Bu araştırma; arıtılmış atık su ve stabilize kent çamurunun jipsle birlikte uygulandığı tuzlu sodyumlu bir toprağın farklı ıslanma - kuruma döngüleri altında hidrolik iletkenliğindeki değişimin belirlenmesi amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Araştırma; tam şansa bağlı faktöriyel deneme deseninde, 3 arıtma çamurun dozu (50, 100 ve 150 t/ha), 3 ıslanma kuruma döngüsü (0, 7 ve 14 gün) ve 2 su tipi (temiz su ve arıtılmış atık su) ile 3 tekerrürlü olarak yürütülmüştür. Toprakların hidrolik iletkenlik değerleri sabit seviyeli ICW laboratuvar permeametresi kullanılarak 2, 12 ve 24 saat aralıklarla ölçülmüştür. Toprağın suya doygun olduğu koşullarda, toprakların hidrolik iletkenlik değerleri sabit seviyeli ICW laboratuvar permeametresi kullanılarak, doygun koşullarda farklı sürelerle (2, 12 ve 24 saat) ölçülmüştür. Kullanılan su özelliklerine bağlı olarak hidrolik iletkenlikteki (2 ve 24 saat) değişim önemli bulunmuştur. Uygulanan arıtma çamuru dozu artışı, toprakların hidrolik iletkenlik değerini önemli ölçüde, ölçüm aralığına bağlı olarak ise çok önemli ölçüde etkilemiştir. Kullanılan su tiplerine göre hidrolik iletkenlikteki değişim (2 ve 24 saat) önemli olurken, arıtma çamuru dozu artışıyla toprakların hidrolik iletkenlik içinde ölçüm süresine bağlı olarak önemli ve çok önemli değişimler tespit edilmiştir. Yani stabilize atık çamurunun karıştırılmasıyla normal sulama suyu ve arıtılmış atık su uygulamalarının toprakların hidrolik iletkenlik değerlerinde artışa neden olacağı belirlenmiştir. Sonuçlar; arıtma tesislerin katı ve sıvı atıkların tuzlu sodyumlu topraklara uygulanarak bertarafının atık yönetimi ve çevre koruma açısından katkıları önemli olacaktır.

Broccoli (Brassica oleraceae var. Italica) belongs to the family cruciferae which is mainly used as vegetable at its tender stage. The study was conducted to evaluate the morphological, phenological, head and yield traits of broccoli genotypes at Karma Innovative Research and Development Stations of Kathmandu, Kavre and Kaski district of Nepal from September 2019 to March 2020. The experiment was laid out on Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications at each location. Genotypes, location and interaction between them showed significant variation on almost all parameters. BL-17001, BL-18012 and Centauro genotypes were observed with no lateral heads, which means low yield than other varieties. BL-16003 was observed with maximum yield (1.0 kg/plant at Kathmandu and kavre and 0.9 kg/plant at Kaski) at all locations comparing to other genotypes. Among high-yielding genotypes (BL-16003 and BL-18009) BL-16003 found as early maturing and also had lateral heads so, it can also be used for multi-harvesting. In addition, the height of this genotype was in the lower range with highest number of leaves. Thus, BL-16003 is found as the promising genotype at all localities.

This study was carried out in the central county of Ağrı Province in order to reveal the cattle feeding habits of cattle breeders. For this purpose, data were obtained by conducting a face-to-face survey with 400 dairy cattle owners of the enterprises in the county. According to the results obtained from this study, it was determined that 91.5% of the breeders produced their forage crops. It was also found out that barley, alfalfa, and sainfoin were the most produced plants in these enterprises. However, the production of the corn silage, which is an important source of roughage for dairy cattle, was performed at a very low level (1.2%). Dry hay (93.5%) took first place among the roughage sources used in these enterprises, and it was followed by alfalfa hay (61.5%) and wheat-barley straw (28.0%). Corn silage was used at a low level (7.8%) in the cattle enterprises. It was determined that cattle breeders in the central county of Ağrı province were deficient in terms of some information about cattle feeding practices. It was also demonstrated that it was necessary to increase the usage and production of corn silage as forage crops and to implement rational animal feeding practices in place of the old traditional animal feeding habits. Therefore, cattle breeders in the central county of Ağrı province should be involved in technical training programs about the cattle feeding and forage planting. As result of the courses given to the cattle breeders, their technical information about cattle nutrition and preparation of ration would be updated. For this purpose, it is also recommended that agricultural extension service should be boosted to increase the education level and awareness of the cattle breeders in the rural areas.

