Forage variety development for diversified environmental conditions may benefit from the use of genomic-based breeding procedures. In today's conditions, molecular markers are used by researchers in this field to track loci and genome regions in crop breeding studies. Although earlier characterization efforts yielded useful information, morphological traits and RAPD markers have limitations when used together for genetic diversity research. Different combinations of methodologies are required for diversified aims to study different forage species at the genetic level and to connect micro level traitsto macro level traits.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of incorporating hydrosoluble Opuntia ficus indica seeds extract in unpasteurized prickly pear juice and monitoring its stability. For this purpose, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), browning index (BI), total phenolic compounds (TPC), total flavonoids (TF), antiradical activity (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and microbial analysis were monitored for both enriched and controlled juices during different time and temperature storage. Before storage, the enriched juice values were respectively 0.096±0.001%, 14.1±0.01%, 0.756±0.01, 133.3±3.4mgGAE/100ml, 5.58±0.07mgQE/100ml, 95.89±14.27mgGAE/100ml and 59.34±5.52mgGAE/100ml for TA, TSS, BI, TPC, TF, DPPH and FRAP; while  0.16±0%, 14.1 ±0.001%, 1.2±0.01, 88.39±4.2mgGAE/100ml, 3.98±1.003mgQE/100ml, 51.08±14.27 mgGAE/100ml and 50.33±5.16mgGAE/100ml for the control juice. The microbial analysis revealed the absence of microorganisms even the juices were unpasteurized. Moreover, the results revealed that the enrichment attenuated significantly the effect of storage; indeed, the use of the prickly pear seeds extract in combination with the juices can be a good alternative to enhance the shelf life of unpasteurized prickly pear juice, and improve their quality attributes as well as to minimize the unwanted changes in the nutritional and organoleptic properties.

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the recent increase in the frequency of drought conditions and Root-Crown Rot (Fusarium pseudograminearum, Fusarium culmorum) in rainfed wheat growing areas of Central Anatolia. In 2018, the experiment was established in the greenhouse of Konya Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute using 25 registered wheat varieties in a randomised block split-plot experimental design with 4 replications. Irrigation levels (100% field capacity and 50% field capacity) were designed as main plots, inoculation (+ and -) as subplots and varieties as sub-subplots. In the study, the response of the cultivars to inoculation under artificial drought conditions was evaluated by measuring Crown Score (CR), Lesion Length (LL), Number of Diseased Leaves from outside to inside (NDL) and Plant Height (PH) from five plants in each pot. Statistically, the differences between inoculation, irrigation, NDL and LL were found to be significant at P<0.0001 level, while the differences between varieties were found to be significant at P<0.001 level for the CR parameter. On the other hand, when the interactions were evaluated for the NDL parameter, the differences were found to be significant at P<0.0001 level for all three interactions of cultivar*inoculation, cultivar*irrigation and cultivar*inoculation*irrigation. When the effect of reduced water application intended to be used in resistance breeding was evaluated for 25 different varieties under Fusarium culmorum inoculation, there was an increase in CR from 41,7% (Gerek-79) to 487,5% (Altay-2000), NDL from 7,14% (Kirgiz-95) to 200% (Alpu-2001), LL from -36,84% (Karahan-99) to 283,33% (Altay-2000) and in PH reduction from 12,41% (Seval) to 32,22% (Kirgiz-95). The results showed that drought-stressed plants were already weakened and therefore more easily and severely infected by pathogens. According to these results, it has been determined that it is very important for the region to obtain resistance to drought and crown rot diseases, which have such an obvious relationship, in breeding studies.

Sorbitol is an important source of abiotic stress that is used to increase osmolality in cell cultures. It increases the antioxidant enzymes of defense catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the stress state of cells. Sorbitol plays an important role in stimulating these enzymes in cells and increasing phenylalanine ammonium lyase (PAL) activity. The aim of this study was to apply increasing doses of sorbitol elicitor to cell suspension cultures to determine the changes in cell number, viability, dry weight, and camphor content. In vitro plantlets were obtained from plant seeds and stem segments of these plants were used as explant source. Cell cultures were established after callus formation. Then, 0 (control), 5, 25, and 50 g L-1 sorbitol was dissolved in distilled water and cultured. Samples were taken three times in total, starting from day 1 to day 3. The content of camphor was detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Cell number, viability,dry weight, and camphor content increased significantly with increasing doses of sorbitol compared to sampling times. Compared to the initial culture, the amount of camphor increased by 40% at the 5 g L-1 dose, 82% at the 25 g L-1 dose, and 154% at the 50 g L-1 dose. In A. gypsicola cell cultures, increasing doses of sorbitol have clearly demonstrated the secondary metabolite accumulation and its positive effect on cell growth.

