, University of Bremen reported. This is due to a fungus that the bulbs rot can be.
“The Problem is, especially in North India, even if farmers in Italy or Iran, is likely to have problems,” says the Professor of Microbiology. She is head of the Department for microorganisms and plant interactions. In the framework of an exchange program, you and your Team with scientists from the Indian Jammu University are researching together to understand the mode of action of the fungus and to find a cure.
The saffron Plant is a Krokusart that can be seen in her violet Cup, when the flowering period begins in the fall. And it is also the bloom, the power of saffron, a precious spice. Because each of them contains several fragrant stylus, which are dried and then processed further. The effort is large: After the Pluck the saffron threads from the Hand must be released from the flower. They will serve later as a natural flavor enhancer, fit to sweet and savory dishes.
Normally, Reinhold busy in their working group of bacteria that have positive effects on the growth of rice plants. Using bioinformatics, mutations, and Gene sequencing, to try you and your colleagues to understand the causes of these effects. Then you can use bacteria in a targeted manner to strengthen with them the growth of plants and to accelerate. When the researchers from Jammu to come to Bremen, made similar experiments with the saffron plant.
First field experiments are very promising
In this way, Supertotobet the scientists were able to find some strains of bacteria, which are presumably to combat the fungus. Whether and how well they help the small farmers in Kashmir, in fact, is not yet clear. First field experiments would, however, be well reported, the Bremen-based scientist. Reinhold hopes that the farmers in a couple of years of bulbs can sprinkle your Saffron with a bacteria powder, before planting and before fungus protect.
The saffron is there to explore a lot, Stephan, Clemens. “In the case of many plants it already has a much more detailed understanding,” says the researchers from the chair for plant physiology of the University of Bayreuth. This has its reasons, because of the “Crocus sativus” – the Botanical Name of saffron – requires farmers and researchers a lot of patience.
Normally, you could order for the exploration of a Plant, the seeds of the Plant. After the cultivation, the experiments that followed Clemens says. So easy, the saffron makes it to his explorers. The Plant is sterile. They reproduce only by cuttings, therefore the culturing of new saffron takes onions from which the Crocuses develop, for a very long time. “It was only after a few years of experiments are possible. Saffron is not a Plant that you want to write your doctoral thesis”, says Clemens.
saffron is also used for the medicine interesting
in other respects, it will be exciting to explore the saffron plant: you could be in the future, maybe in medicine, in nervous diseases is helpful. “There is evidence from animal models, that the substances of the saffron could have a beneficial effect,” says Clemens. Precisely how this effect looks like, and whether the Whole can be transmitted to humans, was not explored further.
Wyona Schütte, dpa/AFX/stu