Different brewing methods can lead to changes in the physicochemical properties of green tea. In this study, the physicochemical properties of green tea brewed with different amounts (5, 7.5 and 10 grams) and times (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 minutes) were investigated. Green tea produced by Çaykur was used in the study. Mineral analysis of green tea samples was performed with ICP-OES, and color analysis was performed with Minolta Spectrophotometer. The antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH method and the total phenolic content was determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu method. In terms of mineral content, it was determined highest levels of mineral content (mg/kg) for Al, Ca and Mg (10 g-25 minutes); Fe, Mn and Na (10 g-25 minutes); and B (10 g-50 minutes) as 16.005, 4.099, 24.075, 0.120, 13.855, 1.320 and 0.164, respectively. It was determined lowest levels of mineral content (mg/kg) for Al, Ca, Mg, and Mn (5 g-5 minutes); B and Fe (5 g-10 minutes), and Na (5 g-15 minutes) as 2.756, 1.193, 3.324, 1.23, 0.025, 0.002 and 0.48, respectively. In terms of color, it was determined that the lowest and highest L* values are 39.97 (10 g-45 minutes) -54.23 (5 g-35 minutes), lowest and highest a* values are -2.24 (5 g-5 minutes) (-4.70) (7.5 g-35 minutes) and lowest and highest b* values are 4.91 (5 g-5 minutes)- 23.98 (10 g-60 minutes). The antioxidant activity value (inhibition %) in green tea was found to be the range of 28.51 % (5 g, 45 minutes)- 47.95 (10 g- 40 minutes), and the total phenolic content (mg GAE/mL) was found to be the range of 15.99 (5 g, 5 minutes)- 35.61 (10 g, 15 minutes). The findings determined that green tea brewed with different amounts and times showed statistical differences in terms of color, mineral content, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of biased estimation methods, principal component regression (PC) and ridge regression (RR) methods, according to unbiased the least squares (LS) method, against the multiple linearity problem (multicollinearity) encountered in regression methods. For this purpose to fit a model on account to predict body weight from some body measurements of 32 South Anatolian Red Kilis (SAR) cattle of different ages. R2, RMSE, MSE, and CV were used as the goodness of fit criteria for the performance of the models. According to these criteria respectively, 0.9970, 0.0224, 0.0005, 0.0099 for LS; 0.9970, 0.0224, 0.0005, 0.0099 for PC; and 0.9876, 0.0455, 0.0021, 0.0201 of k=0.02 for RR gave the best fit values. According to these results, LR and PC showed the best fit. But RR and PC techniques from biased prediction techniques provided more consistent, valid, stable, and theoretical expectations than LS technique, since LR did not provide the necessary assumptions.

Promoting the agricultural sector with up-to-date technologies and inputs is convenient to enhance productivity. Production intervention is needed by introducing and adopting proper agronomic practices. Improved agricultural technologies increase production, quality, sustain food security, economic development and natural resource conservation. Koka, Meki and Ziway are known for their vegetable production as well as intensive agrochemicals consumption. Agrochemicals are applied on farm to enhance soil fertility, reduce pathogens, and induce plant growth. Tomato is one of the main commercial cash crops in these areas. Most commercially productive tomato varieties are highly sensitive to disease, vulnerable to nutrient deficiency, and other abiotic stress that requires rigorous agrochemical inputs. Ethiopian tomato production is very low due to various contributing factors including lack of improved varieties, diseases, pests, poor farming system, soil fertility maintenance as well as poor irrigation system. Farmers in the study areas applied inaccurate agrochemicals dose, rate, and application schedule that foster repeated spray. Intense agrochemical application leads to adverse environmental and health impacts due to deposit of toxic chemicals, residue leakage to water bodies and air pollution. It is important to practice proper agricultural inputs, reduce hazardous chemical residues, protect humans, other beneficial organisms and the environment. Moreover, developing IPM technology is recommended for better healthy agricultural production and sustainability.

The study attempted to examine the question whether rural farmers save their income. Rural farmers in Toro Local Government of Bauchi State, Nigeria were used as a case study. The factors that influence saving and investment were also determined. Out of the three districts in the LGA, two villages were purposively selected from each district and twenty farmers were randomly selected to bring the number of villages to six and total number of farmers to one hundred and twenty. This constituted the sample size; they were administered the questionnaires from where data for the study was generated. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The result indicated that contrary to traditional theory of saving where the poor are deemed incapable of saving, the rural farmers do indeed save from their little income. They need to be encouraged in this regard. The regression result showed that age, educational level, farm income, membership of cooperative societies, farming experience and access to credit were significant factors that influence saving. The result also revealed that inadequate income and too many children to carter for were major constraints to saving. To promote saving culture in the area, the capacity of the farmers to save should be enhanced by enabling them adopt birth control, providing them opportunities to work all year round and provision of simple preservation technologies.

It is foreseen that there may be a water crisis in the next years due to global climate change, the need for food with the increasing population and the need for fresh water. Due to the scarcity of freshwater resources and the difficulty in access to quality water, water resources should be used in the most efficient way. Water conservation is of great importance in regions where water is scarce. The water harvesting method, which allows rainwater to be collected, stored and reused could be applied in various ways. In this study, water harvesting methods and techniques aiming to develop a strategy that will provide maximum benefit from rainwater in arid and semi-arid areas are discussed.

