Extreme heat and drought hit sunflowers
Stating that the sunflower harvest is nearing completion, Trakya Birlik Board Chairman Şafak Kırbiç said, "There is a decline in both yield and quality in the region."
İHA
In Thrace, where a significant portion of the country's oilseed sunflower needs are met, the harvest season is nearing its end. Trakya Birlik Board Chairman Şafak Kırbiç, stating that the drought experienced this year has affected all regions in Thrace, noted that there are still areas left in the fields that have not been harvested.
Stating that the sunflower harvest in Thrace has been largely completed, Kırbiç pointed out that adverse weather conditions have affected plant production across the country.
Expressing that there is a decline in sunflower production due to the drought experienced this year, Kırbiç said, "The harvest has reached approximately 90-95 percent. In the Edirne region, there is a small amount of harvest left in areas with late planting, and that will be completed within a few days.
There was record production last year, but because there was a slight decline in producer income, planting areas narrowed, especially in Central Anatolia and some other regions. There has been a serious decline due to both that effect and the drought," he said.
Emphasizing that the importance of water in agricultural production is understood more clearly in drought years, Kırbiç stated that the most arid period of recent years is being experienced.
"THERE WAS ALSO A DECLINE IN OIL CONTENT"
Stating that when looking at Thrace as a whole, every place was affected by the drought, but 3-4 districts in Tekirdağ suffered more, Kırbiç said, "In some places, there were fields left unharvested. Due to the excessive heat, there was also a decline in oil content.
In the first days of the harvest, oil content was poor, but in the later period, there was an increase of a few points in oil content. I hope we do not experience such drought in the coming years. Although the planting season has arrived, we are still experiencing dry days.
There has been rainfall in Thrace, but there is still no rain in Edirne. Hopefully, if we can get rainfall, our producers will be able to carry out healthy wheat planting," he stated.