ASSESMENT OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND MACHINERY USE IN PISTACHIO NUT ORCHARDS IN SIIRT PROVINCE OF TURKEY

As is the case in all type of orchards, agricultural practices should be done on regular and timely basis in Pistachio orchards to get abundant and high-quality products. The agricultural practices applied mainly in pistachio orchards include tillage, irrigation, pruning, fertilization, plant protection, harvesting and post-harvest handling and processing. In this study, the use of machinery and the problems encountered in the application of agricultural practices in pistachio orchards were evaluated in Siirt province of Turkey. Study data were collected with the structured questionnaires during the face-to-face farmer interview, which was conducted in 165 pistachio farms in 2019. The sample size was determined by Stratified sampling method. For analysis of the data, descriptive statistics methods and Chi-square test were employed. It was revealed that the mechanization applications and problems encountered in pistachio production were connected with the processes from soil cultivation to harvest and post-harvest. The results showed that the use of machine power in the pistachio farms in Siirt province is very limited with tillage, spraying and transportation. It was also revealed that the orchard acreage had a statistically significant relationship with the machinery use for almost all agricultural practices except tillage and irrigation methods.