During the dry season, the shortage of quality feeds needed to sustain livestock production has been a major problem in many developing countries, including the kingdom of Lesotho. Agro-allied by-product wastes obtained from the processing of agricultural products can possibly be converted to unconventional sources of animal feed. Therefore, this study evaluated the fibre and anti-nutritional constituents of important agricultural wastes in Lesotho namely, Irish potato peel meal, sweet potato peel meal, sweet orange peel meal and banana peel meal, to determine their feed value because of the negative effect these nutrients can elicit in livestock and poultry at higher levels. Prior to chemical analyses, dried peels of each banana fruit (BF), sweet orange fruit (SOF), sweet potato (SP), and Irish potato (IP) were milled into a fine powder to pass through a 0.5 mm sieve screen by grinding machine (mrc-SM-450 L) and stored in labelled sealed laboratory plastic bottles. The determinations of fibre fractions and anti-nutritional factors in each sample were carried out in triplicates. The fibre fractions differed significantly (p<0.05) among the peels. NDF varied from 31.00% - 39.00%, ADF 15.33% - 24.33%, ADL 3.57% - 11.67%, hemicellulose 10.00% - 22.33% and cellulose 9.00% - 17.33%. Fruit peels had significantly (p<0.05) higher ADF than tuber peels and, lower (p<0.05) hemicellulose than tuber peels. Anti-nutritional factors differed significantly (p<0.05) among the peels, and varied between 1.35% - 5.65% in alkaloid, 0.06% - 0.44% in oxalate, 3.39% - 8.32% in flavonoid and 0.21% - 2.03% in tannin. Flavonoid is highest in all peels except sweet potato peel, while oxalate is lowest. The results showed that fibre constituents levels met ruminant requirements, and anti-nutritional factors were within safe limits for ruminant intake, therefore the peels could be incorporated into their feed as a source of roughage.

Environmental factors such as drought, resulting from global climate change, have increasingly limited productivity in melon cultivation in recent years. Turkiye's geographical location and rich genetic diversity make it highly probable that drought-tolerant genetic material exists within this diversity. In this study, 192 melon genotypes were used, sourced from the cucurbit genetic resource collection of the Department of Horticulture at Çukurova University, which includes materials from various regions of Turkiye and around the world. In the pre-screening screening phase conducted in the first year of the research, 192 genotypes were grown under drought stress conditions created using 5% PEG 6000 for two months. Parameters such as stem length, stem dry weight, root dry weight, number of leaf, and a 0-5 scale were evaluated in the green parts and roots of the plants. A general decrease was observed in all parameters except root dry weight, where a 3% increase was noted in the average of the genotypes. In the special screening phase of the study, 15 genotypes selected based on the initial screening results were subjected to a second stress test under hydroponic conditions in a climate-controlled plant growth chamber using 8% PEG 6000, parameters such as visual scale evaluation (0-5), stem fresh and dry weight, root fresh and dry weight, stem and root length, number of leaf, leaf relative water content, relative water content, and electrolyte leakage were examined. All parameters showed varying degrees of reduction in the drought-stressed genotypes compared to the control groups, except for percentage change values. An increase in electrolyte leakage was observed compared to the control. As a result of the two different screenings, the drought tolerance levels of the melon genotypes were determined. Genotype Kav-248 was identified as the most drought-tolerant, while Kav-20 was found to be the most sensitive.

In this study, the freshness levels of boiled chicken eggs were determined using an electronic nose and machine learning techniques. Eggs were boiled and stored under refrigerator conditions (3±1ºC) from day 0 to day 6. Each storage day, eggs were divided into two groups based on cooling methods: quick-cooled and fast-cooled. Sensor readings were taken using an electronic nose, and image changes from 110 daily image files were processed with a machine learning program. With 85% of the image data used for training and 15% for testing, a classification accuracy of over 98% was achieved. The results showed that egg white solidified in more than 4 minutes and yolk solidified in 11 minutes. Fast-cooled eggs exhibited significantly lower odor levels, indicating superior freshness. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of electronic nose and machine learning systems in accurately determining the freshness of boiled eggs.

