In this study, effects of propolis on immunological parameters of rainbow trout were investigated. For this purpose, propolis was intraperitoneally injected to fish 4 times at doses of 2.5, 5 and 10 mg / kg fish weight. Blood samples on 3, 9, 15 and 21 days were collected from fish of the control and experimental groups and analysed to determine oxidative radical production [nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) activity], total plasma protein and total immunoglobulin levels. At the end of the experiment, there was a statistically significant increase in oxidative radical production, total protein and immunoglobulin levels of propolis treated groups when compared to the control group.

The aim of this research was to determine the most suitable extraction method for the available iron contents of calcareous soils in Trakya Region, Turkey. For this purpose ten calcareous soil samples were taken from research area and five extraction methods (Lindsay and Norvell, Wear and Evans, Olson, Soltanpur and Mehlich methods) were used and three biological indices (dry matter yield, Fe concentration, Fe uptake) were compared. The plant biological indices were determined with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plant grown under greenhouse conditions. At the end of the experiment, the highest correlation coefficients (r) were determined between the 0.005 M DTPA + 0.01 M CaCl2 + 0.1 M TEA, 0.005 M DTPA + 1 M NH4HCO3 methods and the biological indices. The correlation coefficients (r) for the 0.005 M DTPA + 0.01 M CaCl2 + 0.1 M TEA method and the three biological indices were 0.648**, 0.780** and 0.656** respectively. For the 0.005 M DTPA + 1 M NH4HCO3 method, these coefficients were determined 0.595**, 0.637** and 0.625**, respectively. Consequently, these extraction methods were suggested for the determination of the available Fe contents of the calcareous soils in Trakya Region, Turkey.

This study investigated the prevalence and concentration of antibiotic residues in twenty brands of milk. Determination and quantification of antibiotic residues was done using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Aerobic plate count was carried out and the associated bacteria isolated. Identification of bacteria was done using standard microbiological methods. Molecular characterization and identification of bacterial isolates was done using 16S rRNA gene sequencing method. Antibiotic sensitivity was carried out on bacterial isolates using disc diffusion method. Plasmid profile of drug resistant isolates was done using alkaline analysis method. Comparison of means was done using Analysis of Variance. Antibiotic residues were detected in 10 (50%) of the 20 milk brands analyzed. The residual levels of tetracycline, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline ranged between 5ng/kg and 1569ng/kg while none of the samples had doxycycline residues. The prevalence of tetracycline residues in evaporated milk brands and powdered milk samples were 100 and 23 % respectively. The aerobic plate counts ranged from 2.5 × 102 to 6.5 × 102 CFU∕mL for evaporated milk and 2.5 × 101 to 6.0 × 101 CFU∕mL for powdered milk. A total of ten bacterial species were isolated and identified. Susceptibility result showed that 95% of the isolates were sensitive to erythromycin, cefuroxime and gentamycin; 12.5% were resistant to tetracycline and ampicillin, 10% were resistant to ofloxacin and 7.5% to doxycycline and penicillin. Five of the bacterial isolates were resistant to more than one class of antibiotics. Resistant isolates subjected to plasmid profiling had detectable plasmids with estimated sizes between 120bp and 1000bp. The obtained results provide evidence that the presence of antibiotic residues in evaporated and powdered milk is an indication that the public is exposed to the harmful effects of the residues.