Bu çalışmanın amacı Putka Gölü Sulak Alanı’nda (PGSA) yüzey sedimentlerinde PTE konsantrasyonlarının ve muhtemel kaynakların tespit edilmesi, ekolojik risk seviyelerinin belirlenerek gelecekte bu sulak alanın sürdürülebilirliğine katkı sağlanmasıdır. Ayrıca azot, fosfor ve diğer birincil üretim indikatörlerinin konsantrasyonunun ölçülerek organik kirlilik seviyelerinin belirlenmesidir. Çalışma için göl yüzeyinde belirlenen 8 farklı noktadan yüzey sedimenti alınmıştır. Alınan örneklerde çoklu element analizleri, Klorofil Bozunma Ürünleri (CDP), Toplam Organik Karbon (TOC), Toplam Azot (TN), Toplam Fosfor (TP), Biyojenik Silika (BSi) analizleri yapılmıştır. Ekolojik değerlendirmeler için Zenginleşme Faktörü (EF), Jeoakümülasyon İndeksi (Igeo) , Toksik Risk İndeksi (TRI), Modifiye Ekolojik Risk İndeksi (mER), Modifiye Potansiyel Ekolojik risk İndeksi (mPER) indeksleri kullanılmıştır. Değişkenlerin minimum maksimum değerleri şu şekildedir. CDP için 113,37-623,82, TOC için 10,21-29,57, TN için 0,51-0,96, TP için 0,054-0,115, BSi için 0,317-0,90, Cu için 11,70-32,88, Pb için 10,25-21,65, Zn için 44,20-75,90, Ni için 18,40-50,60, Co için 3,20-10,50, Mn için 142-331, Fe için 0,80-2,73 As için 2,30-6,70, Cd için 0,15-0,25, V 15,0-56,0, Cr için 12,40-52,40, Ti için 0,01-0,04, Al için 0,74-3,49, Tl için 0,12-0,35, Hg için 0,03-0,08 bulunmuştur. Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Co, As, V, Ti, Al elementleri için minimum zenginleşme tespit edilmiştir. Ni, Cd, Cr, Tl için orta düzeyde zenginleşme tespit edilirken, Pb ve Hg için ise önemli düzeyde birikim bulunmuştur. Elementlerin bütünleşik ekolojik risk seviyesini ifade eden mPER ortalama değeri 584 bulunmuştur. Çok çeşitli türlere ev sahipliği yapan bu sulak alanın korunması ve sürdürülebilirliğinin sağlanması için gölde izleme çalışmalarının devam ettirilerek ekosistem üzerindeki etkisinin takip edilmesi önerilmektedir.

Plants are exposed to various adverse environmental conditions throughout their growth period. In recent years, drought, which has occurred and necessitated different measures, ranks among these adverse conditions. At the same time, plants synthesize certain biochemical compounds in response to the adverse conditions they will encounter. These compounds not only strengthen the immune system but also provide resistance against various diseases, and they tend to increase under adverse environmental conditions that plants will face during cultivation. This study was conducted to determine the changes in yield and some biochemical components in pickling hot peppers (Capsicum Annuum L.) grown under different water stress conditions. Two different levels of water stress (%70 and %30 irrigation) were applied in addition to full irrigation (%100 irrigation). At the end of the research, while a yield of 269.42 g per plant was obtained in the control group (%100 irrigation), 150.14 g and 93.33 g of pickling hot peppers were harvested in each water stress treatment, respectively. Total phenolic compound levels increased with water stress; it was determined to be 0.827 mg-1g in the trial irrigated with full irrigation water, 1.170 mg-1g in plants exposed to mild water stress, and up to 1.536 mg-1g in the trial subjected to severe water stress. In addition, total flavonoids and antioxidant compound levels also increased with increasing water stress. The amounts of flavonoid compounds obtained from the trial groups were 0.146, 0.373, and 0.412 mg-1g, respectively, while the antioxidant levels determined by the DPPH method increased in quantity with increasing water stress, similar to other biochemical compounds. According to these results, it was determined that the yield of pickling hot peppers decreased in the case of water shortage that the plants would face in cultivation, but there was an increase in some biochemical compounds.

Kefir is a fermented product obtained from goat, sheep and cow milk as a result of lactic acid and ethyl alcohol fermentation. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the possibility of producing an alternative functional kefir product from almond milk. It was enriched with banana and honey to improve its sensory properties. Samples were stored at +4oC for 14 days. The pH and dry matter of samples containing almond milk were lower than those containing cow’s milk. Serum separation increased with the increase of almond milk ratio. The use of banana increased dry matter and viscosity, and decreased serum separation. pH, dry matter and viscosity decreased during storage. The highest L* value was observed in the control kefir produced from 100% cow’s milk, and the lowest in the samples containing honey and banana on the 1st day of storage. It can be said that the addition of honey increases the b* value and the addition of banana decreases the b* value. As almond milk ratio and storage time increased, bacteria counts decreased. The lactococci counts of the samples with banana added (except for the control) were higher than the others. In the samples with banana and honey, a higher increase in yeast count was observed during storage compared to plain kefir (control sample). It can be said that the use of almond milk reduces the general acceptability of kefir. Almond milk can be successfully used in kefir production as a substitute for cow’s milk, if sweeteners, fruit and thickeners are used.

