Alternative opportunities for small farms: A case study on technical and economic analysis of peach growing in turkey

This study was carried out to determine the producers' conditions and some technical and economic characteristics of peach growing in Kemalpasa, Izmir. Main data was collected by interviewing peach growers selected by using the random sampling method. In this study, average yield per hectare and average yield per tree were determined to be 16,848 kg and 37.7 kg. Average size of the peach orchard was found to be 1.09 hectares. It was observed that the growers preferred square planting with 4.5 m × 4.5 m spacing, rather than triangle planting. Input use and number of replications of cultural practices during production season were also determined in the study. It was observed that more than 82% of peach growers harvested their crop themselves. Net return obtained per hectare and per tree from peaches was determined to be $839 and $1.88, respectively. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC