Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important staple cereal crop which is consumed by more than 50% of world population. It contributes 23% and 50% of total calories consumed by world and Nepalese population respectively. Among various abiotic factors affecting rice, rice blast is the most disastrous, causing 70-80% yield loss. This disease was originated in China around 7000 years ago. In Nepal, it was first reported in Thimi, Bhaktapur in 1966. It is caused by a filamentous ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (Anaemorphic form- Pyricularia oryzae). It infects all the developmental stage of plant and produce symptoms on the leaf, collar, neck, panicle and even in the glumes. It decreases the rice production by an amount, enough to feed 60 million people every year. Cloudy weather, high relative humidity (93-99%), low night temperature (15- 20°C), longer duration of dew is the most favorable condition for the outbreak of disease. The most usual approaches for the management of rice blast diseases are management in nutrient fertilizer and irrigation, application of fungicides and plantation of resistant cultivars. Besides, the use of extracts of C. arabica are reported to have an inhibitory effect on the disease. Seed treatment with Trichoderma viridae @ 5ml/lit of water have also been found effective. The chemical means of controlling blast disease shall be reduced, instead eco-friendly measures like biocontrol agents, resistant varieties, plant extracts can be practiced for disease control. Different forecasting model can be used in order to predict the disease prevalence.

Poor germination and suboptimal seedling growth constitute as prime factors in lowering the achene yield and seed oil content of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), while chemo-priming with micronutrients might serve as a biological viable strategy provided source and dose optimization are performed. A trial was executed to appraise the comparative impact of seed priming with different doses of micronutrients like boron (B) and zinc (Zn) on sunflower germination and seedling growth traits of sunflower. The experiment was comprised of six treatments of B (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.20 ppm) and Zn (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 mM) each, while seed germination, root and seedling growth related traits were taken as experimental variables. The results revealed that all treatments remained ineffective regarding seed germination and seed vigour of sunflower, while B and Zn doses of 0.2 ppm and 12 mM respectively, enhanced seedling emergence rate and vigour. The Zn (8 mM) significantly improved root length along with their fresh and dry weights, while all doses of B imparted antagonistic effects on root attributes. Likewise, Zn (8 mM) remained superior for shoot length, fresh and dry weights, while higher doses of B remained contra-productive for shoot growth of sunflower.

In this context, it is necessary to select and develop salt-tolerant genotypes that can grow in salty soils and have high yields, and formulate strategies which may enhance the plant survival under salinity stress. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an important biological hormone that provides resistance to abiotic stress conditions and can be secreted by plants. Melatonin concentration in plants varies depending on genotype, temperature and growth period. Increase in melatonin concentration is associated with increased SNAT and HIOMAT/ASMT enzyme activity. It plays an important role in gibberellic acid and abscisic acid biosynthesis during the germination and provides plant growth and development. Exogenous application of melatonin significantly alleviates chlorophyll degradation and stomatal closure caused by salt stress, improves photosynthesis and enhances plants' salt tolerance. Besides it significantly reduces the harmful effects of salinity by regulating plant physiology, improving plant morphology, photosynthesis and activities of antioxidant enzymes. The present review discusses the recent studies on the effect of melatonin on plant growth and physiology against salt stress that have important impacts on plant growth and development have been given according to the findings of various researches. It also highlights the mechanim/s of melatonin-induced salinity stress tolerance in plants.

Proper scheduling gave water to the crop at the right time in the right quantity to optimize production and minimize adverse environmental impact. Therefore, the objective of this study is to quantify the effects of irrigation regimes on yield and yield components of Maize in the Lake Tana basin during 2016-2018. CROPWAT 8.0 model was used to determine the crop water requirement. Almost all parameters were adopted the default value of CROPWAT 8.0. Field data including; field capacity (FC), permanent wilting point (PWP), initial soil moisture depletion (%), available water holding capacity (mm/meter), infiltration rates (mm/day), and local climate data were determined in the study area. The treatments were arranged in factorial combinations with five irrigation depths (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% of ETc) and two irrigation intervals (14 and 21 days) laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The result was analyzed using SAS 9 software and significant treatment means separated using least significant difference at 5%. The result showed that the interaction of irrigation depth and irrigation frequency has no significant effect on the average grain yield and water use efficiency of maize. At koga, the highest grain yield (7.3 t ha-1) and water use efficiency (0.9 kg m-3) obtained from 100% ETc. while, at Ribb the highest grain yield (10.97 t ha-1) and water use efficiency (1.9 kg m-3) obtained from 21 days irrigation interval. Therefore, for Koga and similar agro ecologies maize can irrigated with 562 mm net irrigation depth and 21-day irrigation interval and at Rib and similar agro ecologies maize can irrigated with 446.8 mm net irrigation depth and 21- days irrigation interval.

