In this study, genetic relationship of ISSR markers of seven endemic Inula species distributed in Turkey was carried out. Plant samples were collected from different regions of Turkey in 2013 and gDNA was obtained by DNA isolation from green leaves. Genetic relationship between species was determined using 12 ISSR primers. PCR products were run on agarose gel electrophoresis and visualized under UV light. All gel images were examined and the presence and absence of polymorphic bands were scored as 0 and 1. A total of 85 bands were obtained from the primers. Of these, 74 polymorphic and 11 monomorphic bands were obtained. The total polymorphism rate was found to be approximately 87.05%. The phylogenetic tree and genetic distances between species were calculated using the PAUP 0 4.0b10 analysis program. According to the distance matrix, the genetic distance was found between the closest Inula helenium subsp. orgyalis and Inula helenium subsp. vanensis (0.29851), while the farthest between Inula sarana and Inula macrocephala (0.56000) species. The phylogenetic tree was obtained using the UPGMA algorithm, and the tree consisted of two groups. The results were compared with the morphological, palynological nrDNA and cpDNA results of the past. Our findings supported previous studies.

This study examined the Effects of Economic Partnership Agreements between ECOWAS and the EU on Trade, Revenue and Welfare of Agricultural trade of ECOWAS bloc. The specific objectives of the study were to:(i) estimate the potential trade creation and diversion effects of EPA on agricultural trade of ECOWAS bloc, (ii) estimate the potential revenue effects of EPA on agricultural trade of ECOWAS bloc and (iii) estimate the potential welfare effects of EPA on agricultural trade of ECOWAS bloc. World Integrated Trade Solutions provided access to an online secondary data as classified by United Nations Harmonized system. The result on the potential trade creation and diversion effects of EPA on both trading blocs showed that ECOWAS will gain US$198.9million in trade creation and lose US$58.4 million in Trade Diversion. On the other hand, there will be no trade creation for EU with negligible trade diversion of – US$0.2million. The result showed total potential tariff revenue losses of US$366.4million for ECOWAS bloc post EPA. On the other hand, EU will lose (US$951.8million) its agricultural products post EPA. The result further showed potential welfare gain of US$27.6million for consumers of ECOWAS bloc. On the other hand, there will be welfare gain of the EU at US$243.5million for their consumers post EPA. Among all the recommendations, the study therefore points out that the on-going EPA negotiations between ECOWAS and the EU need not to be hurriedly signed by ECOWAS bloc. Also, ECOWAS needs to strengthen its agricultural production efficiency to be able to compete globally and encourage its individual countries to return to a single digit borrowing interest rate to encourage more investment by local agricultural producers if they want to enjoy the benefits of trade treaties at long run if EPA is eventually signed.

Climate impact mitigation through improved agricultural practices is one means by which agricultural productivity increases to meet the growing food demands in the world. This study evaluated the impacts of climate-smart Practices on rural households’ nutrition security. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected from sample respondents in the 2020/21 production year. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were employed for data analysis. Multinomial logit result indicated that the probability of adopting climate-smart agricultural practices is influenced by the education level of the head, extension contact, livestock holding, membership coop, market information, advice on land management, climate change information, farmers training, climate change perception, and weather road distance. The result from GPS estimation indicated that treatment level two the number of climate-smart practices increases household nutritional status by16%. Likewise, treatment level three and four of the number of climate-smart practices increases the household level nutritional status by 37% and 76% respectively over that of treatment level one of the climate-smart practices and is significant at a 1% statistical probability level. This study has found evidence that the adoption of climate-smart on the households’ nutrition security status. Therefore, the result of this study would be expected to significantly contribute as policy and strategic inputs for policymakers in designing rural livelihood improvement policies and to the beneficiary in enhancing their welfare and living standard.

