The agricultural mechanization situation of agricultural enterprises involved in organic and conventional hazelnut cultivation in Turkiye

Abstract

The aim of the research is to examine and evaluate the agricultural mechanization status of organic and traditional hazelnut farming enterprises in Alaplı and Karadeniz Ereğli districts of Zonguldak province in Turkey. A survey was conducted with a total of 209 enterprises from 34 villages in 2 districts where hazelnut production is intense in the research. The survey study includes information about the land assets of the enterprises, tractor, agricultural-tool and machinery assets, and hazelnut production stages. In addition, mechanization applications in all agricultural processes from tillage to harvest in hazelnut production were examined and evaluated. It has been determined that 24 of the organic hazelnut production enterprises and 30 of the traditional hazelnut production enterprises have tractors and it has been determined that the tractor brand preferences of the enterprises vary independently from each other. Massey Ferguson and New Holland brands are mostly preferred. It has been determined that the vast majority of businesses prefer to use motorized hoeing machines. As a result, when organic hazelnut enterprises used traditional hazelnut production in previous years and gave up this production system, they reduced the use of tools and machinery. For this reason, it has been determined that there are fewer tools and machines in organic hazelnut producer enterprises compared to traditional hazelnut producer enterprises. While the tractor power (kW/ha) value per unit area processed in organic hazelnut producer enterprises was 1.344, this value was found as 6.320 kW/ha in traditional hazelnut producer enterprises. It is seen that traditional hazelnut producer enterprises are in a better situation in terms of mechanization level than organic hazelnut producer enterprises.