This study aimed to determine the tachinid parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) associated with different hemipteran hosts in Bolu and Düzce provinces in the Western Black Sea region of Türkiye in the period from 2022 to 2024. For this purpose, samples of Hemiptera were collected from various weeds, shrubs and cultivated plants. These specimens were brought to the laboratory and cultivated on the corresponding host plant material at 25 ± 2 °C and 60-70% RH. In this study, three different parasitoid species of tachinids were identified on three different hemipteran hosts. Of these, Graphosoma lineatum Linnaeus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a new host record for Ectophasia crassipennis (Fabricius, 1794) and Gymnosoma clavata (Rohdendorf, 1947) (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Türkiye. In addition, information on the hosts of the parasitoids parasitoids in Türkiye is presented.

Araştırmada farklı illerdeki topraklardan izole edilmiş bakterilerin kadmiyum (Cd) ile kirletilmiş topraklarda yetiştirilen mısır bitkisinin gelişimi ve besin elementi alımına etkilerini belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Sera koşullarında yürütülen çalışmada 3 kg kapasiteli saksılar kullanılmış ve tesadüf parselleri deneme desenine göre üç yinelemeli olarak saksı denemesi yürütülmüştür. Araştırmada Ordu (B1), Hatay (B2), Sivas (B3), Adana (B4), Isparta (B5) ve Antalya (B6) illerinden izole edilmiş bakteriler kullanılmıştır. Kadmiyum uygulamaları 0 mg Cd kg-1 ve 5 mg Cd kg-1 olarak uygulanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları, bakteri uygulamalarının mısır bitkisinin kuru madde üretimini arttırdığını ve en yüksek kuru madde üretiminin 57,6 g saksı-1 ile Cd0 uygulamasında B2 aşılamasında olduğunu göstermiştir. Araştırmada hem Cd0 hem de Cd5 uygulamasında bütün bakteri aşılamaları kontrole oranla bitkinin kuru madde üretimini arttırmıştır. Aynı durum azot (N) konsantrasyonu için de geçerlidir. Araştırmada ortalama değerler incelendiğinde, fosfor (P), kalsiyum (Ca), demir (Fe), bakır (Cu), mangan (Mn) ve çinko (Zn) konsantrasyonları özellikle Cd ile kirletilmiş topraklarda bakteri aşılaması ile bitkide artmıştır. Bu durum, Cd ile kirlenmiş topraklarda bakteri aşılaması ile bitki yetiştirmenin önemli bir strateji olabileceğini düşündürmektedir.

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.

Tarım sektöründe bitki hastalıklarının erken teşhisi ve sınıflandırılması, ürün kayıplarının azaltılması ve verimliliğin artırılması açısından büyük önem taşımaktadır. Özellikle nar meyvesi, ekonomik değeri yüksek olan bir ürün olup hastalıkları hem kaliteyi hem de üretimi ciddi şekilde etkileyebilmektedir. Bu bağlamda, nar meyvesinin çeşitli hastalıklarının teşhisi ve sınıflandırılması için makine öğrenmesi ve derin öğrenme yöntemlerinin kullanımı araştırılmaktadır. Çalışmada, Hindistan’ın Karnataka eyaletindeki çiftliklerden toplanan 5099 nar görüntüsü kullanılmıştır. Görüntüler; Kahverengi Leke Hastalığı, Kara Leke Hastalığı, Bakteriyel Yanıklık, Yaprak Lekesi Hastalığı ve Sağlıklı olmak üzere beş sınıfa ayrılmıştır. Veri seti Destek Vektör Makineleri (DVM), Karar Ağaçları (KA) ve Evrişimli Sinir Ağları (ESA) kullanılarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Bulgular, ESA modellerinin nar hastalıklarının tespitinde diğer makine öğrenme yöntemlerine göre yüksek doğruluk oranları sağladığını göstermektedir. Özellikle, iki konvolüsyon katmanlı ESA modeli %88 doğruluk oranı ile en iyi performansı sergilemiştir. Karar ağaçları ise diğer modellere kıyasla daha düşük doğruluk oranlarına sahip olmuştur. Derin öğrenme ve makine öğrenmesi modellerinin bitki hastalıklarının teşhisinde etkin bir şekilde kullanılabileceği ve tarım sektöründe verimliliği artırabileceği ortaya konmuştur.

