Salinity, one of the most significant abiotic stress factors restricting plant production, causes the destruction of agricultural lands and reduces productivity. In recent years, the utilization of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) applications, which have important effects in terms of avoiding and providing tolerance to factors by impacting the physiology and metabolism of the plants, has been on the agenda. In this research, the impacts of foliar treatments of different levels of 5-ALA (0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 mM) on morphological and physiological traits of 41 B American grapevine rootstocks under salinity stress (NaCl solution starting with 25 mM and reaching 150 mM concentration) were investigated. Salinity stress caused significant decreases in growth parameters, chlorophyll content, RWC and stomatal conductance, and significant increases in leaf temperature, proline and MDA content, physical damage and membrane damage degree. Under salinity stress, 0.9 mM 5-ALA treatments resulted in significant increases in shoot length (14.67 cm), root length (34.50 cm), leaf thickness (0.23 µm) leaf area (31.37 cm2), leaf number (8.67 pieces), chlorophyll content (21.83 SPAD), RWC (80.20%), proline content (0.19 μmol.g-1) and stomatal conductance (78.05 mmol.m-2.s-1); and significant decreases in physical damage degree (1.00 scale degree), membrane injury degree (15.46%) and MDA content (28.20 nmol.g-1) compared to non-ALA treatments. According to the results of this study, 5-ALA can be recommended as an alternative application to provide salinity tolerance in plants in order to reduce the damage caused by salinity stress in agricultural lands.

Since the concept of brand has a wide and diverse range, it is divided into different groups from different perspectives. Local brands are products that are produced, manufactured, and sold by a company in a specific city or that are distributed in a constrained area. This study’s primary goal is to assess how local brands selling milk and dairy products in a particular region are perceived by local consumers. It also seeks to analyze the standing of local producers in this sector and consumer attitudes toward regionally branded goods by highlighting the significance of milk and dairy products in terms of human health. The study makes use of survey information from 381 households in Süleymanpaşa Districts of Tekirdağ-Türkiye. The data were analyzed using fundamental statistical techniques, factor analysis, and logistic regression analysis. In the survey, it was found that 85.0% of participants were familiar with the idea of local brand, while just 15.0% were not. Consumers who said they buy local brand milk and dairy products made up 78% of the sample. Consumers found local products to be more natural and tastier than national brands. According to the factor analysis, the judgements influencing customers’ preference for local brand milk and dairy products were classified into five factors. These factors are named as naturalness and quality, price and promotion, health, food safety, brand and image. Logistic regression analysis was used to explain the association between purchasing local brand milk and dairy products and factor scores, as well as knowing the notion of local brand. Those who favor “Naturalness and Quality” in purchased milk and dairy products are nearly three times more likely than those who do not to purchase local brand milk and dairy goods. With a probability of 68.4%, those who do not understand the notion of local brand will not purchase local branded products.

In the research conducted under the conditions of Tokat, silage triticale-vetch mixture-second crop silage corn rotation was applied. The study used four different tillage methods to compare the quality and product yield of the seedbed prepared for silage triticale-vetch mixture. Conventional tillage method (M1), conservation tillage method (M2), reduced tillage method (M3), and direct sowing (M4) methods were applied. Seedbed quality: It was evaluated regarding soil moisture content, bulk density, penetration resistance, degree of soil fragmentation, and surface roughness for depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm. The effect of soil tillage methods on porosity, surface roughness, and green grass yield were statistically insignificant. Although there were statistical differences between the methods regarding soil moisture content (MC), bulk density (BD), penetration resistance (PR), and mean weight diameter values (MWD), the values are within the limit values determined for plant growth. However, crop yield is the same between soil tillage methods. This result shows that alternative tillage methods are applicable when evaluated in sustainable agriculture, which does not create a statistically significant difference in crop yield compared to conventional tillage.

