Özet:

Human beings have to consume such nutrients as flour, fat, protein, salt and sugar regularly and healthily to continue their daily, social and economic lives. As sweet food has a significant place in their nutritional habits, sugar has been not only a significant nutrient, but also a matter of investigation for various disciplines. This study focuses on sugar beet, one of the major sources for sugar production. The purpose of this study is to investigate the place and significance of Yozgat, a province in middle Anatolia, in sugar beet production. In line with this purpose, the answers to the following research questions were sought: A. How much sugar beet is produced in Turkey? What is the distribution of production across provincial areas in Turkey? B. How much is the sugar beet production in Yozgat, based on data from Turkish Statistical Institute (TSI)? What percentage of production in Turkey belongs to Yozgat? C. What is the distribution of production across counties in Yozgat? What are the geographical factors that affect such a distribution? This study is mainly based on literature review and correlational analyses. According to the data from Turkish Statistical Institute, 16.462.000 tons of sugar beet was produced in Turkey in 2015. Yozgat has a significant potential for sugar beet production. The second largest amount of production after Konya, another Middle Anatolian province, belongs to it. Yozgat boasts 9.97% of all sugar beet production in Turkey, with 1.640.493 tons. When the distribution of sugar beet production across counties of Yozgat is examined, Boğazlıyan, Sarıkaya, Yozgat’s city center, Sorgun and Yerköy rank among the largest producers. The smallest amount of production belongs to the counties of Çayıralan, Çekerek, Saraykent and Aydıncık. Climatological, geomorphological, edaphic and hydrological come foremost among the natural factors that impact sugar beet production. Among these factors, it is the topographical structure that shapes the areas where sugar beet could be grown and the amount of production in these areas. A strong significant correlation was found between sugar beet production and the size of the total agricultural areas in the counties; the size of the area reserved for sugar beet production and the total agricultural area; the size of the sugar beet production area and sugar beet production,  and finally size of the area for sugar beet production and sugar beet yield. 

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