15.02.2022 The Past, Present and Future of Aydın Chestnut Was Discussed At The Workshop

''Chestnut Workshop'' was organized under the coordination of Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture hosted by Aydın Commodity Exchange.

The current situation and future of the sector were discussed at the Chestnut Workshop, organized on the theme of ''Yesterday, Today and Future'' of the European Union Registered Aydın Chestnut, which contributes to the economy of our region and country. 

In the Chestnut Workshop, which started with the opening speeches of Fevzi Çondur, Chairman of Aydın Commodity Exchange, to highlight the contributions of Aydın Chestnut, one of the prominent agricultural export products of our province and region, has made to our city's economy and has been certified as a Protected Designation of Origin around the European Union. Mr. Çondur said ''30.9 percent of the country's chestnut tree is located in our province, which produces just 33.5 percent of Turkey's chestnut production.Because development is stable in the countryside and contributes to our country's economy, the workshop will offer maximum benefit to our producers, traders and exporters. In this workshop, experts will share the problems and solution suggestions, commercial value and branding process from chestnut production to marketing process. Therefore, I hope that our chestnut workshop will be more productive and the report to be prepared at the end of the workshop will benefit chestnuts, one of our city's most important agricultural products.''

Hüseyin Aksoy, Aydın Governor, emphasized the importance of contributing to the economy of our province and country stated that '' We know according to FAO data for 2020, Chestnut production in the world was approximately 2.23 million tons. China accounts for 75 percent of this production and our country is the fourth biggest producer after China with 76, 000 tons.'' Acknowledging that Aydın is one of the most important chestnut production centers, Mr. Aksoy added that Aydın Province ranks first with 25, 506 tons of chestnut production. 

Mr. Aksoy also said, '' the whole province, 5,000 producers are interested in chestnuts in an area of 7, 800 square-meter area in 12 districts in Aydın. In particular, our districts are in the first place with an area of 3,220 hectares as of Nazilli production area and 11,450 tons . We could state that in Aydın, 38 percent of the production areas consist of organic agriculture fields.''

The first session, following the opening speeches was held, was moderated by Adnan Menderes University, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture İbrahim Gençsoylu Ph. D.. The first session of the workshop begin with How to fertilize chestnuts' presentation was attended by Aydın Adnan Menderes Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil, Saime Seferoğlu Assoc. Prof. Mrs. Seferoğlu stated that chestnut cultivation is brought to agriculture by vaccinating wild chestnuts in our region and mentioned the climatic characteristics of chestnuts as well as soil preferences in cultivation. Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture's last twenty-eight years in Chestnut Cultivation and Projection to the Future were conveyed by Engin Ertan Ph. D.. Mr. Ertan shared the studies carried out by Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Agriculture due to the production potential of our province,ranking first in chestnut production in our country. He stated that it is generally focuses on rehabilitation, reproduction and cultivation techniques, fertilization biology, physiology, conversation and market preparation and that the objective is to provide clear information on the results obtained in this context. Mr. Ertan also touched upon the geographical indication registration process in order to contribute to the region and producers regarding Aydın province's chestnut cultivation as well as scientific research.

Mehmet Karagöz Ph. D.,explained the disease and solution recommendations in his presentation on Notable Chestnut Harms and Solution Recommendations. Mehmet Karagöz stated that there are great losses in yield due to diseases and pests in chestnut growing areas and large deaths as a result of drying in trees. Mr. Karagöz stated that the topographic structure of the land and the height of the trees do not make chemical struggle possible in the fight against pets in chestnut areas and that the habitats and behaviors of pests negatively affect chemical struggle and informed about solutions. 

Ömer Erincik Ph. D., who made his presentation titled Chestnut Cancer Prevention and Solution Proposals, provided much information about the scientific studies on Chestnut Cancer at Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture. Nowadays, biotechnological applications for testing and demonstration purposes continue in the gardens of many manufacturers and more than 90 percent of the applications have been successfully completed. Mr. Erincik also mentioned in his presentation the projects that have the potential to provide a high benefit in troubleshoot chestnut cancer problem in Aydın.

Assoc. Prof. Türker Saraçoğlu, explaining the topic of Mechanical Harvest Opportunities in Chestnut Farming and the traditional and mechanical harvesting methods, introduced the machines used in mechanical harvesting and explained the parameters effective in harvesting. Mr. Saraçoğlu also provided information as to the research conducted for the mechanical harvest of chestnuts and said that mechanical harvest would increase work effiency during the development process.

Orhan Kurt, R&D Director of TABİT and profitability of small-scale producers by introducing the opportunities, talked about the importance of technology in agriculture. Mr. Kurt stated that they aimed to increase the efficiency and profitability of small-scale producers by introducing the opportunities that advanced technology provides to large investors to the agricultural industry in rural areas.

The first session ended with a question and answer session by Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Gençsoylu.

Discussed on the Commercial Value of Chestnut, R&D Efforts and Supports

The second session of the Chestnut Workshop, which was moderated by Serap Açıkgöz Ph. D.,Department of Plant Protection of Agriculture Faculty at Aydın Adnan Menderes University, began with a presentation by Birgül Ertan, Deputy Director of the Fig Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on R&D Studies on chestnut. Mrs. Ertan provided information on chestnut selection and R&D projects carried out in our country. Mustafa Çetin, Akkes Aksu Chestnut Company owner, shared their experiences on Chestnut export.

Following the presentation of Yakup Ezber, Director of the Rural Development and Organization Department at the Agriculture and Forestry Directorate of Aydın, said that if the chestnut is processed and marketed as completed goods, it will generate more revenue and contribute to employment.

Sadullah Dülger, Provincial Director of KOSGEB Aydın, mentioned the support efforts, offered by KOSGEB. The final session of the workshop was held by Naim Özdamar, Chairman of Buharkent Chamber of Agriculture. Mr. Özdamar, who presented the commercial value of chestnut, talked about the measures needed to increase the commercial value of chestnut.

After the presentations, the questions asked by the participants were answered and the results and evaluation of the Chestnut Workshop were made.