The aim of this study was to reveal the effect of whey powder (WP) supplementation on chemical composition, silage fermentation, in vivo digestibility and net energy lactation (NEL) value of high dry matter (DM) alfalfa silage (Haylage). Alfalfa treated with different doses WP (0, 2, and 4%) were ensiled in plastic cans for 60 days. Nine Kıvırcık rams were used to estimated digestibilities of haylages in 3x3 Latin Square design with fifteen days experimental period. According to the results, the addition of WP significantly increased the DM of alfalfa haylage compared to the control whereas decreased ether extract, crude protein and crude ash. But, cell wall fraction rates of all groups were similar. Relative feed value and physical characteristics other than color improved in WP supplemented groups, and lactic acid rates increased in these groups. In terms of silo acids, the best values were found in the group with 4% WP. On the other hand, the addition of WP increased the organic matter digestibility of haylages, however the effect on other in vivo digestibility of crude protein, crude fiber, nitrogen free extract and neutral detergent fiber was insignificant. Moreover, total digestible nutrients (TDN) and NEL values of haylages were found to be improved with the addition of WP. As a result, it was concluded that in order to obtain quality haylage in the ensiling of high DM and long chopped alfalfa, WP generally can be used as an alternative source of carbohydrates and a 4% whey powder dose can be recommended in the production of haylage especially in the sense of improving silage fermentation.

The study assesses the two approaches of feminization: labor and managerial, and explores the implication of feminization in agricultural production in Gorkha and Chitwan district of Nepal. We examine the degree to which men, women or men and women jointly make agriculture-related decisions, and discuss the labor feminization and managerial feminization using five domains of the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), relative to the degree to which women’s decision-making power relates to the feminization of agriculture leading to women empowerment and food security. The results revealed that the average workload for women (86.50 hours/week) was more than that for men (55.52 hours/week). Workload was found significantly affected by the total cultivated area (ha), gender of household head, occupation, number of livestock holdings, number of children, number of elders and household location.All aspects of operational and strategic decision making were dominated by jointly made decisions, except in the case of income utilization where female showed dominance. The implication of feminization in agriculture is reflected by reduction in cropping cycle, lower productivity of cereals and vegetables which led to food insecurity by own production. The income from remittance was observed to be mainly used for consumption purposes to ensure food security. It appears that the feminization of agriculture leads to women playing not only important role in decision-making but also more responsibilities and heavier workloads without necessarily resulting in empowerment and improvement in well-being.

In this study, beta-lactam group antibiotic residues were investigated in raw cow's milk. For this purpose, a total of 86 raw milk samples were used as material. Samples were collected periodically from farms in various outlets and surrounding villages in the province of Sivas. Beta-lactam group antibiotic levels in raw cow's milk were determined by ELISA method with commercial test kit. According to the analysis results, beta-lactam levels were between 0.35-0.70 ng/mL in 64 (74.4%) and between 0.71-3.7 ng/mL in 22 samples (25.6%) determined of 86 raw cow milk samples. The residue levels detected in the samples are in accordance with the legal limits declared by the European Union (EU) commission and Turkish Food Codex Communique.

Due to the emerging needs in parallel with the developing technology and industrialization, the importance of renewable energy sources is increasing with the decrease of usable fossil resources and the ever-increasing need for energy. For this reason, solutions are sought to provide the energy needed in a timely, sufficient, and reliable manner. Wind energy has the greatest potential and usage area among renewable energy sources. The wind, which has advantages such as clean, fast commissioning, reliability, and being independent of fuel, is considered a good example of a clean energy source with these features. In this study, the production potential of electrical energy from wind energy was investigated by using wind data for Sinop province. Wind energy potential on the availability of wind energy systems suitable for its natural structure for Sinop province; Visual Basic 6.0 was determined using the computer package program. In the study, hourly wind data were used and analyzes were made for suitable wind energy systems. In addition, for a possible WPPs, analysis has been made and evaluated considering the current data; The availability of wind energy in Sinop province has been tried to be revealed.

The chemical composition of propolis from Aegean Uşak (Balcıdamı and Kaşbelen), Afyon ( Emirdağ and Dinar), Manisa (Salihli and Kula), Denizli (Merkez and Çivril), Muğla (Milas and Merkez), İzmir (Kemalpaşa and Menemen), Aydın (Söke and Kuşadası) and Kütahya (Hisarcık and Tavşanlı) was studied in order to determine the major compounds by using GC-MS. In this study, 8 % ethanol extract of propolis prepared by mixing 920 ml of 70 % ethanol and 80 g of propolis was used. Chemical analysis of propolis extracts indicated that the propolis samples had high concentrations of the aromatic acids, esters and other derivatives which are responsible for the antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties of propolis such as benzyl cinnamate, methyl cinnamate, caffeic acid, cinnamyl cinnamate and cinnamoylglcine besides the most common compounds as fatty acid, terpenoids, esters, alcohols hydrocarbons and aromatic acids. Also, in this research the antifungal effects of 7 concentrations (6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 ppm) of propolis ethanol extract (PEE) against Fusarium oxysporum was investigated in vitro conditions. Propolis was mixed alone or in combination with potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium at various concentrations. The results indicated that the mycelial growth of the tested fungi decreased with each increase in PEE concentrations. Propolis extract collected from Muğla province showed 77.81% antifungal effect against Fusarium oxysporum at the highest concentration (50 ppm). The lowest antifungal effect (64.52%) against the pathogen was detected in the propolis extract collected from Denizli province.