An overview on greenhouse vegetable production in Tahtalı dam preservation area
Articles > Article · 2009
Authors: Gölgen Bahar ÖZTEKİN, Yüksel TÜZEL, Hasan Teket
Ege Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, International Refereed University Journal, International, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM), 2009, vol 46, pp 101-110
Summary
<p>Tahtalı Dam is the major water resource of Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey. A preservation area was established around the lake in order to prevent pollution, and restrictions were imposed by the state in respect to irrigation, fertilization and pesticide use. Within the preservation area of the Tahtalı Dam, greenhouse production is the most important agricultural activity with 330.8 ha acreage. This production is realized under prevailing climatic conditions in very simple structures, therefore problems are frequent and complicated, and, thus, synthetic chemicals are used intensively, as in other Mediterranean countries. In this study, a survey was conducted in order to determine the present situation in the area in terms of production and farmers’ habits to be able to clarify possible risks for the water. A questionnary form containing a total of 33 questions, were used to interview with 70 farmers in Menderes township, namely Menderes center, Ataköy, Çamönü, Çileme and Develi villages, during the summer months of the year 2004. Questions were asked to the producers to provide information about the farm and himself (education level, greenhouse area etc.), greenhouse structure (construction and covering material, direction, ventilation etc.), soil preparation (disinfection, leaching, fertilization etc.), growing practices (cultivars, irrigation, pest and disease management etc.), yield, use of recent technologies (IPP, soilless culture etc.) and marketing. The results showed that production systems need improvement to reduce the environmental impact and to increase farmers’ income through better marketing management. </p>