Comparison of almond growing in irrigated and dry conditions in Batman province

Almond is suitable for growing in Batman ecology. Since its financial return is high, it has been preferred by producers in recent years and almond cultivation is increasing every year. With this thesis study, the flowering, yield and fruit characteristics of almond orchards in Batman under irrigated and dry conditions were determined, and the appropriate garden sizes necessary to improve the socio-economic conditions of the producers were determined. The study was conducted in 2022-2023. Data were collected by selecting 2 irrigated and 2 unirrigated almond gardens in Batman. Nonpareil almond variety was studied in the unirrigated (dry) and irrigated orchards selected in Oymataş village of Batman, and Ferragnes variety was studied in the selected dry orchard in Eymir village and in the irrigated orchard selected in Kütüklü village. The flowering period of the Ferragnes variety under irrigated conditions in Batman was between 16 March and 3 April, and the flowering period of the Ferragnes variety under unirrigated conditions was between 13 March and 30 March. The flowering period of the Nonpareil variety under irrigated conditions in Batman was between 9 March and 28 March, and the flowering period of the Nonpareil variety under unirrigated conditions was between 6 March and 25 March. On average, 283 kg of almonds were obtained from one decare in 2023 from our unirrigated orchard in Batman. It is stated that one kg of almonds is traded at 55 TL in the sector (Anonymous, 2023). The net income from one decare of almond orchard in 2023 is 11,093 TL ($ 465). Since the average number of family members in Batman is 8, the poverty line will be 560,400 TL ($ 23,487) annually in 2023. Accordingly, an almond producer in Batman will need 50.5 decares of dry (unirrigated) almond orchard to support his family.