History, Cultivation, and Adaptation of Papaver Species Globally
2025
Yasin Özgen | Demet Burucu
Türkiye has 27% of the World’s Papaver species in its flora, and 15 of them are endemic. Poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is the most cultivated and economically significant species of the Papaver genus. There is a need to study and exploit other Papaver species as well. Poppy is an important strategic plant with a history dating back to 5000 BCE and records of its being valued in the lives of different civilizations, art archives, food (seed), and medicine (opium gum). Although opium gum and seed have been produced for centuries in today’s Türkiye, its cultivation was banned between 1971-74. Years of opium gum experience were destroyed, and after 1974, alkaloid production began to be obtained by processing the dry capsule (unscratched). Today, it is counted as one of the two traditional legal poppy-producing countries in the world. It has the largest legal poppy cultivation area, capsule processing, and alkaloid production factory in the world. The seeds and alkaloids are obtained from the same plant. Türkiye has one of the largest morphine stocks in the world and is capable of meeting 25% of global morphine demand. However, it is insufficient in the production of different alkaloids (noscapine, thebaine, codeine). Seed production is, on average, 20,000 tons, and the capacity has the potential to increase to 40,000 tons with appropriate agricultural techniques.
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