Fish is regarded as an important protein source in human nutrition due to its high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids In traditional global cuisine, fish holds a prominent position, with seafood restaurants, fish markets, and eateries serving as popular venues for fish consumption. However, it is imperative to preserve fish freshness as improper storage can lead to rapid spoilage, posing risks of potential foodborne illnesses. To address this concern, artificial intelligence techniques have been utilized to evaluate fish freshness, introducing a deep learning and machine learning approach. Leveraging a dataset of 4476 fish images, this study conducted feature extraction using three transfer learning models (MobileNetV2, Xception, VGG16) and applied four machine learning algorithms (SVM, LR, ANN, RF) for classification. The synergy of Xception and MobileNetV2 with SVM and LR algorithms achieved a 100% success rate, highlighting the effectiveness of machine learning in preventing foodborne illness and preserving the taste and quality of fish products, especially in mass production facilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the addition of rosemary to corn silage affected the quality, fermentation, and in vitro digestion of organic matter. In the study, unaltered silage group constituted the control group, while silages prepared by adding 0.5, 1 and 2% rosemary constituted the experimental groups. After 60 days of ensiling, the pH of the opened silages was determined to be in the range of 3.67-3.72. As the amount of rosemary in the silages increased, the levels of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N/TN) decreased. Compared to the control group, increases in in-vitro organic matter digestion (IVOMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) values were observed in the experimental groups due to the addition of rosemary. In comparison to the control group, the methane gas (CH4) rate of silages was reduced in the other groups. Meanwhile, the group receiving 2% addition of rosemary had the highest values of acetic acid (AA) and lactic acid (LA) among the supplemented silage groups. But, propionic acid (PA) and butyric acid (BA) were not detected in any of the silage groups. Consequently, it was determined that 1% and 2% of rosemary added to corn silage can enhance the quality of the silage.

As a response to the evolving consumer demand for healthier food choices, ultrasound application in food processing emerges as a sustainable and green solution with no residual effects. This method, known for its cost-efficiency and sustainability, holds significant promise in meeting the increasing need for high-quality, chemical-free, and natural-tasting convenience foods in the ever-changing landscape of the food industry. Ultrasound, leveraging mechanical sound waves, spans across various frequencies: power ultrasound (20–100 kHz), high-frequency ultrasound (100 kHz-1 MHz), and diagnostic ultrasound (1–500 MHz). This study focuses on investigating the impact of ultrasound and combined treatments on food quality, summarizing their diverse applications across different unit operations such as texture and rheology, emulsification and homogenization, crystal formation and modification, dehydration and drying, fermentation, filtration, preservation and shelf-life extension, flavor enhancement, color and appearance, antioxidant activity, enzyme activity and food digestibility, bioavailability and bio-accessibility, and specific food divisions including unprocessed, minimally processed, processed, and ultra-processed foods, as well as culinary ingredients. It delves into their effects on technological and functional aspects of food products, explores emerging trends, offers possible recommendations in ultrasound technology for the food industry, while also recognizing existing challenges and limitations associated with ultrasound and related technologies.

In this study, the effects of different organic matter additives [soil (control), 20 ton ha-1 farmyard manure, 20 ton ha-1 biochar, and 10 ton ha-1 farmyard manure+10 ton ha-1 biochar] to the soil of lettuce grown with different irrigation water levels [100% (full irrigation), 75% (25% deficit irrigation), 50% (50% deficit irrigation), and 25% (75% deficit irrigation)] on water and irrigation water productivity efficiencies and plant characteristics were investigated. Among the organic matter additives, the biochar reduced the amount of irrigation water and actual evapotranspiration of lettuce and increased its marketable yield, thus the highest water and irrigation water productivity efficiencies were obtained from biochar treatment. Despite the decreasing marketable yield in the 50% irrigation treatment, the proportionally decreasing amount of irrigation water and actual evapotranspiration caused the highest water and irrigation water productivity efficiencies to occur in the 50% irrigation treatment. While the root diameter, root fresh and dry weights, stem diameter and length, head fresh and dry weights, marketable leaf number and yield, chlorophyll, and leaf relative water content of lettuce decreased with decreasing irrigation water levels, root length and membrane damage increased. The effects of organic matter additives on all of these physical-physiological properties, except root diameter and membrane damage, were found to be significant, and the biochar provided the most effective development of these parameters under the deficit irrigation regime. Considering that the yield and yield characteristics in 75% irrigation treatment do not decrease at a very significant level compared to full irrigation (100%) and that these decreases can be compensated by biochar and that the farmyard manure+biochar as alternative treatment is also effective in improving the decrease in yield parameters, treatment of 10 ton ha-1 farmyard manure+10 ton ha-1 to the soil at 75% irrigation water level was found to be recommended in lettuce cultivation.

