Food security is one of the major global challenges of the twenty-first century. World population is expected to increase by one-third, between 2009 and 2050, and in Asia, crop yield is estimated to decline by 5 to 30% from 2050 onwards compared to 1990. It is high time to seek alternatives that can increase production utilizing existing resources ensuring food security. A home garden can be a viable and sustainable alternative in this regard; nevertheless, it is often neglected. Thus, this study aims to understand the role of the home garden in maintaining household food security and enhancing rural women’s status in Nepal. Two villages of Bishnupur rural municipality, namely, Bajitpur and Musharniya were selected as study sites. 78.6% of households in Bajitpur and 68.4% households in Musharniya were found to have a home garden where crops and livestock were organized in an integrated way. The home garden was found to maintain household food security, ensure food availability for most of the seasons, access of household members to food, its utilization, and stability in production. Furthermore, 66.67% and 58.33% of women sold surplus home garden products in Bajitpur and Musharniya respectively. This signifies the role of home gardening activities in uplifting the social and economic status and, farming knowledge of rural women in both villages. However, there is a lack of extension facilities and subsidies for the home garden to encourage farmers. Therefore, different models of home gardens should be developed and disseminated, prioritizing the integration of the scientific farming system with traditional knowledge for sustainable adoption of the home garden in Nepal.

In recent years, medicinal and aromatic herbs, which contain variety of antimicrobial compounds and have no risk to human health in terms of antibiotic resistance, are increasingly used as alternatives to antibiotics. In the study, chemical composition, total phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of essential oil and extract of Mentha x piperita L. growing wild in Eskisehir were investigated. Carvone (55.8%), limonene (12.8%), 1.8-cineole (8.7%) and trans-dihydrocarvone (6.4%) were determined as the main constituents of the essential oil, while the major components of the extract were carvone (56.4%), 1.8-cineole (14.1%) and trans-dihydrocarvone (8.4%). The total phenolic contents of essential oil (2204.33 µg GAE/g) were significantly higher than of extract (744 µg GAE/g). The essential oil and the extract were inhibited 84.08% and 42.59% by the DPPH radical, 91.87% and 48.40% by the ABTS radical, respectively. The highest inhibition zone was observed against S. aureus (23 mm). However, minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of the essential oil were ranged between 2.5% and 10% (v/v), while MIC values of the extract were determined as 10% and >10% (v/v). The present study demonstrated that M. piperita could be used in pharmaceutical and food applications as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial substance.

This paper attempts to review the major sorghum production constraints, the progress and perspective on sorghum anthracnose (Colletotrichum sublineolum) resistance breeding. The importance of anthracnose in sorghum production and breeding for resistance status and progress were also primly discovered. Sorghum is an ancient environment resilient crop and believed to be a future crop due to its important merits like tolerant to stresses, wide adaptability and low input requirement. Insects and disease are major biotic impediments to realizing the yield potential of the crop. Anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum sublineolum is the most important disease that severely affecting the crop in all sorghum producing regions of the world. Research results revealed that anthracnose resulted in 30-50% or greater yield losses. Several management strategies such as, cultural, chemical and using resistance varieties have been developed. Employing host-plant resistance is the most economical and environmentally friendly approach which can successfully control the disease. Breeding assisted with molecular markers plays a great role in resistance breeding programme as it makes easy to screen large number of genotypes at once. Recent advancement of molecular breeding and bio-informatics tools are playing a significant role in efficiencies and precisions of resistance breeding. QTLs or genomic area for resistance were identified using traditional molecular markers and recent research results revealed discoveries of specific gene and locus using high throughput markers like SNPs using GWAS approach. The discovery of genes/QTL associated with the resistance trait, using the high through put molecular markers like SNPs, facilitates the easiest way for gene pyramiding from different individual genotypes to a single variety, introgression into adapted elite cultivar through marker assisted and editing genes for elite landraces to develop durable resistance varieties. Transgenic approach is now a day becoming a powerful tool to utilize novel alien genes for crop improvement including anthracnose resistance breeding in sorghum.