Phosphorus is essential for plant growth, but mishandling phosphorus-rich waste can harm the environment. This study assessed inorganic phosphorus from fruit and vegetable dumpsite soils and its relation to soil properties. Fifteen (15) soil samples were collected and homogenized into five (5) representative samples each from the dumpsites at depths of 0-15cm, 15-30cm, and 30-60cm and were analyzed for calcium-bound phosphorus (Ca-P), reductant soluble phosphorus (RS-P), Fe-bound Phosphorus (Fe-P), aluminium-bound phosphorus (Al-P), and Soluble/loosely bound P. The data obtained was analyzed using the student’s t-test to compare the different fractions in fruit and vegetable dumpsite soils. The results showed no significant differences between fruit and vegetable dumpsite soils in all the inorganic P fractions. However, vegetable dumpsite soils recorded higher soluble P, Al-P, Fe-P, RS-P, and Ca-P levels of 11.65, 36.29, 41.95, 40.75, and 41.35 mg/kg, respectively. These values were not significantly different from 9.75, 34.01, 39.28, 37.11 and 41.03 mg/kg recorded by fruit dumpsite soil for soluble P, Al-P, Fe-P, RS-P and Ca-P respectively. Results also revealed that reductant soluble P, Calcium bound P, and Na+ with an R2 value of 0.88 had a combined significant influence on the concentration of soluble P. However, the concentration of the inorganic P fractions for vegetable dumpsite soil is in the order; Fe-P> Ca-P>RS-P>Al-P>soluble P, while that of fruit dumpsite soil is in the order; Ca-P>Fe-P> RS-P>Al-P>soluble P. Soluble phosphorus significantly impacts eutrophication due to its rapid release into water. However, low levels of soluble P in fruit and vegetable dumpsite soils are not a major concern. In vegetable dumpsite soil, Fe-P would pose a greater threat during anoxic events while, in fruit dumpsite soil, Ca-P would contribute more to eutrophication due to its high concentration in this soil, especially in alkaline conditions.

Different mechanization practices are included in the drying process, which is among the methods (ensiling, drying, storing at high moisture level, etc.) used in the preservation of roughage, which has an important place in the nutrition of ruminant animals. Haymaking processes are applied by natural (at the field) or artificial drying methods (in warehouses and special dryers). During drying, the hay may be loose or loosely baled. The machines that can be used in various stages of haymaking from harvesting forage to filling the warehouse can be listed as strimmers, crushers, windrow harvesters, hay rakes, loose forage harvesters, balers, bale collecting and transporting machines. These mechanization practices have positive and negative aspects relative to each other. In other words, these mechanization practices affect hay quality at different levels. In this study, different mechanization practices applied in hay drying and the effects of these mechanization practices on hay quality were emphasized.

The entomopathogenic bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been one of the important sources of biopesticides and applied in biological control against agricultural pests for many decades. Isolation and characterization of Bt isolates from different habitats around the world allow the discovery of new Bt strains with high insecticidal activity and the ability to cope with the problem of resistance to pesticides. The goal of this study is to obtain a new Bt collection from hazelnut orchards in Türkiye and to investigate the insecticidal cry1 gene content of these isolates and to reveal their protein profiles and serovars. Bt was isolated from 28 soil and leaf samples collected from 14 different locations in Ordu province. Of the 302 Bt-like colonies examined, 63 were observed to carry crystals in the form of parasporal inclusions and the Bt index was found to be 0.21. The presence of cry1 gene in Bt isolates were analyzed using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. The results showed that 21 isolates (33%) were positive for cry1 gene. When the protein profiles of the Bt isolates were examined by SDS-PAGE analysis, bands of 130 kDa, 60 kDa, 43 kDa and larger than 200 kDa were obtained in most of the samples. In order to reveal the serovar types of Bt isolates, hag gene was amplified and the PCR products were further sequenced. The analysis identified the Bt tochigiensis and Bt xiaguangiensis serovars among the screened Bt isolates. This study reports the isolation and characterization of a novel collection of B. thuringiensis isolates from hazelnut orchards in Ordu province (Northern Türkiye), identifying the cry1 gene carrying strains with potential toxicity against some lepidopteran pests.