In this study, the effect of pretreatments applied to the sewage sludge of the Tokat Municipality wastewater treatment plant (WTP), the sewage sludge of the packaged wastewater treatment plant (PWTP) of a fruit juice production plant, and the aqueous phases of their mixtures on biogas production was investigated. Chemical, thermal (microwave (MW) and hot plate (HP)) and chemical-thermal pretreatments were applied to these sludge samples. Considering the results in all samples, the highest biogas production amount and efficiency were found in the pre-biogas-unit aqueous phase of the sewage sludge of the Tokat WTP, which was applied 20% H2SO4+10-minute (min) thermal MW pretreatment, with 667.51 ml and 396.34 ml biogas/g water dissolved SM value, respectively. Statistical analyses included the Duncan comparison test for cumulative biogas production efficiencies at the end of 65 days and the maximum exponential increase function and Gompertz equations for cumulative biogas amounts. Accordingly, the most appropriate model was tried to be determined. The electricity generated at the end of the 22-day incubation period at the facility meets 36% of the electricity needed by the Tokat WTP. At the end of the experimental studies (20% H2SO4+10 min thermal MW pretreatment), it can be said according to the 22-day biogas data that the biogas production efficiency increased by 3.41 times, this would meet all the electricity needed by the facility, and that there would be an extra 23% electricity generation of the total generation. Mixing and using fruit juice PWTP and WTP treatment sludge in the production of biogas will enable both the utilization of this waste in biogas production and the weakening and reduction of high parameter values, which sometimes cause problems in the sludge discharged from the Tokat WTP due to urban wastewater treatment, to acceptable limits.

Climate change-induced droughts have various negative impacts on different sectors, especially on agricultural sector. Altınekin District, where the research was conducted, has the lowest precipitation in Konya Province, therefore is expected to be most affected by drought. For sustainable use of water resources, each stage of agricultural production should be carried out within the framework of a specific program. With this study, knowledge level of farmers engaged in irrigated agriculture in Altınekin district regarding irrigation and irrigation programs they applied were determined through a face-to-face survey. Present findings revealed that 38.7% of the participant farmers are aged 50 years and over and a large proportion of them (54.7%) are primary school graduates. Participant farmers were all (100%) using groundwater resources in agricultural production and 88% of them stated that they did not receive any training on irrigation. While 32% of the farmers participating in the survey stated that they had knowledge about the concept of irrigation program, 68% reported that they did not have any knowledge. Incorrect and improper practices regarding efficient use of irrigation water in the region, especially regarding the irrigation program, were identified and solutions were proposed for these problems.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of inclusion of an organic acid and surfactant (OS) combination on moisture optimization and energy sparing in the production of pelleted compound feeds for dairy and beef cattle. The trial was carried out in two independent private commercial feed factories (factories A and B) producing cattle feed in pellet form. Each factory produced 21 tons of commercial cattle feed (7 batches; 3 tons per batch); factory A, a dairy feed containing 2620 kcal/kg metabolizable energy (ME) with 18.90% crude protein (CP); and factory B, a fattening feed containing 2550 kcal/kg ME with 13.00% CP. Batches for the treatment groups were prepared by adding 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kg/ton of OS (Fylax flow) respectively to these basal feeds in the mixer. The moisture retention capacity during pelleting process of all three OS supplemented feeds increased in comparison to the basal feed, whilst moisture content of the finished feeds and energy consumed for production decreased significantly. It was observed that increasing the OS supplementation to 1.5 kg could further increase the moisture retention capacity and moisture content in pellet production compared to the feeds supplemented with 0.5 and 1.0 kg OS, due to the lower power rating of the equipment. It has thus been concluded that adding 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kg of OS to commercial compound feeds for dairy resulted in a profitable production with good moisture optimization and energy savings during pelleting.