This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of NK chemical fertilizers in combination with compost on the growth and yield attributes of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). The pot experiment was done in a complete randomized block design possessing eight treatments with four replicates. Fruit weight, pulp weight, seed weight, total soluble solid, leaf area and dry weights of plat parts were taken and fruit yield was calculated. All the collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. The results revealed that there were significant differences in fruit and seed weights, total soluble solid, pulp weight, 100 seed weight, pulp consistency, leaf area and crop residue. In these parameters, higher mean values were recorded in chemical fertilizers (7.5 g N + 6 g K2O + 15 g P2O5 per m2) with compost (2 kg per m2) than those in the chemical fertilizers applied alone (9.0 g N + 8 g K2O + 15 g P2O5 per m2as standard control). Total soluble solid and fruit yield were 5.73 obrix and 3.21 kg/m2 respectively in the chemical fertilizers with compost (7.5 g N + 6 g K2O + 15 g P2O5 +2 kg compost per m2) treated plants and these were statically on par with the standard control which gave 4.36 obrix total soluble solid and 3.05 kg/m2 fruit yield. The result could be concluded that application of chemical fertilizers (7.5 g N + 6 g K2O + 15 g P2O5 per m2) with compost (2 kg per m2) could increase the total soluble solid and fruit yield as well as reduce the usage of chemical fertilizers in tomato cultivation over the standard control in sandy regosol.

The most extensive and effective environmentally controlled production takes place in greenhouses. New innovations and developments for greenhouse production go hand in hand with efforts for sustainability. The greenhouses must be heated to ensure high yields and high quality. However, high heating cost (20%-60%) adversely influences production. Costs Sustainability of greenhouse production can only be maintained with increase of energy efficiency. Use of renewable energy sources in place of fossil fuels is only means to increase energy efficiency. In this work, fossil fuels and geothermal energy used for heating of greenhouses are compared based on production cost and CO2 emissions to atmosphere. The results showed that greenhouse production in Aydın with geothermal energy price of 0.06 ₺/kWh will be very advantageous compared to greenhouse tomato production in Kütahya, which can only compete with that in Antalya. Carbon dioxide emission in plastic greenhouses with double layer PE plastic heat insulation in Kütahya was 199.4 kg/m2 when imported coal was used for heating. The emissions in similar type plastic greenhouses, again heated with coal, in Aydın and Antalya were 74.4 kg/m2 and 55.5 kg/m2, respectively. Greenhouses in geothermal energy rich areas will be very advantageous, based on cost of production and CO2 emission, compared to that in Antalya region if they are heated with geothermal energy.

The commercial production of cultivated-mushroom, which has a forty years of past in Turkey, was started after 1980s. Until the recent decade, most of the total amount of production in Turkey was performed by family members while the cultivation of the product has gained an upward trend since the beginning of 2000s, though the amount and development rate were not enough. During that time, a number of large (>2000 m2) and medium (500-2000 m2) scale mushroom production facilities were established and Turkey has gained an important place in mushroom production in the world. In this study, we aimed to reveal the common production methods of ten medium and large scale mushroom companies whose daily production capacities are above 1 ton in six regions. In this respect, all companies have been visited and communicated directly with company representatives and a survey comprising 65 questions about company, production facility, compost and casing soil, production systems, diseases and pests and packaging was made. The findings have suggested us that such companies have mostly a history of 15 years of time and have a land size of 10-50 thousand m2, while their mushroom production areas vary between in size and that they make use of technology in production and automation in their plants and they have quality management systems (ITU, ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and Global Gap ) and they employ generally qualified and experienced technicians or agriculture engineers and also that 40% of them receive consultancy and also that they use their own productions or standard ready mycelium planted compost and that they use domestic peat as casing material and that they package the mushrooms with their brands and sell to markets mostly and lastly that they conduct pre-sale quality sorting and grading. It was also seen that there is lack of food engineers employed and most of the companies do not receive consultancy, and that the waste compost is not evaluated correctly and that the covering material is not in the required standards and that there are even companies not doing any water analysis and that coal for heating and chemicals for disinfection are used and that diseases and pests are inevitable and last that they lack in processing different products.

Mushroom cultivation in South Korea is increasing fast last decades. Mushroom cultivation of South Korea is 173577 tones and South Korea gains 800 million dollars income annually. Different kind of mushroom species are cultivated and 31% enoki mushroom (Flammulina velutipes), 26% king oyster (Pleurotus eryngii), 26% oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), 13% white buton mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) and 4% rest of the total mushroom Lentinula edodes, Ganoderma lucidum, Phellinus vb. are produced in Korea. 764 ha mushroom growing area was used for mushroom cultivation. 31% of total growing area is oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) and 14% king oyster (Pleurotus eryngii), 6% winter mushroom (Flummulina velutipes), 16% white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), 3% Phellinus, 3% reishii (Ganoderma lucidum) and 27% other mushrooms. Mushroom is consumed frequently in Korea and mushroom consumption per person is 4.2 kg. Growing on log culture (oak mushroom, reishi and Phellinus), growing on shelves (Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus ostreatus) and bottle culture (Flummulina velutipes, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii) are commonly used growing systems.

The main aims of this study were to observe the seasonal variations of physicochemical parameters and heavy metal content, to determine the water quality properties and the suitability level in terms of aquatic life, and also to classify the quality of water in accordance with the Surface Water Quality Management Regulation (SWQMR) criteria at Çiğdem Pond (Kastamonu/Turkey). In total, 21 physicochemical parameters and 7 heavy metals were investigated for water quality assessment of the studied pond between July 2015 and June 2016 in 3 stations. The water quality in Çiğdem Pond was found to be Class I according to SWQMR. The results of this study provide a data baseline for future studies on subsequent evaluations of possible future environmental contamination. Also, to protect the water quality and to ensure the health of aquatic life in this area, it is required to make regular observations.

