Impact of following saffron cultivation versus fallow management on yield components of five crop species in two semi-arid regions of Iran.

Crop rotation and fallow management are widely used to maintain soil fertility and support sustainable land use. However, in semi-arid saffron-producing regions, there is limited evidence on whether post-saffron fields can be more productive and economically beneficial for subsequent crops than fallow lands. Addressing this gap is important for providing preliminary evidence to support crop rotation and field management decisions after saffron cultivation. This study evaluated the effects of post-saffron cultivation compared with fallow management on yield and yield-related traits of barley, cumin, chickpea, rapeseed, and sesame. The experiment was conducted during the 2022-2023 growing season in Torbat Heydarieh and Zaveh, two semi-arid regions of Iran. At each site, a split-plot arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was used, with field type as the main-plot factor and crop species as the subplot factor. Data were analyzed using combined analysis of variance across the two sites. Post-saffron cultivation increased seed yield in all five crops, with the magnitude of improvement ranging from 15.75% in cumin to 73.27% in rapeseed compared with fallow fields. Similar positive responses were observed for biological yield, with increases of 60.8% in barley, 18.71% in cumin, 46.51% in chickpea, 98.35% in rapeseed, and 23.87% in sesame. Harvest index showed a smaller and crop-specific response, increasing by 3.5% in barley and 7.13% in sesame, but decreasing by 2.46% in cumin and 1.73% in chickpea; in rapeseed, harvest index was not significantly affected by field type. The combined analysis showed that field type significantly affected most performance-related traits, while the city × field type and city × field type × crop interactions were not significant. Economic performance was also higher in post-saffron fields than in fallow fields, following the same general pattern observed for seed yield. Among the studied crops, cumin showed the highest economic performance, followed by sesame and rapeseed. Zaveh generally provided more favorable conditions than Torbat Heydarieh, particularly for seed yield, biological yield, and economic performance. Overall, under the conditions of this single-season field experiment conducted at two locations, the findings indicate that post-saffron fields may be used more productively than fallow lands by selecting suitable rotational crops, particularly cumin, sesame, and rapeseed. This strategy may contribute to improving land-use efficiency, farm income, and subsequent crop productivity in the studied regions. Moreover, saffron-based crop rotation may support integrated soil fertility management when combined with site-specific crop selection, balanced fertilization, and sustainable soil management practices. However, multi-year and multi-location validation is required before making broad practical recommendations for semi-arid saffron-producing regions.