Agriculture is one of the sectors most affected by climate change, especially through the reduction in the number of rainy days in semi-arid areas, which require deficit supplementary irrigation (DSI) to minimise crop failures. Few studies have utilised soil quality indices (SQIs) to evaluate the quality changes of soils under DSI practices in semi-arid agricultural ecosystems. This paper examines the effects of DSI activities on soil quality in the Ingawa area of Nigeria’s semi-arid region. Plots subjected to different years of DSI (3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15 years) practices were chosen to serve as the controls. Soil samples were collected from each of the nine sites at depths ranging from 0 cm to 20 cm and 25 cm to 40 cm. The collected samples were analysed for physico-chemical properties. Soil quality change was estimated by computing percentage equivalence values that define the extent to which mean values of soils under DSI vary from those of the control. The results obtained show that the practices have caused significant negative changes in the levels of most of the properties considered, with significant deleterious effects on the selected physical and chemical indicators of soil quality to extents that might preclude sustainable agriculture on the soils. Potassium, organic carbon, organic matter, and some other essential nutrients needed for plant growth and soil stability have dropped a lot in irrigated farms compared to control farms, but salinization hasn't happened much. It was suggested that the right steps be taken to prevent the loss of important nutrients that crops need to grow well.

Ageratum conyzoides is a widely spread weed, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions. It has been reported to be used as folk medicine in different countries for treating burns, wounds, skin disorders, headaches, fever, pneumonia, gynecological diseases, leprosy, snakebites, rheumatism, inflammations, stomach ailments like parasites, colic, diarrhea, dysentery, used as a painkiller during childbirth, and many more. It has been reported to contain active secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins, coumarins, essential oils, and flavonoids, which support its medicinal uses in disease treatment and prevention. It can be a potential source of drugs for various diseases. In fact, pharmaceutical companies are being run in Brazil using A. conyzoides as raw material with recommendations from the Brazilian Drug Centre. It is also used for agricultural purposes as manure, insecticide, pesticide, herbicide, nematicide, fodder, etc. In China, it is widely intercropped in the citrus orchard to control pests and weeds. The review attempts to bring together medicinal and agricultural usage of Ageratum conyzoides with scientific evidence to demonstrate its efficacy. This weed has a negative influence in agriculture and the ecosystem but after studying about its potential medical and agricultural uses, we now have a different viewpoint on this weed, and we believe that further harnessing it for such positive uses might be a management strategy for this weed.

High concentrations of chromium in the soil have a toxic effect on the living organisms in the soil ecosystem. If chromium, which is not an absolute essential element, accumulates in plants, it causes structural changes, causing a decrease in plant growth and also high toxicity due to its accumulation in biomass. Use of plants to remove chromium (Cr) from contaminated soils, it is an environmentally efficient, cost-effective, modern, applicable technique. The different species of plant and ornamental plants are used in this technique. In this study, the Kordes shrub rose used in landscaping in our province, Cr phytoremediation capacity was evaluated by growing at contaminated soil with Cr. In the study, the different doses of Cr (0, 50, 100, 500, 1000 mg kg-1) have been applied in Cr+3 and Cr+6 forms. In addition, two doses (0% and 3%) of leonardite were added to the pots to determine the effect on the developmental status of the plants and Cr uptake. In the study, plant height, number of branches, number of flowers, flower diameter, stem diameter, flower yield values and total wet and dry weight values at the end of the experiment were determined. At the end of the experiment, it was observed that generally developmental status of the plants was adversely affected at high Cr doses. Especially at 500 and 1000 mg kg-1 application doses was observed that the plants could not withstand Cr toxicity in a short time. It has been observed that plants treated with leonardite were healthier than those without. According to the data obtained at the end of the study, it was determined that the resistance of plant to high doses of Cr was low, but it showed better growth at 50 and 100 mg kg-1 doses.

The aim of this work is the isolation, identification and evaluation of the antibacterial activity of endophytic fungi from the Algerian medicinal plant Marrubium vulgare L. The isolation of endophytic fungi is carried out by the method of sterilization of surface to eliminate epiphytes then incubation of the fragments treated according to a precise protocol. The identification of the grown isolates allowed us to obtain three fungal strains belonging to three genera: Fusarium, Alternaria and Chaetomium, which are generally of the Deuteromycete phylum. The antibacterial capacity of the fungi was tested against five human pathogenic bacteruim using the agar-fungi disk diffusion method. With an inhibition zone (IZ) spanning from 7.5 to 25 mm, all isolated fungal strains showed antibacterial activity against at least one of the bacteria tested.. However, Fusarium sp has the highest antibacterial activity with an IZ of 19 and 24 mm against S. aureus and B. subtilis, respectively. Finally, our results clearly confirm that the medicinal plant M. vulgare L. presents a reservoir of endophytic fungi, which can be used in various fields, especially pharmaceutical fields.