In cheese-manufacturing process, cutting time greatly affects moisture, yield, and quality of cheese as well as whey fat losses. The objective cutting time determination is extremely important to both the quality and the quantity of cheese being produced. Taking into account the importance of accurate cutting time determination for economic and practical aspects, numerous instrumental techniques have been developed to assess cutting time based on a wide range of mechanical, vibrational, ultrasonic, thermal or optical instrument methods. In this article, information about advanced instrumental methods applied to the analysis of cutting time will be given.

The antimicrobial activity of various plant extracts on Pseudomonas bacteria isolated from spoiled chilled tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) was evaluated in this study. In the first stage of this study, red tilapia was subjected to chilled storage (4°C) for 3 weeks, and spoilage bacteria were isolated and identified from the spoiled fish. Pseudomonas was the dominant bacteria isolated from the spoiled fish and further identification revealed that P. putida, P. fluorescens and Pseudomonas spp. were the main species of this group. In the second stage, methanolic extracts of 15 selected plant species were screened for their antimicrobial activity, by agar disc diffusion method, against the Pseudomonas isolates. Results indicated that most of the extracts had different degrees of activity against the bacterial isolates. The strongest activity was exhibited by bottlebrush flower (Callistemon viminalis) extract. This was followed by extracts from guava bark (Psidium guajava) and henna leaf (Lawsonia inermis). Moderate antimicrobial activities were observed in extracts of clove (Syzygium aromaticum), leaf and peel of tamarind (Tamarindus indica), cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), wild betel leaf (Piper sarmentosum) and fresh thyme (Thymus spp.). Weak or no antimicrobial activity was observed from the remaining extracts. The potential antimicrobial activity shown by some plant extracts in this study could significantly contribute to the fish preservation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the antibacterial activity of plant derived compounds and essential oils of Corymbia citriodora against selected Gram negative and Gram positive foodborne pathogens in broth dilution assay. The combination of compounds (cineole, terpinen-4-ol and α-terpineol; CTαT) were further tested at three different concentrations (0.2, 0.4 and 0.8%) for the killing effect against E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes in milk including whole fat and skim fat. CTαT showed antimicrobial activity against all bacteria tested at minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) from 0.125% to 1% in broth dilution assay. Linalool was also found to be antimicrobial at MICs between 0.25% and 2%, but not for Enterococcus casseliflavus. Further study carried out in milk showed that CTαT at concentrations of 0.4% and 0.8% significantly reduced the population of E. coli O157:H7 under detection limit in skim milk, whereas it was only effective at 0.8% in whole fat milk. CTαT, on the other hand, shown to be less active towards L. monocytogenes as only significant effect was observed at 0.8% in skim milk. Taken together results of the present study indicate that plant derived compounds could be valuable alternatives to inactivate foodborne pathogens in milk.

Pawpaw (Carica papaya Linn) seeds, peels and leaves are well known for their medicinal and potent pharmacological values. The plant belongs to the family Caricaceae and its fruit is commonly known for its food and nutritional values. Though the roots, bark, peel, pulp and the seeds had been shown to have medicinal properties, little is known about their nutritional properties. During the last few years, there had been series of research to explore further pharmacological and medicinal properties as well as it nutritional qualities of these plants parts, thus giving rise to it nutraceutical abilities. Scientific attempts have also been made over the decades to authenticate its nutraceutical properties. While nutritional constituents such as oil, proteins, and minerals haven been characterised from its seeds, little is known about other parts of the plant. Though the nutraceutical properties of papaya as drug or quasi-food product are not well understood or value, still it is an important gift of nature that is readily available in our eco-world and worth exploring. This review focuses on previous studies by various researchers on the medicinal, nutraceutical properties as well as the antioxidant potential of these plant parts and suggestions for further studies as regarding the optimisation of the potential of this plant.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, especially, in Côte d’Ivoire, the wild edible mushroom Termitomyces heimii Natarajan is the most prized and widely consumed for different reasons such as taste, flavour, attractiveness, uses as substitutes for meat or fish and medicinal values. The present study was aimed at evaluating the proximate composition and functional properties of T. heimii flour for further food products formulation. Fresh mushroom T. heimii were obtained from the market of Aboisso (5° 28′ 06″ N and3° 12′ 25″ W) in Côte d’Ivoire. The fresh mushrooms were dried and ground to obtain the crude flour. Chemical composition and functional properties were investigated using standard methods. The chemical composition revealed that it contains crude protein about 23.75%, crude fat 3.58%, moisture 11.59 %, ash 7.40%, total carbohydrate 54.70% and energy value of 345.90 kcal/ 100 g. These results suggest that T. heimii can be used in human diet to prevent undernourishment due to protein. Furthermore, the low fat content suggest that it would be an ideal food for obese persons and useful in preventing hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. The functional properties showed that it has high bulk density and water absorption capacity with values of 0.737 g/mL and 315.15 ± 45.74% respectively. This flour exhibited also good foaming properties. All these characteristics make it suitable as good thickeners in food products, useful in foods such as bakery products which require hydration and attractive for products like cakes or whipping topping where foaming is important. The mushroom T. heimii could be utilized for making some low-fat foodstuffs and snacks with considerable protein content. The mushroom flour shows good functional characteristics for use in many food industries.