The aim of this study; By examining the development of technology use in agriculture, making comparisons according to countries and discussing the applicability of 4.0 technology in the agricultural sector, the advantages of these technologies to business economy and management are determined. As a matter of fact, the increase in the world population and the need for more resources accordingly keeps the issue of productivity on the agenda. Technological methods are needed to increase productivity in agricultural production. These technological methods; It is known as green agriculture, precision agriculture, digital agriculture, smart agriculture or agriculture 4.0, and with the development of these technologies, a very comprehensive data acquisition process has started and it has come to the point of making business decisions according to the analysis of the data and the results of these. At this point, the most important issue to be discussed is the applicability and affordability of smart agriculture technology. As a matter of fact, the production factors (land, capital, labor and entrepreneurship) owned by agricultural enterprises in Turkey are limited and insufficient according to European standards. Therefore, the compatibility of the technologies to be used according to the enterprises is extremely important, and strategies should be determined in order to prevent the use of idle technology. In this context, for the first time in the study, the technological development was examined by classifying the application areas of Agriculture 4.0 technology and their hardware features. As a result, predictions and suggestions about the future of Agriculture 4.0 or smart agriculture will be prepared and the smart agriculture policy will be presented to the sector and public institutions.

Land use could impact soil properties and processes in varying degrees. Therefore, the impact of different land use systems on soil water status and its relationship with some physiochemical properties was studied at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. The land use types included native forest (NF); Paddock (P); Oil palm plantation (OP); Teak (TK); new yam plot (NY) and yam plot under fallow (YF). Structure and disturbed surface soils (0 - 15 cm) samples were taken at three (3) locations in each land use type. Soil water content (SWC) significantly varied among the different land use types, with oil palm plantation storing the highest amount of water. The results also showed significant differences in soil bulk density, organic carbon, porosity, texture and hydraulic conductivity among the land use types. SWC associated positively and significantly with organic matter, silt content and silt + clay. The association between SWC and pH and silt/clay were positive but weak while particle density, bulk density and sand content showed negative and significant association. The principal component regression (PCR) showed a highly significant, positive relationship between SWC and the principal components of other physicochemical properties. Cluster analysis showed that SWC is highly related and linked to OM, Bd, Pd, Pt and silt/clay. The results implied that conversion to paddock and continuous cultivation led to depletion in soil water, physical and chemical properties, whereas cultivation of tree crops conserved these soil properties better. Therefore, establishment of tree crop and conservative soil management practices are suggested to prevent agricultural lands from degradation in areas with soils under similar conditions.

In this study, powder was obtained from yellow and purple-fleshed potatoes by microwave and hot air drying and the effects of drying methods on the total phenolic compounds, total monomeric anthocyanin, color, antioxidant activity, starch ratio and vitamin C on were determined. It was observed that the microwave drying process caused an increase in bioactive components in purple-colored powder samples, and no significant differences were determined in terms of drying methods in bioactive components in yellow-colored powder samples. When the starch ratio of the samples was examined, it was determined that hot air drying caused a significant increase. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were used as multivariate analysis to reveal the effects of different drying techniques and potato varieties on the physicochemical properties of potato powders. As a result, it was found that the physicochemical properties of potato powders differentiated depending on the methods and varieties.

