Geographical factors affecting agriculture in Silivri, plant and animal production (2004-2018)

Silivri, the study area, has developed many functions due to its location, human and physical geography factors. One of these functions is the function of agriculture and livestock. The Silivri district has more than half of the agricultural assets and agricultural production of the province of Istanbul. The population of the province with 35 district settlements is 187,621 persons by the year 2018. 58.7% of the population live in urban centers and 41.3% live in rural areas. The district, which has an area of 860 km2, is the second largest district of Istanbul after Çatalca. Silivri consists of residential areas from south to north, agricultural areas and forest areas to the north. The total county area consists of 79 km2 settlement area, 242 km2 forest, 0,462 water surface. In the 438,777 decare section, agricultural production was realized. The highest production on agricultural land is in grain (wheat, barley) and industrial plants (sunflower, canola). In some areas melon, watermelon and tomato production is also more. In the district there is little change in the product pattern. Since 2007, producers have started to produce canola.Sugar beet production is not done today due to the disappearance of the market and the quota that is introduced while producing sugar beet in 1990s. In recent years, the cultivation of medicinal aromatic plants and ornamental plants has begun. In 2018, a total of 723.403 decares of agricultural production was realized in Istanbul. 60.6% of this area belongs to Silivri county. For this reason, agriculture in Silivri province for Istanbul province is of great importance. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal the agricultural potential of Silivri, determine the positive and negative effects of the geographic factors that have a share in this potential and to generate source data for the researchers working on this subject. A large-scale literature study was conducted for the study, statistical data were collected, field trials were carried out, analyzes were made, and appropriate distribution maps were prepared using the ArcGIS 10.1 program.