Increase in Productivity of Pilot Hazelnut Gardens as the Number of Plantations

In Trabzon, which has made a name for itself in hazelnut production and exports, the pilot hazelnut gardens have recently begun to yield their products.

Within the scope of the “Increasing Yield and Quality in Hazelnut” project initiated by Trabzon Commodity Exchange (TTB) 11 years ago, steps were taken to create exemplary hazelnut gardens for the dissemination of modern agricultural techniques.

In this context, in line with the demand of the producers, and with the support of TTB, old hazelnut gardens were dismantled, and various hazelnut species were planted in different systems.

A total of 63 sample gardens were established across the province, mainly in İkisu neighborhood of Yomra district as well as Karakaya and Yeşilova neighborhoods of Ortahisar district.

The gardens, whose yield and quality are observed to increase, are being prepared for the harvest that will commence from the coastal area in the first week of August.

“We have 64 thousand hectares of planted areas in Trabzon”

Eyyüp Ergan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TTB, told the AA correspondent that due to the aging of hazelnut gardens, there has been a decrease in yield and quality.

Pointing out that there are many gardens in Trabzon with an age of 100 and over, Ergan said “Just as a person's resistance to diseases decreases when he gets older, so do hazelnut trees. Therefore, we decided to make our sample gardens both within the scope of this project to increase yield and quality and to show how much the yield and quality increase in new gardens, and we have been making these sample gardens since 2013.”

Emphasizing that 63 sample gardens have been established so far, Ergan continued his words as follows:

“I think it will be the year 9 or 10 for one of these gardens. Last year, we obtained a yield of over 270 kilos per decare. This year, we will probably reach 270 kilos in that garden. I mean we have 64 thousand hectares of planted areas in Trabzon. Think about how much output we can obtain when we produce 250 kilograms of product per decare in these areas.”

“We observe that the quality is also better in the new gardens”

Stating that the gardens can be renewed without uprooting at all, Ergan said “Therefore, they can get direct yields without losing too much product and year. Which is recommended by us.”

Ergan pointed out that it is important to renew the gardens and said:

“We would like to create awareness for the renewal of the gardens. I hope our farmers will be aware of this, start to renew the old gardens gradually and both quality and yield will increase. Only yield can also be increased. For example, a garden that yields an average of 500 kilos per decare can yield 1 ton. But in addition to the increase in yield, we should also consider its quality. We observe that the quality is also better in these new gardens.”

"The quality is very good now compared to the past"

Adnan Kılıç, the owner of a sample garden on an area of 2,200 square meters in Karakaya neighborhood, stated that he was unable to get the desired yield because his garden had aged, so he chopped his hazelnuts in 2013.

Emphasizing that he then made his garden rejuvenated in line with the request from TTB, Kılıç said “Rejuvenating the garden has worked for me. The yield is very good now compared to what it used to be.”

Kılıç pointed out that they have high expectations from this year's harvest and said “We have more expectations compared to the previous years. I tended my garden routinely, putting the fertilizer, and the pesticide, etc. at the appropriate times. So, we are hopeful.”

"Fully yielding for about 4-5 years"

Muhammed Mazlum, one of the producers, expressed his uncle as the owner of a pilot garden and said “My uncle is one of the pilot farmers and because of his exemplary farming, a proposal came to him in 2014 to plant this garden with single and 3 seedlings of different species. Since my uncle was a role model of a farmer, he was open to innovations, and they tried this innovation here. Three kinds of single seedlings were planted here.”

Giving information about the planted species, Mazlum said “We have been getting full yields for about 4-5 years. My uncle had the opinion that if the hazelnuts are well tended and well managed, much higher yields will be obtained. In this way, the output will be able to reach 54%.”

Source: AA