Food insecurity in Sub - Saharan Africa (SSA) is on the rise due to soil fertility depletion and in Kenya, Nitrogen (N) is one of the widely deficient nutrients. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) can replenish N into the soil system. A study was carried out in acid soils at Koyonzo and Ligala sites of western Kenya to determine the effectiveness of different inoculants after agricultural lime application in enhancing BNF and yields of groundnuts (Arachis hypogea L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) intercrop. Red Valencia groundnut variety was intercropped with Hybrid 513D maize variety. A6w, W1w and V2w indigenous rhizobia strains were tested alongside a commercial rhizobia strain called biofix. Nitrogen treatment was included as a positive control. The results showed that inoculation significantly increased nodule number and weight per plant. There were significant differences among indigenous rhizobia in fixing N. Rhizobia inoculation accounted for 58.91% and 78.95% increase in the amount of N fixed above the control at Koyonzo and Ligala respectively. The strain that fixed the highest amount of N was A6w followed by V2w and W1w at both sites under the dolomitic soil amendment with the values of 14.67, 9.56, 3.53 and 11.37, 8.20 and 1.50 kg N ha-1, respectively at Koyonzo and Ligala sites. Rhizobia inoculation accounted for 80.96% and 47.09% maize yield increase at Koyonzo and Ligala respectively. The best inoculant A6w, gave maize yields of 3.76 and 2.78 t ha-1 at Koyonzo and Ligala, respectively. In conclusion soil amendment with dolomitic lime and inoculating groundnuts with rhizobia strain A6w resulted in increased groundnut and maize yields. This practice can, therefore, be adopted by farmers in western Kenya to improve the productivity of the groundnut maize intercropping systems.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of age and number of grafted larvae on acceptance rates, body weight, body length, head width and length, thorax width and length, and wing width and length of queen bees. One breeding and eleven starter hives were used for rearing queen bees. Totally, 495 one, two, and three-day-old larvae were grafted into starter hives comprising 30, 45, and 60 and 414 larvae were accepted; thus, generally, the acceptance rate was calculated as 83%. The best acceptance rate was calculated in three-day-old larvae group as 85.15%. There were found a statistically significant effect of the number of grafted larvae on body length and head width of queen. However, there were any effects on weight, head length, thorax width, thorax length, wing width, wing length, and acceptance rate of larvae. Age of grafted larvae did not have a statistically significant effect on head width, head length, wing width and acceptance rate of larvae. On the other hand, age of grafted larvae had a statistically significant effect on queen weight, body length, thorax width and length, and wing length of queen. If bee breeders wish to improve their stock, they should graft one-day-old larvae for rearing better queen bees.

Urban green spaces can be a comprehensive tool to ensure the sustainability of cities. The sustainability of green areas in planning, design, implementation, maintenance and operation processes contributes to the sustainable development of cities as well. There are many ways to ensure that green areas are sustainable from a social, economic and ecological point of view. These include the construction and use of compost under recycling and re-evaluation. The wastes generated as a result of periodic maintenance in urban green areas are disposed together with other wastes in solid waste storage area. However, the use of organic wastes in composting can ensure that green areas are sustainable by reducing both recycling and periodic maintenance costs of green areas. The aim of this study is to improve the idea of recycling and re-evaluation of organic wastes which are emerged in green areas by composting and using them in green areas. For this purpose, a model for composting and replacing fertilizer from organic wastes emerged in green areas of Konya was proposed. Thus, the costs of green areas with very high design, implementation and maintenance expenses will be reduced and they will be sustainable within themselves. The sustainability of urban green spaces will also contribute to Konya's urban sustainability.

The chemicals used for weed control cause pollution at both ground and surface waters, and lead to accumulation of pesticide residues in vegetables, fruits and field crops. For this reason, avoiding of use of chemicals and instead applying natural production methods (organic farming) emerged as a people desire. In recent times, the environmental consciousness has increased rapidly all over the world and potential dangers related to use of chemicals led scientists and people to worry. There have been extensive studies on different methods and machines, which can be used for weed control, as they do not leave any residues at soil and water sources. In this study, some new weed control methods were included that can be applied in organic farming.

