In a landmark development for Turkish agriculture, Türkiye has officially registered its first domestic salep varieties, paving the way for the cultivation of these wild orchids under field conditions in coastal regions, thereby mitigating the ongoing depletion of natural habitats.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı on May 27 announced that the country’s first local salep varieties as “Bal Yumru” and “Bol Yumru.”
He stated that the work carried out for nearly 20 years by the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), under the Ege Agricultural Research Institute, on domesticating tuberous salep species has finally borne fruit.
Yumaklı emphasized that gaining registered local varieties of salep, a plant with long-recognized cultural and economic importance in Türkiye, represents a highly significant milestone for the agricultural sector.
He noted that these registered varieties will be cultivated in Türkiye’s coastal regions, where producer unions will be established to expand production areas.
The institute has also supplied breeding tubers and seedlings to the private sector, and due to high demand, the production of planting material has now
been fully taken over by private companies.
With the registration of these varieties, both yield and cultivation areas are expected to increase. The fact that each plant produces two or more tubers will allow for higher productivity per unit area.
Currently, annual production of 150 tons on 400 decares is expected to become more professional and profitable with the introduction of these local varieties.
