While saying ‘let’s save’ in cereal planting, experts warn to avoid losses.

With the start of grain planting on approximately 10 million decares of land in the Konya Plain, known as Turkey’s grain warehouse, experts have issued warnings regarding common misconceptions. Experts emphasize the importance of the planting period as well as the care of the crops during the harvest season to prevent yield losses and draw attention to counterfeit products.

In Konya, where 67% of the land area is used for agricultural purposes and is known as a grain warehouse, experts indicated that there has been a shift in the expected rainfall period during which irrigated agriculture is practiced on 595 thousand hectares, warning that farmers should take this into account during the planting phase.

“We recommend planting 1 to 2 centimeters deeper without going overboard.”

Burak Kırkgöz, the President of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers (ZMO) Konya Branch, suggested shifting the planting schedule for grains, stating, “In our grain storage province of Konya, the plantings for 2025 are being carried out at the end of 2024. Previously, plantings were done at the beginning of the planting month, but now they have shifted towards the end of the month. Of course, one of the biggest factors for this is the rainfall. Unfortunately, we have not been receiving consistent rainfall in our plain for about three years. This has led our farmers to delay their planting dates and perform plantings a bit later. To save more water, our farmers generally carry out their plantings towards the end of October and the beginning of November. However, due to the lack of rainfall in our soils, the moisture content is also very low, and we recommend that our farmers avoid planting in moist conditions especially. Because in moist plantings, seeds can germinate with a light rain, and if no further rain follows, the germinated seeds can deteriorate. We suggest planting a bit deeper. However, we recommend that they do not go overboard and plant 1 to 2 centimeters deeper into the soil, especially during these periods.”

“Unfortunately, they suffer more damage while trying to save.”

Burak Kırkgöz also made recommendations regarding fertilizers, which are among the most important products in the production phase, saying, “One of the important issues our farmers need to pay attention to is fertilizers. The issue of counterfeit fertilizers has also come up in the Konya region in the past. During such fluctuating economic times and markets, instances of counterfeit fertilizers are quite high, and our farmers need to be very careful about this. It is very important that they make purchases from trusted and known suppliers and we also recommend that they have any fertilizers they are suspicious of analyzed before applying them to their fields. Because once the fertilizer is spread on the field, unfortunately, there is no way to revert that, and later they should also avoid counterfeit seeds as much as possible and use certified seeds. Because it has been scientifically proven that certified seeds increase yields. During periods when the climate is dry and production is difficult, our farmers need to obtain the highest yield from unit areas. They must achieve the highest yield from unit areas to continue their production. Therefore, sometimes while trying to save, unfortunately, they end up suffering more damage, and they need to pay attention to these matters. We hope this year will be a year with abundant rainfall. The farmers in the Konya Plain are of course waiting for the rains. Plantings are being carried out in irrigated areas. Unfortunately, because it hasn’t rained, our farmers have to water their fields after planting. Because the emergence of plants is very important. After emergence, high yields can be obtained with subsequent care. However, if emergence is uneven, unfortunately, areas without seeds will not yield, leading to lower overall yields. We wish for a bountiful season. Hopefully, the rains in the coming days will also bring smiles to our farmers.