The seedless lemons developed in the Alata Garden Cultivation Research Institute in the Mediterranean province of Mersin have seen little interest from Turkish entrepreneurs. On the other hand, in accordance with a contract signed with a United States company it was reported that trial studies have been initiated in the U.S.
Güçer Kafa, an agricultural engineer from the institute, said they developed three types of seedless lemons as part of the Citrus Amendment Project they started in collaboration with the Agriculture Ministry’s General Directorate of Agricultural Research.
As a result of the amendment procedure, which lasted almost six years, the seedless lemons will be a significant benefit to Turkey in global competition, Kafa said.
He added that the registration process was finished and they are currently about to introduce the lemons to cultivators, already putting sapling production and marketing rights on sale.
"Unfortunately, there is not currently enough national demand for the seedless lemon. However, we have initiated a process in line with our contrast with an American company. Within the scope of this, we have sent 20 buds which are to be used for sapling growth. This is not for production purposes but for trial purposes. These buds will be analyzed in terms of agricultural quarantine and if the results do not conflict with U.S. regulations we will be able to sell marketing and sapling growth rights to this company,” Kafa said.
Kafa also said that seedless lemons had been developed in other countries previously but all efforts failed in the end. “Our greatest advantage is that the coast stretching along Mersin’s Silifke and Erdemli districts has a splendid ecology for citrus cultivation,” he said, adding that consumers preferred seedless lemons all around the world, however because lemons are not consumed as much as tangerines or oranges in Turkey, nobody insisted that lemons should be seedless as well.
“However, once the seedless lemons have a place in the market, everybody will start wanting seedless lemons. Because nobody would bother with sorting out the lemon seeds from within the lettuce in their salad.”
