Fig Cultivation Fig Cultivation climate requirements: It grows in places with warm winters, hot and dry summers, and an annual average temperature of 18-20 C. It requires higher temperatures from fruit formation to the end of harvest (May-October), and an average temperature of 30 C during fruit ripening and drying periods such as August-September. The temperature should not exceed 40 degrees. Otherwise, the branches will burn, the fruits will remain small and burn. Fig cultivation cannot be done successfully in places where the lowest temperature drops below –9 C. It can be damaged by early frosts falling down to -3, -4 C in October-November. Temperatures of -1°C and lower in late March and April will damage new shoot growth and reduce yield. The temperatures of -4 C and -7 C at the end of winter are harmful to the bull product in male figs and therefore to the honey bee. Male fig orchards should be established in places facing south, with the north covered, where winter frosts are not seen. The optimal annual precipitation is 625 mm. Irrigation is required at precipitations below this. In regions with heavy rainfall, trees grow strong, fruits become large and tasteless. In terms of drying, the months of July should pass without precipitation and without clouds. During the drying season, the relative humidity of the air should be 40-45%. High relative humidity during maturity causes splitting of fruits. Winds with high relative humidity blowing from the sea during the ripening and drying season cause quality deterioration and splitting in fruits. If the hot and dry winds blowing from the land blow for a long time, small and dry fruits are formed. If the humid and cool wind blowing from the sea and the dry and hot wind blowing from the land blow mutually, the size and quality of the fruit increase. Strong winds blowing during the breeding period are not suitable as they will prevent the flight of the wasp. Fig Cultivation Soil requirements: It grows in almost every soil except very moist soils. When it comes to dried fig quality, it is selective in terms of soil. It requires deep, sandy-clay soils with organic material and lime. It grows well in soils of 120 cm and deeper. It is less resistant to soil salinity. It grows well in lime-rich soils. Neutral or near-neutral soils with a pH of 6-7, 8 are suitable. It is sensitive to the excess of sodium and boron minerals. It is damaged by the unstable ground water that rises and falls with high ground water. Ground water should not be closer than 2 meters to the ground. Irrigation in Fig Cultivation The optimum precipitation requirement of the fig tree is 625 mm. The amount of precipitation is 550 mm. If it falls below , it is necessary to irrigate. In years when the annual precipitation is not sufficient, one or two irrigations are useful and even necessary depending on the amount of precipitation. In cases where precipitation is very insufficient, a second irrigation is required at the end of June and at the beginning of July. In extreme years when the annual precipitation is very low and the garden soils are very filtered, the need for additional irrigation arises even if the winter precipitation is utilized to the highest extent and winter irrigation is done. In such cases, additional irrigation is required in May and at the end of June and beginning of July. This should not be avoided even in situations where irrigation is very difficult. Fertilization in Fig Cultivation A soil pH varying between 6-7.8 is suitable for fig cultivation. Since the fig tree is a lime-loving plant, it can be grown in soils with very high lime. In places where the soil pH is low, it is useful and even necessary to give lime to the trees. The amount of lime to be added to the soil by liming varies depending on the soil pH, the structure of the soil, the organic matter content and the properties of the lime materials to be used. Lime application is done in autumn. Lime sprinkled on the ground is buried under the soil by plowing or by other means. The fertilization to be made should provide the nutrients that are deficient in the trees. Nitrogen fertilization increases vegetative growth, that is, leaf size and the length of annual shoots. As the shoot length increases, the number of fruits also increases. Despite this positive improvement in fruit number, fruit size decreases. Especially in dried varieties, the quality of dried fruit decreases and the color of the fruit skin becomes darker. Phosphorus, besides its other functions, positively affects the fruit size of figs. In fig cultivation, size is an important feature. Potassium nutrient is also effective on fruit quality and product quantity. Potassium reduces the damage of fruits from sunburn. It helps to obtain softer dried fig fruit with a lighter skin color. Various factors (climate, soil and plant factor) must be taken into account in determining the amount of fertilizer to be given. Farm manure is calculated as 2-3 tons per decare. To distribute this amount of fertilizer, 1-2 cars of fertilizer are left between every 4 trees. It is not correct to pile the manure at the bottom of the trees.