In this study conducted to investigate the effect of breeding flock age on the fattening performance and carcass characteristics of broilers, Ross-308 chicks obtained from the eggs of breeding in three different age groups; young (30 weeks old), middle (47 weeks old), and old (59 weeks old) were used. For this purpose, three different treatment groups and three replications in each treatment group were formed depending on the breeder age in the experiment. In the study, 30 chicks in each replication, 90 chicks in each treatment group and 270 chicks in total were used. At the initial and the end of the experiment, the differences observed between the treatment groups in terms of live weight were found to be significant. It was determined that chick live weights per trial increased with increasing flock age (P0.05). As a result, although chicks obtained from old flocks had higher live weight at the beginning of the experiment, the effect of flock age on fattening performance and carcass parameters was eliminated at the end of the experiment and showed similar values with the chicks obtained from medium and young flocks.

During the production of olive oil two types of waste are generated: wastewater and olive pomace. Since these wastes have high biochemical and chemical oxygen needs, they have harmful effects on the environment. However, in addition to these damages, many bioactive compounds in olive are transferred to wastewater and pomace during oil processing. Hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleuropein are bioactive components that are dominantly found in both olive oil wastewater and pomace, and these compounds have many bioactivities that positively affect human health. As a result of scientific studies, it has been proven that hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleuropein compounds exhibit various bioactivities such as antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory effect, cardioprotective effect, neuroprotective effect, chemoprevention properties, antidiabetic effect, antimicrobial and antiviral effect. These wastes are recycled in various sectors such as food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals due to the bioactive components they contain. It has been reported by scientific studies that wastewater and pomace contain phenolic compounds, pectic polysaccharides and fibers. These can be used as natural preservatives, antioxidants, food enrichers, packaging materials in the food industry. In this review, the production methods, chemical and biological properties of olive oil wastewater and pomace and studies investigating the use potential of these wastes in the food sector are compiled.

Information and communication technology (ICT) tools such as radio, television, mobile phone, the internet, computers are gaining momentum in the development discourse of the agriculture sector in Nepal. In agriculture extension, ICT tools fill the void that traditional agriculture extension cannot address. So, this study aimed at assessing the paddy farmers' knowledge, perception, and satisfaction on ICT tools in Jhapa, Kapilbastu, and Kailai districts following a multistage purposive sampling method. A survey research design was used for the study. Pretested semi-structured interview schedule was employed to randomly selected 390 sample respondents. Descriptive statistics along with the appropriately developed scales were used in the data analysis. The findings revealed that respondents were moderately aware (0.44) of the significant roles of ICT tools. Respondents do have more knowledge on the radio (0.87), TV (0.85), and mobile phones (0.76), whereas the majority possess TV (94%), radio (93%), and mobile phones (88%) among ICT tools. Farmers from Bardiya were more aware of the roles of ICT as compared to other study districts. Likewise, Radio and TV were the primary ICT tools used for agriculture-related information. Respondents had high skills in using radio and TV for information but poor skills in using the computer in all study districts. Most of the respondents positively perceived (0.14) ICT tools and were satisfied (0.23) with them, but their use was limited to radio, TV, and mobile phones. In addition, farmers of Kapilbastu districts were less satisfied with the use of ICT tools as compared to other study districts.

