Three new rice varieties introduced to agriculture in Edirne

A symbolic paddy harvest was held during the Field Day event organized in the garden of the Trakya Agricultural Research Institute in Edirne. The newly developed 'Kırbıyık', 'Nehir', and 'Lazer' varieties were also introduced at the event.

Stating that Edirne is the first city that comes to mind when paddy is mentioned, Governor Sezer noted that more than 40 percent of Turkey's paddy production takes place on Edirne's soil.

Stating that the city is a locomotive in paddy production and that conscious agriculture is practiced, Governor Sezer said, "What makes us happy is that our farmers are open to innovation and are in a mindset of how we can benefit from these innovations every day and how we can increase our yield. The solidarity of our farmers with each other, their solidarity with institutions, and their openness to innovation, as I just mentioned, are promising for the future of our agriculture.

In this sense, when we look at it in terms of new agricultural policies, we are now transitioning to a period of planned agricultural production. In this planned agricultural production, our Edirne will be a locomotive and a pioneer in every sense," he said.

"IRRIGATION IS WELL ABOVE THE AVERAGE"

Stating that irrigation in Edirne is well above the Turkish average, Governor Sezer reported that nearly 50 percent of the total land can be irrigated. Expressing that they are implementing small-scale irrigation systems rapidly, Governor Sezer said that tenders for nearly 20 irrigation systems were held and completed this year. Underlining that the Çömlek Village Dam is a project that could be called the GAP of the Thrace Region, Governor Sezer stated that it has been included in the priority investment program. Noting that many disruptions in irrigation projects were resolved this year with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Presidency, Governor Sezer expressed that they will continue to resolve these next year as well. Emphasizing that the Edirne-Meriç irrigation systems were completed as of this year, Governor Sezer said that 7,800 hectares of land, including the lands of the agricultural research institute, will benefit from the closed irrigation system next year.

Trakya Agricultural Research Institute Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adnan Tülek stated that since the day the institute was founded, a total of 204 varieties have been developed and registered in various product groups, primarily paddy, sunflower, and wheat. Saying that paddy is one of the important product groups, Tülek reported that 3 new paddy varieties with high yield and tolerance to diseases have been developed by the Institute. Tülek stated that in the studies conducted in the trial garden at the Institute, the "Kırbıyık", "Nehir", and "Lazer" varieties stood out especially with their high yields.