Hazelnut cultivation in Turkey

Abstract

Turkey is a homeland of hazelnut culture. Hazelnuts are cultivated in the North of Anatolia, called the old and new region. The old region is Eastern Black Sea region and includes Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Rize and Artvin provinces. The new region is located in the central and western Black Sea region and includes mainly Samsun, Sinop, Duzce, Sakarya, Zonguldak, Kocaeli provinces.Tombul, Cakildak and Fosa are the most cultivated varieties. Turkey is the most important producer of hazelnuts of the world with its average of 600 thousand tons. It meets 70% of hazelnut production in the world. Hazelnut constitutes approximately 20% of hazelnut exports of agricultural products of Turkey. Again, hazelnut is the source of livelihood of 400 thousand families living in 3500 villages in Eastern Black Sea Region. The Eastern Black sea region is extremely suitable for hazelnut culture due to its ecology. Hazelnut has been grown for many years and it is intertwined with the social, economic and cultural values of the people of the region. Traditional cultivation practices with intensively labor are common in production periods.