In this episode, AgroTroia's "Success in Agriculture" program hosted a conversation in an unusual village coffeehouse format in the village of Yellibel in Ceyhan, Adana. The team, which included AgroTroia board member Umut Dönmez and regional supervisor agricultural engineer Cemal Kurt, talked with the village elders about both village life and olive production in the region. This conversation, in which most growers described how they brought back to yield orchards from which they had taken no crop for years, once again showed how decisive correct care and the application of the olive nutrition program are in olives.
From Bordeaux Mixture to Programmed Care
The arrival of olive growing in the region dates back about eighteen years. According to Mesut Kurt, for a long time the mindset of "throw on Bordeaux mixture, nothing else is needed" prevailed in the village, and almost no crop was taken from the trees. Growers who could not take even one kilo of olives from their ten-year-old trees shared that the picture changed after they switched to a programmed care and nutrition regimen. One grower recounted that after his first application season he broke his own record by taking 7.5 tons of olives, and that in later years he achieved a yield of up to 50 kilos per tree. The common point of these stories was that pruning, fertilization, and the disease calendar were carried out as a whole in olives.
Fighting Peacock Spot and Anthracnose
In damp regions such as the village of Yellibel, the most frequently encountered problem was peacock spot (peacock leaf spot); growers complained of not being able to hold leaves on the trees. As a turning point in control, the application of Copperas came to the fore. One of the growers stated that after meeting Copperas they forgot about peacock spot in their orchards. According to what the engineer conveyed in the program, the real difficulty in olives is that even if the flower sets, the fruit drops during the peppercorn and chickpea stages; afterward, olive anthracnose, the flower-stem bug, and the Mediterranean fruit fly take the crop. For this reason, it was emphasized that regular spraying, regular application, and a regular fertilization program must be followed, and that pest and disease pressure increases especially in hotter, low-lying areas.
Climate Stress and Conscious Production
Growers described that this year frost came first, then hail, then drought and extreme heat one after another; that sunburn was seen. It was observed that orchards in which the trees were constantly monitored and the necessary applications were not neglected during these stressful periods nevertheless gave satisfactory results. One grower shared that they achieved entirely different development by using Activo in the applications they made against plant nutrition and fungal diseases in sunflower and silage millet as well. In the conversation it was also frequently expressed that production is a national asset not only individually but also in terms of the country's economy, and that planned and conscious agriculture is essential.
The Future of the Village and the Young Population
An important part of the program was devoted to the future of the countryside. The closing of schools in the village, the migration of the young population to the city, and the rising average age of those engaged in agriculture stood out as the greatest concern for the sustainability of production. At the same time, warm moments such as the story of the son-in-law who inherited an olive grove from his mother-in-law without ever having seen it reminded us of the value of village life. The message was clear: revitalizing villages so that young people can live in them is as important for the future of production as individual orchard success.
AgroTroia products featured in this episode
Copperas - copper nutrition; resistance against peacock spot and fungal diseases
Activo - plant nutrition and healthy development support
This conversation in the village of Yellibel showed that even orchards that yielded no crop at all in olives can be brought back to yield with correct care, regular peacock spot control, and programmed nutrition. As climate conditions grow harsher, conscious and planned production continues to be the strongest card in the grower's hand.
Source: AgroTroia - "Success in Agriculture" program, sponsored by AgroTroia.