In Manisa, where the world-famous seedless Sultani grape is grown, yields are expected to fall by more than 35 percent as a result of the mildew disease that has hit the vineyards.
Mildew Disease
Grape growers who were unable to spray their vineyards due to heavy rains at the beginning of the summer were hit by a disease called mildew. This disease spreads by spore formation and threatens the vines as it spreads to the side branches. The disease, which is a fungal infection that spreads rapidly in damp vineyards, caused the grapes to dry out and drop from the branches.
The mildew, which affects almost the whole of Manisa, has also caused major yield losses. It is expected that around 200,000 tonnes of grapes will be reported this year due to yield reductions of up to 35 percent.
Because of the disease and the high rate of yield loss, farmers expect the price to be announced at no less than TL 45 (EUR 1.51)
“Farmers are confused about what to do”
Aydoğan Okur, President of Saruhanlı Chamber of Agriculture, stated that there were damages caused by heavy rain and hail in April, May and June in their districts due to unfavourable climatic conditions in Turkey as in the whole world and said: “Very big damages occurred in Saruhanlı, the capital of grapes. There is a disease called mildew that multiplies by spores. Since it is a disease that can also pass to the side branches, we could not spray the medicine on time. The disease reproduced because we could not spray the medicine, so we sprayed the medicines related to it, but the time has passed. There is nothing to be done now. This disease has occurred excessively. There is no remedy after this time. We have to cut it and put it on display. It is a troublesome situation. Nearly 35 thousand tonnes of product is expected in our district. In the past years, we were getting 50 thousand tonnes of grapes. There is a loss of around 35 percent in our district. Our farmers are confused about what to do. There is no way to apply medicine or fertilizer after this time.”