Allelopathic Effects of Saffron

In his recent visit to Zaveh County in Khorasan Razavi Province, Professor Yoshiharu Fujii of Japan’s Tokyo University, a well-known allelopathy researcher, expressed readiness to do more research on saffron fields in the county.  “At present we are cooperating with two universities, Ferdowsi and Torbat Heidariyeh in the province, to conduct scientific research on allelopathic effects of Iranian saffron,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

 Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial (positive allelopathy) or detrimental (negative allelopathy) effects on the target organisms and the community.