The main focus of this research was to explore the present status of pineapple cultivation in Madhupur tract of Bangladesh. Primary data were collected using a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire by face-to-face interviews from a sample of 300 pineapple growers and two focus group discussions were also carried out from March to May 2022. According to the study findings majority (51%) of the respondents cultivate pineapple in their own land having medium experience (53.3%), followed mixed cropping pattern (89%) where 25.33 percent respondent cultivate banana as companion crop. ‘Calendar’ is the top most cultivated variety of pineapple in Madhupur tract. Majority of the respondent use balanced pesticide and ripening agent due to increasing demand of chemical free farm fresh pineapple among consumers. Higher profit compared to other crops (82.00 %) was the main reason for producing pineapple in the study area. Majority (26.67%) of the respondent followed (Grower- Faria- Bepari- Aratdar- Wholesaler- Retailer- Consumers) channel among the six dominant marketing channels to market their produced pineapple. The results of SWOT analysis revealed that weakness of pineapple cultivation in Madhupur tract have the potential to improve. If the government and other policy making organizations come forward to solve the problems arising in pineapple cultivation, then the position of pineapple as fruit will be consolidated soon in home and abroad.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) insanlarda ve hayvanlarda patojen bir tür olup, dünyadaki gıda kaynaklı zehirlenmelerin en önemli nedenlerinden biridir. Bu çalışmada farklı hayvan türlerine (sığır, koyun, keçi ve tavuk) ait etlerde ve gıdaların temas ettiği yüzeylerden elde edilen örneklerde S. aureus’un koagülaz (coa), clumping faktör (clfA) ve protein A (spa-IgG; spa-X) gibi önemli virülens genlerinin moleküler yöntemlerle karakterize edilmesi amaçlandı. Bu amaçla Sivas ilindeki çeşitli işletmelerden et (n=400) ve yüzey svap (n=50) örnekleri toplandı. Örnekler fenotipik yöntemlerle koagülaz pozitif S. aureus olarak identifiye edildi. Koagülaz pozitif olarak doğrulanan izolatlara ait virülens genleri tekli ve mültipleks Polimeraz Zincir Reaksiyonu (PZR) ile incelendi. Toplamda 450 örneğin 110’unda (%24,4) S. aureus belirlendi. Bu izolatların %29, %24, %14, %32 ve %22 oranlarında sığır, koyun, keçi ve tavuk et örneklerinin yanı sıra yüzey örneklerinde de bulundu. S. aureus izolatlarının tamamında coa, clfA, spa’nın IgG bağlayan bölgesi ve X bölgesini kodlayan genler tespit edildi. Bu dört gen bölgesinin ikisinde polimorfizmler gözlendi. Coa-PZR’da, izolatların tamamında beş farklı moleküler uzunluğa sahip ve 500-1400 bç arasında değişen tek bir bant oluşumu bulundu. spa-X-PZR’da ise izolatların tamamında yedi farklı moleküler uzunluğa sahip ve 190-350 bç arasında değişen tek bir bant oluşumu belirlendi. Sonuç olarak, et ve yüzey orijinli S. aureus izolatlarında coa-PZR ile spa gen polimorfizmleri tespitinin geleneksel yöntemlere karşı iyi bir alternatif olarak kullanılabileceği, dolayısıyla stafilokokal enfeksiyonlara karşı etkili kontrol stratejilerinin geliştirilmesi ve halk sağlığının korunmasına katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

The effect of different organic and inorganic fertilizers had a significant effect on the yield of spring rice. A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of different organic and inorganic fertilizers on the yield of spring rice var Hardinath-1 at Siranchowk rural municipality-4, Gorkha during the spring season of 2021 with four replications and five treatments: T1[Recommended inorganic fertilizer Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium (@100:30:30 kg/ha)], T2[75% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 25% recommended organic fertilizer: i.e. (Farm Yard Manure (6 ton /ha)], T3(50% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 50% recommended organic fertilizer), T4(25% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 75% recommended organic fertilizer ), and T5 (Recommended organic fertilizer) using simple Randomized Complete Block Design with 3*3 m of individual plot size. A biometrical observation like plant height (95.33 cm), and the number of tillers (340.75/ m2) were found significantly highest on T2. Similarly, yield attributing characteristics like the number of effective tillers (315.75/m2), several filled grains per panicle (150.25), and highest panicle length (25.06 cm) were also significantly highest on T2. The highest grain yield (8.27 ton/ha), straw yield (12.14 ton/ha), and harvest index (0.40) were also observed on T2. Total net return was found highest on T2: 287330 Nepalese Rupees(NPR) incurring the cost of fertilizer Rs NPR 18940 per hectare returning the gross return of NPR 268390 per hectare. In conclusion, T2 was the best combination of other biofertilizer combinations. So, the spring rice productivity can be enhanced via the adoption of 75% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 25% recommended organic fertilizer in fertilizer management practice at Chorkate, Gorkha.