Forecasting of vegetable area, production, and productivity of Nepal was made from the historical data of 1977/78 to 2019/20 by using the Box-Jenkins Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models. The best fitted ARIMA models were chosen based on the minimum value of the selection criterion, Akaike information criteria (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC). ARIMA (0, 2, 1) model was found suitable for all areas and production, whereas ARIMA (0, 2, 0) model was best fitted for forecasting vegetable productivity. The model was cross-validated by comparing the point prediction with the actual test series data from 2015/16 to 2019/20. The performances of models were determined from the mean absolute percent error (MAPE) value. The MAPE was found to be 2.70%, 2.40%, and 3.80%, respectively for the prediction of area, production, and productivity. The forecast was made for the immediate five years (2020/21 to 2024/25), and it showed an increasing value for area and production while the forecasts of productivity had lower values. The vegetable production policy in Nepal should be planned following accurate forecasts to increase production in the upcoming years. Awareness among the vegetable growers should be raised in the following years with appropriate extension programs.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationships of udder surface temperature (UST) with milk components, and somatic cell count (SCC) in dairy cows during the hot season. The study was carried out with 115 lactating dairy cows (Holstein, Simmental, and Holstein × Simmental) at a private dairy farm in Samsun, Turkey, with monthly visits. The UST was measured from the udder surface before cleaning and milking. At the same time, a portable cell counter and an automatic milk analyzer were used to determine the components and the SCC of the raw milk. The UST values of the cows changed significantly. Increased UST had an adverse effect on milk solids-non-fat (SNF), protein, lactose, and density levels. LogSCC values of cow groups with UST ≤35.0°C, 35.1-36.0°C, >36.0°C were found to be 4.475±0.0803, 4.774±0.1244, and 4.981±0.1491 respectively. The UST negatively correlated with SNF, protein, lactose, density, and freezing point, but positively correlated with LogSCC. As a result, performing UST measurements before milking may be beneficial to monitor udder health and to obtain high quality milk.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of Trichoderma harzianum on seedling growth and quality as two consecutive experiments during the spring months of 2018. In the first experiment, four different T. harzianum strains and a commercial preparate were used by adding into seed sowing substrate and compared with control group which had no treatment. The most promising strain (strain2), was used with and without foliar fertilizer (20:20:20) and foliar fertilizer itself was considered as control. Emergence period and rate were determined to observe the effects of treatments of germination of seeds. Regarding the seedling growth and quality, seedling length, root length, hypocotyl diameter, leaf thickness, fresh and dry weights of root and shoots, dry matter content, color, chlorophyll index, leaf macro and micro plant nutrient contents and seedling quality index were determined at the planting stage. Data obtained from the first experiment showed that the effects of T. harzianum strains on seedling morphology, physiology and nutrient content were different. Among the tested strains, strain2 showed better performance on seedling length, root and shoot dry matter contents, total fresh weight, chlorophyll, a color value and P, Ca, Mn, Cu and Zn contents of leaves and improved seedling quality. The second experiment result showed that the foliar fertilizer application increased the efficiency of T. harzianum strain2. T. harzianum strain2 without foliar fertilizer remained below the control treament in all measured parameters. When all the data were evaluated together, it was concluded that T. harzianum could be used to increase seedling quality due to its positive effects on seedling biomass, plant nutrition uptake and quality index. Moreover, it can be used in organic seedling production as alternative biostimulant.

The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a severe and most destructive pest of cruciferous vegetables in many parts of the world, including Nepal. The natural history and ecology of the diamondback moth are summarized here, along with appropriate management options. Caterpillar is the most devastating stage of DBM that matures and causes “windowing” damage, leaving only the epidermis. Biological control, cultural practices, effective chemical control, botanical pesticides, and host plant resistance are the most viable options. Insecticide abuse and resistance concerns are likely to persist, as numerous research-based outcomes have proven that none of these measures will suffice independently. However, these techniques can complement each other and result in a better long-term management system when combined. This review highlights the integrated eco-friendly management strategies for DBM and other cruciferous insect pests. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which focuses on sustainable production, has shown promising results. Modern management techniques include genetic modification, use of parasitoids, modified cultural methods, the precautionary application of chemicals, resistant cultivars, fungal, bacterial (Bt. based biopesticides), and viral entomopathogens, etc., which are found to be more effective and eco-friendlier.