Plant protection rules are applied to prevent damage caused by diseases, pests, and weeds. Plant protection practices are not limited to direct input use, and in both organic and conventional farming, they involve the application of various cultural, physical, and biological measures before input use.
Protecting the long-term fertility of our soils and ensuring their responsible use are among the general objectives of organic production. Accordingly, in organic crop production, soil management and cultivation practices are used that preserve or increase soil organic matter, enhance soil stability and biodiversity, and prevent soil compaction and soil erosion.
The rules on seeds or other plant reproductive material used in plant production hold an important place in organic plant production. When operators plan to use seeds or other reproductive material, it is of critical importance that the relevant Regulation rules are well understood and that the necessary information is submitted to the control body before sowing/planting.
It is essential to take the necessary measures at every stage of production, preparation, and distribution in order to prevent products produced in accordance with organic production rules from being contaminated with products or substances not permitted in organic production and to prevent them from mixing with non-organic products, thus ensuring the organic integrity of the products.
The conservation of natural resources and biodiversity appears as definitions that are given special importance in the regulations and standards published on organic farming and are mentioned in some articles.
In order to prevent the risk of contamination from substances not allowed in organic farming originating from non-organic agricultural lands adjacent to organic production areas, it is very important to take necessary measures at the bordering rows of organic land that are at risk of contamination, to preserve the integrity of organic products.
According to ‘Article 4 – Definitions of the Turkish Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Farming’ published in the Official Gazette No. 27676;
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): A living organism, other than humans, obtained by transferring genes using modern biotechnological methods.
According to the Turkish Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Farming published in Official Gazette No. 27676, Hydroponic agriculture — defined in Article 4 (Definitions) as “a method in which plant roots are in a mineral nutrient solution or grown in an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool with added nutrient solution” — is not permitted in organic farming under Article 8 (Rules for Organic Plant Production), paragraph (e).
