Efforts Continue in Domestic Banana Production

Cengiz Türkay, Director of the Erdemli Alata Horticultural Research Institute under the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, provided information about the institute's work at a press conference he organized.

Türkay noted that work on improving native banana varieties began in 2005, and stated that they have obtained 103 new banana seedling varieties in this context. Türkay said that the varieties they produced account for 89 percent of banana seedling production in Turkey, "We see that the share of the 'Dwarf Cavendish', 'Grand Nain', and 'Alata Azman' varieties we registered in seedling production has risen to 89 percent. As a result of the work carried out, we see that both production and consumption of native bananas show rapid growth. The increase in production and consumption provides great support to the country's economy, particularly to producers." he said. Türkay continued as follows: "With the varieties we have developed, bananas grown in greenhouses in narrow areas in the Antalya and Mersin regions will now be grown in open fields in the fertile lands of provinces such as Adana, Mersin, Osmaniye, and Hatay, which have thousands of hectares. Banana consumption in our country is increasing year by year. Once known as a luxury fruit, bananas can now reach every household's table. Banana production, which was 50,000 tons in 2000, has now risen to 728,000 tons according to official data. Consumption is estimated to have reached 1 million tons. With our work, we meet three-quarters of banana production from domestic production. Our goal is to meet all banana consumption from domestic production. After the registration of the variety to be produced in open fields, we will have the opportunity to grow it in wider areas, particularly in the Çukurova and Hatay regions. There will be a weight difference between banana bunches grown in open fields and those grown in greenhouses. While a bunch of bananas grown in open fields weighs approximately 20-25 kilograms, greenhouse yields reach 50 kilograms. However, while production area in greenhouses is more limited, open-field production can be carried out in wider areas. Additionally, production costs will decrease." he said. Source: AA