Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) belongs to Iridaceae family. The dark red-dried stigmas of the plant, which is called saffron, has special economic value and is the most expensive spice in the world. Considering its significant characteristics such as pleasant color, taste and aroma, it has been used as a flavoring agent and pharmaceutical plant for many years. The content of secondary metabolites of saffron due to its medicinal properties attracts attention. Saffron is propagated through its corms by traditional ways, but it is very costly. Hence, at present, the cultivation of plant tissue culture technique is one of the suggested ways to solve this problem. By using plant tissue culture techniques, the aim of this study was to use various compositions of plant growth regulators, as well as the use of carrot juice as a substitute of plant growth regulators for callus induction in in vitro conditions. The study findings showed that cell differentiation and embryo development of saffron was successful from induced callus through culture of various explants on media containing plant growth regulators and could be one of the short propagation methods for saffron. However, in the media containing carrot juice, no callus or embryos development was observed.

Keywords : Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), Plant Tissue Culture, in vitro, Callus Induction.