Pistachio (pistacia vera) is an edible shelled fruit of the gum tree family and the name given to the tree of this fruit. Although almost all species of the genus Pistacia are called hard-shelled pistachios, this name is correctly given only to the pistacia vera species. Of the 10 or more species in the genus Pistacia, only pistacia vera (pistachio) has commercial value and is considered a product that is bought and sold as nuts and whose fruits are eaten. Fruits of all species of pistachio
It is very hard shelled like bone.

      It is also known as Damascus pistachio in some regions (It was pronounced as Damascus pistachio for years because Damascus was the first place where it came to be used commercially as a snack). The reason why it is called pistachio is that the first pistachio enterprises were established in Gaziantep and distributed to Turkey from here. It grows from the pistachio tree, is oily, thin-shelled. It is used in pharmacy for making cough syrup and in desserts.
     

      Pistachio has two centers, i.e. homelands, in the world. One of these is the Near East gene center, which includes Anatolia, the Caucasus, Iran and the high parts of Turkmenistan, and the other is the Central Asian gene center. The gene center of the cultural forms of pistachio is Anatolia, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine.

      Pistachios are cultivated in certain countries in the world due to their special climate requirements. Iran produces more than 50% of the world production, followed by the USA and Turkey.
     

     In Turkey, it is mostly grown in Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep (Nizip district), Siirt, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman and Diyarbakır. The pistachio tree loves hot weather.

      Pistachios are divided into two groups: industrial and snack varieties. Halebi, long, red, partly Ohadi and Barak star varieties are used in industry; Siirt, Tekin, partly Barak star and Ohadi varieties are used as nuts.

Pistachios can grow economically in regions with long, hot, dry summers and relatively cold winters. One of the important factors determining the growing areas of pistachios is temperature. In the summer months, high temperatures are needed for a long time for the fruit to develop and ripen, and in the winter months, low temperatures are needed for a certain period of time. In areas where winter cold temperatures are likely to drop to -150C or more, damage to fruit eyes may occur.

     Pistachio harvesting should be done when the fruits reach harvest maturity. During this period, the outer shell of the fruit changes from transparency to mattness, the red shell softens and separates easily from the hard shell, the bone shells. When harvested late, the red peel shrinks and dries. The color of the inner fruit opens, the quality deteriorates, as well as animal and pest damages increase.

     Pistachio harvesting is done by plucking the clusters by hand. Care should be taken to pluck the clusters in the opposite direction of the cluster slope and where the cluster stem meets the branch. It is not correct to harvest by picking the fruits one by one without removing the cluster from the branch. If harvesting is done in this way, bunch stems and empty fruits remain on the tree. These residues remaining on the tree must be plucked as they will constitute a suitable shelter for pests. It has been determined that harvesting by hitting the branches with poles also damages and breaks the tree branches and damages the crop eyes (black eyes) of the next year, resulting in yield loss. This is one of the reasons why pistachios have a full crop one year and a low crop the next year (periodicity).

HOW ARE PISTACHIOS PROCESSED?

    Harvesting and post-harvest operations account for 58% of the work expenses spent in pistachio cultivation. Post-harvest processing is basically carried out in six stages: storage, roasting, cracking or cracking separation, classification, roasting and packaging.

Automation systems, which provide a very strong development opportunity in industrialization, give the opportunity for commercial activities to reach a much more advanced and important point. Systems that gather and control all the work performed by manpower and machinery under a single roof are called automation. This system, which offers the opportunity to work more economically and efficiently, offers the opportunity to globalize production. What is automation and what does it do? 

What is Automation?

Automation is the name given to the manufacturing systems produced to ensure that the work is done by machines by reducing the need for manpower. Thanks to automation systems, the percentage of total work sharing shows the level of development of that system.

With the increase in production as a result of the industrial revolution, it completely changes the market conditions. As time passes, the need for these systems has increased as it is more costly to increase production with manpower.

What Does Automation Do?

Automation offers the opportunity to share between machine and human labor for many different businesses. Most importantly, the contribution of today's automation systems in the scientific world and industrial activities cannot be underestimated. In this way, today, many different operations can be easily performed by machines without human intervention. This system is used in 2 different ways: full and semi-automation.

If there is manpower involved in the work, it is called semi-automation, and if it works completely with machinery, it is called full automation. Automation systems are necessary to ensure efficient and fast production in order to survive in all competitive conditions. Automation is a system that enables people to work together through machines.

Most importantly, it can be said that there is a common programming structure that allows all different machines to work at the same time. In this way, it enables production and service to be realized strongly on behalf of many sectors such as industrial areas, different workplaces, factories. At the same time, it can completely eliminate the margins of error that occur due to human work.

How Is Automation Done and Where Is It Used?

Many different devices are used in automation. It aims to provide effective solution methods for detailed measurement, time, efficiency and energy saving. Automation system is widely used in many different areas today. The main areas where automation is used are,

Food sector,

In the car sector with transportation operations,

Textile phones,

In the recycling industry,

Scientific studies,

It is frequently used in processes such as elevator systems.