Hazelnut irrigation no longer a luxury but a necessity, says OMU expert

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Demir, a faculty member of the Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation at the Faculty of Agriculture of Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), said that climate change has increased pressure on agricultural production and that irrigation has become compulsory for hazelnuts.

Prof. Dr. Demir reminded journalists that, as a result of climate change, very serious problems were experienced in agricultural production last year.

Emphasizing that the perception that hazelnuts, the most important agricultural input of the Black Sea Region, do not need irrigation has begun to change with climate change, Prof. Dr. Demir said, “The global climate events and climatic changes experienced in recent years are increasing their pressure on agricultural production day by day. We have experienced crises in fruit growing and hazelnut production. In the past, there was a perception in the Black Sea Region that hazelnuts did not need irrigation. However, especially with global warming and global climate change, this perception has begun to change. This process experienced in the Black Sea Region has made irrigation compulsory for hazelnuts as well. In other words, irrigation in hazelnut production is no longer a luxury, but a compulsory need.”

Prof. Dr. Demir emphasized that, as a result of studies conducted, an increase of approximately 20 to 60 percent in yield was observed with irrigation in hazelnuts, and continued as follows:

“Of course, this varies depending on the geography of the land, topographic slope, the variety of the product we produce, and climate factors. When we do not irrigate hazelnuts, we face not only low yield, but also many problems such as quality in the products produced, fruit size, kernel diameter, and an increase in the empty hazelnut ratio. Therefore, we absolutely need to seriously consider irrigation and prepare projects in the upcoming periods, especially in Samsun and primarily in the coastal parts of the Black Sea, especially in areas below 450 meters altitude, during hot summer months.”

Pointing out that hazelnut irrigation should not be evaluated only in terms of this year’s yield and production, Demir said, “Studies have shown that irrigations carried out especially at the end of May and beginning of June provide benefits in terms of fruit maturation and freezing in hazelnuts; irrigation carried out at the end of June and beginning of July provides important benefits especially for fruit size, reducing empty fruit ratios, and even improving fruit quality. Of course, irrigation carried out in July and August is important both for producing and obtaining higher-quality hazelnuts this year and for better development of hazelnut shoots for the following year, thus also affecting production in the following year. In other words, irrigation will also become one of the main tools for achieving an important solution regarding periodicity (on-year/off-year), that is, annual fluctuation, which has been a major problem in hazelnuts for years. Therefore, we absolutely need to prioritize irrigation studies in hazelnuts and irrigation in all our projects.”

Emphasizing that, as long as the effects of global climate continue in this way, these can be prevented to a certain extent through measures to be taken, Prof. Dr. Demir said:

“As a result of the warming of the Black Sea and the warming of the Mediterranean, serious differences are also occurring in our country’s crop pattern and changes in production areas, and in the coming years, the conditions for growing hazelnuts in the Black Sea will become difficult. In this situation, measures to be taken now and irrigation studies will definitely be an important and serious solution. Today, we need to identify the problem in advance and carry out analyses and applications that will produce solutions before experiencing the problem. Therefore, hazelnut irrigation is a very important concept, and in the Black Sea Region, of course including the Western Black Sea, but especially in the Central and Eastern Black Sea Region, hazelnut irrigation studies must be prioritized in the coming period, and priority and support must be given to projects related to this.”