Kayseri Şeker’s Closing Program: “Taking Our Production Success to the Future”
In the meeting room of Sarıkaya Agricultural Chamber, an informative session was held by Agricultural Consultant Yavuz Yücel for farmers regarding field mice, wheat rust diseases, and black cumin cultivation. The meeting, organized by Sarıkaya Agricultural Chamber Presidency, highlighted that field mice are generally stout-bodied with large heads, flat noses, and short ears. It was explained that their tails are short compared to their bodies, about one-fifth of their body length, and covered with sparse and light-colored hairs from the starting point to the tip. The meeting pointed out that their gestation period is three weeks and about 40% of the newborns die due to various reasons. After being weaned from milk 15-20 days after birth, the young mice start to feed themselves and become harmful from that moment on. They become adults within 2-3 months and have an average lifespan of 3-4 years.
Field mouse burrows: Field mice create three types of burrows in the area they feed on. These are the 1st feeding hole, 2nd excavation hole, and 3rd defecation hole. They cause damage to all field, garden, pasture, and meadow plants, especially wheat, barley, oats, corn, alfalfa, as well as vegetables and fruits. Additionally, young forest trees are their main hosts. They cause damage by eating, gnawing, cutting, and contaminating the green parts, seeds, and fruits of cultivated plants and pasture and meadow plants. When the food supply in their area is depleted, they move to other areas and continue to cause damage. They consume more green forage during hot months and dry forage during cool months.
Natural enemies of field mice: The natural enemies of field mice include cats, dogs, foxes, weasels, stoats, storks, kestrels, falcons, hawks, eagles, and snakes. In environments where the natural balance is maintained, these natural enemies keep field mice under control to a great extent. To protect these creatures, they should not be hunted and unnecessary agricultural pesticides should not be used against diseases and pests in fields.
Cultural measures: Damage caused by field mice can be reduced to some extent through cultural measures such as deep tillage, crop rotation, and field cleanliness.
Mechanical control: Control can be achieved by using traps and flooding active burrows with water.
Chemical control: Chemical control can be carried out whenever the climate is suitable. However, the most suitable and effective time is early spring when they emerge from their winter shelters and late autumn when they are at their weakest. If there are 5 active burrows per 25 square meters in infested areas, control measures should be initiated. However, depending on the type of plant and the extent of crop loss, control measures can also be started with fewer burrows.
“Pay Attention to Wheat Rust Diseases”
Sarıkaya Agricultural Chamber also warned farmers about wheat rust diseases. In a statement made by the Chamber, it was mentioned that “The causal agent’s summer spores are round or oval, with prickly walls. The winter spores are long, with thick and smooth cell walls, two-celled, and slightly constricted between cells. It is the earliest occurring rust disease. Although it is generally observed on leaves, it can also be seen on stems and spikes from time to time. In spring, temperatures between 10-15 degrees Celsius and high humidity are the most suitable conditions for the development of the disease. Pustules resembling machine stitches form on the upper surface of the leaves. These pustules are called ‘line rust’ because of their arrangement in lines. Millions of summer spores, formed within these pustules, are dispersed to the environment by wind. Under suitable conditions, they infect wheat plants they come in contact with, forming new pustules. Summer spores require rainfall or high humidity to germinate and infect the host. At the end of the season, the summer spores transform into winter spores in the same pustules. The pathogen survives the winter as summer spores on wild grasses and as winter spores on winter-sown wheat.”
“How to Cultivate Black Cumin?”
Regarding black cumin cultivation, the Agricultural Chamber provided the following information: “1.6 to 2 kilograms of seeds are used per acre. The variety to be planted should be local varieties with a high content of thymoquinone, known for their anticancer effects. Fertilization should be done according to the soil analysis results. If the organic matter content of the soil needs to be increased, the applied animal manure should be well-rotted and applied in autumn. In our cultivation area, planting should be done at the end of February or the beginning of March. The soil should be leveled before sowing to prevent losses during the harvest with combine harvesters. 15 kilograms of base fertilizer should be applied per acre, mixed with the seeds. The seed depth should be 1-2 centimeters, not exceeding 2 centimeters. For an acre, a total of 17 kilograms of fertilizer, with a maximum of 2 kilograms of seed, should be applied, and the setting of the seed drill should be 17. After sowing, the soil should be rolled with a roller. If necessary, on the same day as sowing, in windless weather conditions in the morning, herbicides should be used when the black cumin plants reach 15-20 centimeters in height. For the chemical control, application should be made to the provincial or district agricultural directorates. When the black cumin plants reach 20-25 centimeters in height, before rainfall, around May, 8 kilograms of urea should be used according to the analysis results. Before flowering, liquid seaweed or 7-8 kilograms of potassium nitrate per acre can be used. During periods of insufficient rainfall, water should be applied along with the fertilizers, twice before stem elongation and before flowering. Harvest should be done in the early morning when all the capsules have dried and can be broken by hand. The harvested black cumin should be spread and dried for one day.”
After the meeting, Şevket Güngör, the President of Sarıkaya Agricultural Chamber, thanked the chamber presidents, the board of directors, and the farmers who attended the meeting.
Source: Adapted from Alpaslan Demir in a breaking news tone..