In this study, it was aimed to optimize the ultrasonic rehydration conditions of dried tomatoes. Rehydration conditions were optimized by Response Surface Method (RSM). The optimization of ultrasonic (37 kHz) rehydration conditions were performed with independent variables at different temperatures (20-80°C), time (2-60 min) and water ratios (1/50-1/100 g/g water), and rehydration ability, color a* (redness) and texture values were selected as responses (dependent variable). The estimated and experimental analysis results were compared in the selection of the optimum rehydration condition. As a result, it was determined that ultrasonic rehydration at 58°C/54 min/72 ml water conditions could be used as the optimum point. At the selected optimum point, the rehydration ability, color a* value and texture values were determined as 2.82±0.16, 13.09 ±1.63 and 0.46±0.13 N, respectively. These results are seen as proof that ultrasound application can be used in the rehydration of dried tomatoes.

Bu çalışma, yetiştirme ortamına kompost ve gübre ilavesinin gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus ex Hooker f.) bitkisinin büyüme ve çiçeklenmesine etkilerini belirmemek amacıyla 2021-2022 yıllarında yürütülmüştür. Yetiştirme ortamına farklı oranlarda kompost (%0- %20 ve %40) ve farklı EC seviyelerine sahip (EC 750 µS/cm – EC 1100 µS/cm ve EC 1450 µS/cm) gübreleme uygulamaları yapılmıştır. Kompost oranlarının bitki gelişimine etkisi incelendiğinde, çiçek sap uzunluğu, çiçek sap kalınlığı, çiçek çapı, dal ağırlığı, SPAD değeri, vazo ömrü, kök uzunluğu, kök yaş ağırlığı, kök kuru ağırlığı ve verim parametrelerinde kompost uygulaması yapılmayan (%0) ortamlarda en iyi sonuçlar elde edilmiştir. Farklı gübreleme düzeylerinin etkisine bakıldığında ise, EC 1100 µS/cm gübreleme seviyesinde, çiçek sap uzunluğu, çiçek çapı, dal ağırlığı, vazo ömrü, kök uzunluğu, kök kuru ağırlığı ve verim parametrelerinde en iyi sonuçlar saptanmıştır. Farklı oranlarda kompost ve gübreleme uygulamalarının kombine edilmesi sonucunda ise, çiçek sap uzunluğu, çiçek sap kalınlığı, çiçek çapı, dal ağırlığı ve vazo ömrü parametrelerinde %0 kompost uygulaması ve EC düzeyinin 750 µS/cm olduğu yetiştirme ortamlarında diğer uygulamalara kıyasla olumlu etki yaptığı görülmüştür. Bitki boyunda %40 kompost uygulaması ve EC düzeyinin 1100 µS/cm, SPAD değerinde ve kök uzunluğunda %0 kompost uygulaması ve EC düzeyinin 1100 µS/cm, kök yaş ağırlığında ise %0 kompost uygulaması ve EC düzeyinin 1450 µS/cm olduğu yetiştirme ortamlarında en iyi sonuçlar elde edilmiştir. İki yıllık veriler kıyaslandığında ise gerbera bitkisinin gelişim özelliği ve uygulamaların da etkisiyle ikinci yılda ve büyüme ve çiçeklenmenin daha iyi olduğu saptanmıştır. Sonuç olarak, gerberada kompost oranının artışı genel itibariyle bitki gelişimini kısıtladığı tespit edilmiştir Gübreleme uygulamalarında ise 1100 µS/cm EC düzeyinin bitki gelişimi açısından diğer uygulamalara kıyasla daha olumlu etki yaptığı görülmüştür.