In this episode of AgroTroia's "Success in Agriculture" program, the team met at farmer Şükrü Özgür's citrus orchard in the Erzin district of Hatay. The team, which had previously filmed with AgroTroia in the same region, this time discussed care and nutrition practices in citrus, the region's problems, and the effect of the correct nutrition program on yield in an orchard approaching mandarin harvest. AgroTroia board member Umut Dönmez and the company's agricultural engineers also joined the broadcast.
Citrus, frost events, and crop volume in Erzin
According to Şükrü Özgür, last year, across the country and especially in the coastal areas where citrus is grown, the cold and frost events coinciding with the flowering period markedly reduced the crop volume. While mandarin production across Turkey remained at about 60 percent, a decrease of around 40 percent compared to previous years was experienced. In Erzin, however, the picture was different: winds coming from the mountain at night and from the sea during the day reduced the frost effect in the orchards. Moreover, because the planting direction of the trees was planned during orchard establishment so the wind blowing from the east could flow toward the west, this orchard was protected from frost damage. According to the information given by the grower, 150 to 170 tons of produce is expected from the 16-decare orchard this season.
The care and nutrition journey with AgroTroia
Şükrü Özgür explains that he began using AgroTroia products in his citrus on the recommendations of agricultural engineer Nuh Bey. In addition to the care products applied during the year, an average of about 70-80 kg of animal manure per tree was also applied to the base; operations such as pruning, tillage, and spraying were also part of this program. The grower notes that thanks to the sandy and permeable soil structure, they do not need to till the soil frequently, and that rainfall drains away easily. On the AgroTroia side, the approach rests on a clear line: to see the plant's actual current need, to make up its deficiency with the right product, and not to steer the farmer toward unnecessary inputs. The company official emphasizes that they have been in the sector for twelve years and have made it a principle to stay in the field alongside the farmer, through their dealers and engineers.
The Mediterranean fruit fly and the fight against pests
As harvest approaches and the fruit begins to sweeten, the most important problem in citrus becomes the Mediterranean fruit fly. The fly lays its egg under the skin; the larva feeds and completes its development inside the fruit and then passes into the soil to continue its cycle. AgroTroia engineers explain that in the fight, the active ingredient must be changed continuously — for example, if alpha-cypermethrin was used in one application, the next should switch to lambda-cyhalothrin or a different group, thus preventing the pest from gaining resistance. In addition, citrus mealybug causes drop by sucking on the fruit stalks; the carob moth also increases the damage by laying eggs inside this mealybug. The citrus leafminer feeds by opening galleries on the leaf, while thrips and aphids cause damage by colony-feeding through sucking. In the talk it was also conveyed that when the soil temperature drops to sub-zero degrees, even the eggs of the fly, the aphid, and the thrips freeze and are destroyed, which naturally suppresses the population. Because the early Satsuma variety is harvested in mixed batches, harvest is finished before the fly population peaks, so loss stays low in this orchard.
Solutions for dieback and trunk diseases
One of the biggest disease problems in citrus is dieback. On the terminal shoots of the trees, leaves drop and dieback begins over a 15-20 cm section, then this advances backward and can dry out the tree. AgroTroia engineers note that their strongest tools at this point are Activo and a phosphoric product: when half a liter each, that is, 500 cc of Activo with 500 cc of the phosphoric product, is added to the backpack sprayer and a trunk application is made, the vascular bundles open, the algae growth on the trunk is removed, and effective control against dieback is achieved. With the same trunk application, the exudate and spotting caused by gummosis disease of the trunk can also be prevented. The engineers emphasize that in well-nourished and protected orchards, they do not encounter dieback, spotting, or fungal diseases.
Erzin's citrus potential and the nutrition program
Erzin, with about 160 thousand tons of production in mandarin alone and its extensive citrus presence, is one of the region's leading production centers. Although this season, due to frost, a significant portion of the trees in the low-lying area between Erzin and Dörtyol were damaged and did not flower, Şükrü Özgür's orchard, planned according to wind direction, stayed intact. AgroTroia engineers note that even problems in citrus with no known single solution, such as dieback, can be managed with a correct nutrition program; that the nutrition logic they apply in ring spot in olive, anthracnose in pistachio, fire blight in pear, or rust disease in wheat also works in citrus. The real goal is to increase tonnage: as the yield per decare rises, the farmer's income improves too. The main bottleneck the grower raised is not production but marketing the produce; the difficulty in finding buyers across Erzin is felt this season too.
Featured AgroTroia products in this episode
- Activo — the basic support used in trunk application against dieback and trunk diseases, together with the phosphoric product.
- Phosphoric trunk product — a complementary product applied at a 500 cc dose in the backpack sprayer together with Activo, opening the vascular bundles and removing algae growth.
This citrus orchard in Erzin shows how correct planning, regular care, and a conscious nutrition program can preserve yield despite adverse conditions such as frost. The region's main problems, from the Mediterranean fruit fly to dieback, can be managed with practical methods such as active-ingredient rotation and trunk applications; the real gain comes from increasing tonnage in a sustainable way.
Source: AgroTroia – "Success in Agriculture" program, sponsored by AgroTroia.