PAMPORE: The Division of Plant Biotechnology at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Science and Technology Kashmir (SKUAST-K) has been publishing a 12-page saffron calendar ‘Saffron Nation’s Pride’ for the conservation of the flower for the past four years.
Under the guidance of Vice Chancellor SKUAST-K Nazir Ahmad Ganaie, the issues are brought up by Dr Amjad M Husaini, Associate Professor and senior scientist at the Division of Plant Biotechnology, SKUAST-K.
“The aim is to engage people, educate them with new technology so that growers can take up the technology for conserving the saffron,” Dr Amjad told Kashmir Reader. He said the calendar is distributed among farmers through Kisan Mela.
Dr Husaini said it was by the encouragement of the Vice Chancellor and the Director of SKUAST -K that they have been designing the calendar which is raising awareness among people about new technology for saffron cultivation.
“We have transferred saffron cultivation knowledge to common people in an easy way in the form of pictures, tables and easy-to-remember texts. My predecessors have done a lot of research work for saffron; we just want to transfer that knowledge to farmers and it is in this context the wall calendars have been used as a simple carrier,” he said, adding that so far, four issues, all dedicated to saffron cultivation, have been released since 2020.
“The first saffron calendar was dedicated to raising awareness against fake saffron so that the buyers are not cheated,” Dr Amjad said, adding that the properties of real saffron were demonstrated in the calendar.
The wall calendar of 2021 informs the common people about various monthly operations that the growers have to execute from time to time. The wall calendars for 2022 and 2023 depict innovative techniques which can be used for saffron expansion including indoor cultivation, saffron kitchen gardens and intercropping of saffron with almond, plum and mulberry.
He said the wall calendars inspire people to saffron cultivation. “I have seen many people enquiring about different techniques which we depict in the calendars,” he said.

BILAL HABIB