Good News
Saffron blooms on barren land in Ladakh
A pilot farm in Leh flowered in under a month and gave 22 grams of saffron in four days.
In short
22 gsaffron picked in the first 4 days
- 90,000 corms planted
- Bloomed in < 30 days
- 22 g in 4 days
What happened
Ladakh planted about 90,000 saffron corms on 4,000 square metres of restored land in Leh on 1 October. Flowers appeared in under 30 days — saffron usually takes about two months.
Nearly 22 grams of saffron were collected in the first four days.
Why it matters
Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices, and around 90% of India's comes from Kashmir. If the pilot works at scale, it could give Ladakh's farmers and young people a valuable new income.
Read the original reporting
The Better India↗