Çalışmanın amacı Çekişte çeşidi zeytinlerden elde edilen zeytinyağlarının ısıtma işlemi sırasında temel kalite kriterleri, oksidatif stabilite ve yağ asidi bileşiminde meydana gelen değişimlerin belirlenmesidir. Bu amaçla Aydın ilinden 2017 yılında hasat edilmiş olan Çekişte çeşidi zeytinlerden elde edilmiş olan zeytinyağı, 100°C sıcaklıkta ve 20 L/saat hava akışı altında toplamda 50 saat süreyle ısıtılmıştır ve 10 saatlik aralıklarla serbest yağ asidi oranı, peroksit sayısı, dien ve trien (K232 ve K270) değerleri, toplam fenol miktarı, antioksidan aktivite, klorofil ve karotenoid miktarları ile yağ asidi kompozisyonları yönünden analiz edilmiştir. Ayrıca örneklerin indüksiyon periyodu olarak ifade edilen oksidatif stabiliteleri belirlenmiştir. Çalışma sonunda temel kalite parametrelerinden serbest yağ asidi miktarı, peroksit sayısı, dien ve trien (K232 ve K270) değerlerinin ısıtma işlemi ile birlikte artış gösterdiği saptanmıştır. Örneklerin toplam fenol, antioksidan aktivite, klorofil ve karotenoid miktarları ise ısıtma süresinin artmasıyla birlikte kademeli olarak azalmıştır. Benzer şekilde indüksiyon periyodunun da işlem süresinin artmasıyla birlikte azaldığı tespit edilmiştir. Zeytinyağı örneklerinde tespit edilen yağ asitlerinden linolenik asit miktarının ise işlem sonunda önemli düzeyde arttığı, oleik asit miktarının ise işlem öncesine göre azalma eğiliminde olduğu saptanmıştır.

This study was aimed at examining gender diversified dairy farming and household level food security status and determinants of dairy cattle benefits in Haramaya district, Oromia, Ethiopia, using cross sectional data collected from randomly selected 120 sample households during year 2016 production season. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression models were employed for data analysis. Descriptive statistics stated that of the sample households, 71 households were found to be food secured whereas the remaining 49 household were food unsecured. Comparison of female headed and male headed dairy farming households indicated that 46.7 percent’s of female headed and 12.5 percent’s of male headed households were secured. The logistic regression result showed that female headed dairy farming participation was significantly influenced by education of household head, extension contact, cultivated land area, availability of supplementary feeds and access to market information. The impact estimation result showed that female headed have got increment in farm household’s food security status nearly by 66% than male headed households. The regression estimated coefficients indicated that dairy cattle benefits is significantly influenced by; education, access to vaccination, extension service, market information, cultivated area, milk sold on farm and fodder supplement were significant variables which affect the dairy cattle income in the study area. Therefore, policy makers should give due emphasis to the aforementioned variables to increase dairy farming benefits and improve the livelihood of rural households.

Organik ürünler genellikle tam olgun veya olgunlaşmaya yakın hasat edilirler, bu nedenle kalitelerinin yüksek olmasına karşın raf ömürleri daha kısa ve yola dayanım güçleri daha azdır. Hasat olgunluğu dışında, hasat öncesi bahçede yapılan kültürel uygulamalar organik meyve ve sebzelerin tadını, besin değerini ve raf ömrünü belirler. Ancak elde edilen yüksek kalitenin tüketiciye ulaşıncaya kadar korunması çok önemlidir. Kolay bozulabilir organik bahçe ürünlerinin kalitelerinin korunması hasat sonrası uygulamalara bağlıdır. Meyve, sebze ve çiçeklerin kalitelerinin korunması ve % 40’lara ulaşan hasat sonrası kayıpların önlenmesi için hasat sonrası fizyolojilerinin ve isteklerinin dikkate alınması gereklidir. Canlılığı hasattan sonra devam eden ürünün metabolizmasını yavaşlatma ve ömrünü uzatmada en önemli faktör sıcaklıktır. Hasat edilen ürünün yüksek sıcaklıklardan korunması, hemen soğutulması ve tüketiciye ulaşıncaya kadar soğuk zincirin kırılmaması gerekir. Sıcaklık dışında oransal nemi kontrol etmek, ürünü özenle paketlemek, yaralanmaya yol açmamak hastalık gelişimini de önler. Bu önlemler, hasat sonrası teknolojisinin sınırlı olduğu organik ürünler açısından daha da önemlidir. Sertifikalı organik ürünler için izin verilen hasat sonrası uygulamaların ele alındığı bu bildiride, organik bahçe ürünlerinde kalitenin korunmasında etkili olan faktörler, depolama ve soğutma yöntemleri, temizlik ürünleri ve dezenfektanlar, etilen ve kontrolü ile hasat sonrası çevreyle barışık diğer uygulamalara yer verilmiştir.