Production Potential and Development Opportunities of Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) Grown in Southeastern Turkey.

Turkey is the homeland of many nuts, such pistachio and walnut, as hazelnut, chestnut, and almond. Because Anatolia is the gene center of pistachio, the richness of our country on genetic variation of this species provides facility for achievement in breeding studies in a short period of time. Because this fruit is cultivated on some regions of Anatolia, it is extremely important to develop cultivars proper for some regions. The world has 1,023.000 tons of total pistachio production. According to 2015 statistics, Turkey has 144.000 tons of total pistachio production. Considering the total pistachio production by the regions in Turkey, Southeast Anatolia and Aegean regions rank first and second with 134.481 and 4.197 tons respectively as West Blacksea Region is the last with a production of 73 tons. In this context, Southeast Anatolia region has 93.39% of Turkey's pistachio production. Considering the provinces in Southeastern region, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa rank first and second with 53.109 and 47.848 tons of pistachio productions respectively as Şırnak province comes last with a production of only 43 tons. In this study, through presenting the existing status of the pistachio production of Southeastern Turkey, it was aimed to increase the awareness and set light to decision makers for making use of and directing the existing potential in future plans in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]