This study was conducted on a total of 776 goats (part of Central highland goat breeds of Ethiopia), 306 from Boset district of Oromia region and 470 were from Minjar Shenkora district of Amhara region. A format developed by using food and agriculture organization discerption list was used for recording of morphological traits, bodyweight and linear body measurements. Both qualitative and quantitative traits were recorded from randomly sampled mature goats and the data were analyzed using SAS software. The goat type in the study area was characterized by a higher proportion of plain coat color patterns (62.5). Ingeneral, the majority (98.4%) of the studied goats were horned and characterized by backward orientation (67%) with a straight shape (49.3%). They presented a concave facial profile (73.8%), slop up toward the rump back profile (66.2%), no wattle (99.6%), no toggle (90.7%), no ruff (85.9%) and no beard (57.3%). The location had a significant effect on body weight and some other linear body measurements. Traits like body length, rump length, horn length, head length, head width and shin circumference were significantly higher in Boset district. In contrast, rump width and cannon bone length were significantly lower. The mean body weight of male goats in Boset and Minjar Shenkora district were 30.5±1.05 kg with a range of 16 to 47 and 27.5±0.56 with a range of 13 to 57, respectively. While for female counterpart mean body weights (kg) were 28.4±0.35 with a range of 17 to 45 for Boset and 27.5±0.33 with a range 15 to 57 for Minjar Shenkora district. Heart girth had the highest correlation with body weight in both sexes and shoulder width in Boset male goats. The wider variation in most quantitative measurement traits would open an opportunity for further improvement, conservation and utilization work.

‘Circular economy’ in agriculture centres on the production of agricultural commodities using a minimal amount of external inputs, closing nutrient loops and reducing negative discharges to the environment (in the form of wastes and emissions). This can be achieved through the (re)design of maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. Under the principles of CE, products and materials approaching their end-of-life stage can be regenerated or restored or replaced. Circular agriculture is aimed at closing the loop of materials and substances, and reducing both resource use and discharges into the environment. New measures like environmental taxes, insurance for liability resulting from environmental damage, cap and trade system and environmental labelling can be explored to promote transition of a current linear model to a circular one. The circular economy in Nepal is in infant stage and there is plenty of works to be done in this sector. The results of the paper will be instrumental for the transition of Nepalese agricultural sector to a more circular one.

Gıda güvenliği her tüketiciyi ilgilendiren önemli bir konudur. Gıda güvenliğinin sağlanması açısından gıda ürünlerinin üretim aşamasında alınacak önlemlerin yanı sıra tüketicilerin bilinç seviyesi de ayrıca önem taşımaktadır. Bugüne kadar yapılan çeşitli araştırmalarda, gıda zehirlenmelerinin veya gıdaya bağlı olarak ortaya çıkan çeşitli hastalıkların önemli bir kısmının evde yapılan yanlış gıda uygulamalarından kaynaklandığı belirlenmiştir. Bu araştırmada, gıda mühendisi adaylarının, gıda güvenliği konusunda bilgi seviyelerinin, tutum, yaklaşım ve risk algılarının belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, görüşülen öğrencilerin %74,79’inin alışveriş sırasında ‘’her zaman’’ gıda ürünlerinin son kullanım tarihlerine baktıkları, et ürünleri satış yeri olarak en çok süper marketlere güvendikleri, genetiği değiştirilmiş ürünleri en riskli ürün grubu olarak değerlendirdikleri belirlenmiştir.

Spirulina platensis tek hücreli, fotosentetik bir mikroalg türüdür. Hem insan hem de hayvan tüketimi için protein ve fonksiyonel gıda katkı maddesidir. Yapısında keşfedilen değerli fitonütrientler ve pigmentler sayesinde sağlıklı beslenme, nutrasötik ve farmasötik alanda yoğun ilgi görmüştür. %5-6 toplam lipit oranının, %1,5-2 oranında çoklu doymamış yağ asitleri içeren (PUFAs) Spirulina, toplam PUFAs değerinin %36’sı kadar α-linoleik asit içermektedir. Ayrıca Linoleik Asit, Stearidonik Asit, Eikosapentaenoik Asit, Dodosaheksaenoik Asit, Araşidonik Asit gibi kıymetli yağ asitlerini de içermektedir. Bu çalışmada kahverengi yumurtacı tavuk (ATAK-S) yemlerine ilave edilen Spirulina ununun yumurta sarısı yağ asit kompozisyonu ve yumurta sarısı kolesterol seviyesine etkisi belirlenmiştir. 72 adet benzer canlı ağırlıkta 38 haftalık yumurtacı tavuk, her birinde 18 hayvan bulunacak şekilde 4 gruba rastgele dağıtılmıştır. Bireysel kafes sisteminde barındırılan tavuklar 8 hafta süreyle denemede tutulmuş ve %0 (Kontrol), %0,5, %1, %2 (%KM’ de) Spirulina unu içeren standart yumurtacı tavuk yemleriyle beslenmiştir. Deneme süresince 16:8 saatlik aydınlık:karanlık aydınlatma periyodu uygulanmıştır. Yem ve su ad libitum verilmiştir. Deneme sonucunda kontrol grubu ile kıyaslandığında, muamele grupları yumurta sarısı kolesterol miktarları arasındaki fark istatistiki açıdan önemsiz bulunmuştur. Yağ asidi komposizyonuna ilişkin elde edilen bulgulara göre rasyona ilave edilen Spirulina unu gruplar arasında linolenik asit miktarları üzerine etkili olmuştur.