*2.1. Surface Disinfection and the Establishment of Aseptic Culture*

*Crocus sativus* corms (3.2–3.5 cm diameters; Figure 1a,b) were obtained from Bloembollenbedrijf J.C.Koot (Vennewatersweg, The Netherlands) during two successive seasons in 2020 and 2021 and kept at room temperature. The corms were descaled, and injured or infected corms were discarded. The corms were washed three times using sterile distilled water containing Tween-20 and then rinsed with a fungicide solution (2 mL L−<sup>1</sup> Ortiva; Syngentia, Switzerland) containing 200 g L−<sup>1</sup> of azoxystrobin and 125 g L−<sup>1</sup> of difenoconazole−<sup>1</sup> for 15 min. The corms were then submerged in 10% (v/v) commercial bleach (5.2% sodium hypochlorite) for 10 min for disinfection and transferred to a 0.1% (w/v) mercuric chloride solution for 5 min. Subsequently, the corms were rinsed three more times using a sterile solution containing 2 g L−<sup>1</sup> of ascorbic acid and 1 g L−<sup>1</sup> of citric acid. They were then cultured in Magenta GA-7 culture vessels (77 mm × 77 mm × 97 mm; Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) containing semisolid Murashige–Skoog (MS) medium [15] without plant growth regulators and incubated in the dark for 1 week. The cultures were checked regularly, and the percentage of corm contamination was recorded.