Yetişkin bir insanın dengeli olarak beslenebilmesi için; bir günde 2800-3000 kalori ve en az 75-80 g protein alması ve alınan bu proteinin de en az 30-35 g’ının hayvansal kökenli olması gerekmektedir. Besin maddeleri karbonhidratlar, proteinler, lipitler, vitaminler ve minerallerden oluşmaktadır. Bütün gıdalar az veya çok bu bileşikleri içerir. Bitkisel kökenli besinlerde bu bileşikler olsa da et, süt, yumurta, bal gibi hayvansal kökenli besinlerde proteince zengin olmasının yanında içerdiği proteinin biyolojik değerliliği de yüksektir. Hayvansal ürünlerin hastalıkların tedavilerine destek olarak kullanılması üzerinde durulduğunda da keçi sütünün öneminin belirtilmesi gerekmektedir. Keçi sütlerinden birçok hastalıkların tedavisinde yararlanıldığı bilinmektedir. Keçi sütü ve keçi sütü ürünlerinin düzenli olarak tüketilmesinin egzema, astım, sindirim rahatsızlıkları, varisle ilgili bazı rahatsızlıklar, virus apseleri ve bazı alerjik durumların tedavisinde yararlı olduğu uygulamalardan alınan olumlu sonuçlarla belirlenmiştir. “Apiterapi “ arı ürünleri ile tedavi yöntemidir ve ülkemizde hızlı bir gelişme göstermektedir. Arıcılık aktivitelerinden elde edilen ürünler; bal, polen, propolis, arı sütü, arı zehiri gibi ürünlerdir. Bu ürünler halk arasında birçok hastalıklarda (uykusuzluk, sindirim sistemi hastalıkları, üst solunum yolu enfeksiyonları, romatizmal, gripal, ortopedik hastalıklar, deri kanseri, ekzema, astım, damar sertliği, mide barsak hastalıkları, romatizmal hastalıklar, böbrek, idrar yolu enfeksiyonları vb.) tedavilere takviye olarak kullanılmaktadır. Bal, propolis, arı sütü mükemmel bir antibakteriyel özelliğe sahiptir. Arı zehirinin antiromatizmal özelliği bulunmakta, polende immünolojik hastalıkların tedavisinde kullanılmaktadır. Hayvansal ürünlerin beslenme ve sağlık açısından önemi de göz ardı edilmemeli ve konuyla ilgili daha fazla çalışmanın yapılması gerekmektedir.

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer applications at different rates on the yield and development of maize plant. The research was carried out in three replications in greenhouse conditions, according to the randomized plot design, in plastic pots with a capacity of three kg. Applications in research; control, conventional fertilization, gypsum (1% and 2% w/w), anhydrite (1% and 2% w/w), calcite (1% and 2% w/w), perlite (1% and 2% w/w), vermicompost (5% and 10% w/w) and animal manure (5% and 10% w/w). Maize was used as the test plant. Maize plant was harvested approximately 60 days after planting and analysis of dry matter production and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese and copper were made. According to the results of the research, the highest dry matter production was determined at 15.4 g pot-1 and 10% of the vermicompost application. This application was followed by conventional fertilizer application (13.64 g pot-1). In addition, vermicompost application in general had higher values in macro and micro element concentrations of maize plant.

Macrofungi have long been used as food and medicinal purposes by humankind. This study aimed to identify a macrofungus sample collected from Niğde, Türkiye in 2019 via molecular techniques and determine the content of total phenolic compounds, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. According to data obtained from the sequence analysis of ITS fragment of rDNA the macrofungus sample was identified as Bjerkandera adusta (Willd.) P. Karst (1880). The sample was extracted with ethanol and methanol. Total phenolic compound content, antioxidant activity via DPPH scavenging method and antimicrobial activity via disc diffusion method of B. adusta was determined by using these extracts. The amount of total phenolic compounds was found as 772.28 µg GAE/mL for a methanolic extract of B. adusta. The ethanol extract of B. adusta showed 79.66% scavenging activity of 0.1 mM DPPH solution. The highest inhibition zone diameter was measured as 28±1 mm against P. aeruginosa by ethanolic extract, while the lowest antimicrobial activity was found in 15 µL methanol extract against S. typhimurium with an inhibition zone diameter of 8.7±1.2 mm.