An experiment was carried out at the ICAR-KVK Research farm, HansRoever Campus, Perambalur, Tamil Nadu, India during the Kharif season (July to October), 2020 to study the effect of agronomic biofortification through integrated nutrient management on hybrid maize (biofortified and non-biofortified). The experiment was laid out in Split Plot Design having 36 treatment combinations of hybrids and nutrients and replicated thrice. The treatment sources consisted of two main plots of maize hybrids (M1: Non-biofortified and M2: biofortified), and six sub-plots of nutrients (S1: 100 % Recommended Dose of Fertilizer RDF through Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, S2: 100 % RDF through Farm Yard Manure, S3: 50% RDF through NPK + 50% RDF through FYM, S4: S1+ Iron and Zinc as foliar application @0.5% conc, S5: S2 + Iron and Zinc as foliar application @0.5% conc, S6: S3 + Iron and Zinc as foliar application @0.5% conc.). The recommended dose of fertilizer was NPK 150:75:75 kg ha-1. Application of 50% RDF through NPK + 50% RDF through FYM with Fe and Zn as foliar application @0.5% conc (S6) at 45 (active vegetative stage) and 90 (grain filling stage) days after sowing, significantly increased all the growth and yield attributes, grain and stover yield, quality attributes and nutrient uptake by maize. Among the nutrient levels, higher grain yield (8.2 t ha-1) and stover yield (10.16 t ha-1), quality attributes, and nutrient uptake were recorded with the application of 50% RDF through NPK + 50% RDF through FYM with Fe and Zn as foliar application @0.5% conc (S6). Similarly, significant net return (INR 78,767) and benefit cost ratio (3.07) were noted with the application of 100% RDF through NPK (S1) followed by 50% RDF through NPK + 50% RDF through FYM with Fe and Zn as foliar application @0.5% conc (S6). Hence, integrated nutrient management with agronomic biofortification @0.5% conc., at 45th and 90th DAS should be adopted to obtain maximum grain yield, net profit, and nutrient uptake by Kharif maize.

In this study; The effects of using urea as top fertilizer and "Nutrisphere-N-Urea" fertilizer, which is a nitrogen stabilizer, on some yield and quality criteria of bread wheat and corn were investigated. Experiments were carried out in the fields of the Eastern Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute according to a randomized block design with four replications. In the wheat trial; control (no fertilizer), conventional-DAP (15 kg/da)+Urea (29 kg/da), DAP (15 kg/da)+Nutrisphere-N-Urea (15 kg/da) and DAP (15 kg/da)+Nutrisphere-N-Urea (29 kg/da) subjects including were studied. In the corn trial; 25 kg DAP/da+without top fertilizer; 25 kg DAP/da+60 kg Urea/da and 25 kg DAP/da+60 kg Nutrisphere-N-Urea/da were the subject of the research. As a result of the observations and analysis of variance, the effect of the use of "Nutrisphere-N-Urea" on yield and yield criteria in wheat, despite the classical top fertilizer (Urea) application, was found to be statistically significant. While the yield per decare was 326.88 kg in the traditional application, it was found to be 388.46 kg when Nutrisphere-N-Urea (15 kg/da) was used. In the corn trial; While the effect of the use of "Nutrisphere-N-Urea" on plant height, first ear height and hectoliter weight was found to be statistically insignificant compared to the control subject, it was seen that it caused statistically significant differences on stem diameter and yield values. The highest yield (1774.31 kg/da) and crude protein (8.95%) and low starch ratio (67.73%) were obtained from the “25 kg DAP/da+60 kg Nutrisphere-N-Urea/da” application.

Structures of agricultural holdings have been changing rapidly in rural areas. While smallholders have been decreasing in number, the number of large farms has been increasing. Youth has been rapidly moving away from agriculture. The agricultural sector has faced an aging problem. The involvement of youth and smallholders in agricultural production is extremely important for food supply security. This study aimed to observe the structural change of agricultural holdings based on the Farmer Registration System (FRS) data. The answers to the following questions were sought. Has the numerical and proportional distribution of enterprises changed according to their size? Has youth been moving away from agriculture? FRS records between 2003-2020 were used in the study. Agricultural holdings were grouped according to their size and the age of farmers. Results were summarized in tables and graphics. There was a decrease in the number and rate of farmers under the age of 40, and a proportional increase in the number of farmers over 65. While the number of agricultural holdings larger than 500 increased 2.5 times, the number and rate of small farms decreased. Migration from the districts and villages in the study area has been observed at rates ranging from 22% to 59% in 20 years. Special measures should be taken for youth and small farms to survive in the agricultural sector. Tools such as tax exemption and social security support can be used. Integrated rural development approaches, including basic services such as education and health, are indispensable for the population to be permanent in rural areas.

In this study, the production technology level of enterprises, meat and meat products, slaughterhouses, and combines; operating in the red meat industry in the TR83 Region and the practical criteria for selecting these technology levels have been determined. Within the scope of the study, the data obtained by face-to-face interviews with the managers of meat and meat products processing enterprises, slaughterhouses, and combines operating in the provinces of Amasya, Çorum, Samsun, and Tokat in the TR83 Region were evaluated. Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) and TOPSIS methods were used to determine the production technology level. In the study, the level of production technology (alternatives) was considered as modern production technology and traditional production technology while the criteria are determined as family business, modern conditions, production capacity, market width, modernization, modern facility, hygiene, and quality. As a result of the study, modern production technology was determined as very important by 85% points with the AHP method and 99% points with the TOPSIS method. It has been concluded that the most essential criteria in determining the level of production technology are quality (0.291), hygiene (0.273), and modern conditions (0.106). The technology level used in production is important in terms of providing sufficient red meat supply and healthy and reliable food production and consumption. Therefore, it has been concluded that encouraging modernization in is this field and allowing enterprises to use modern technology will support production.

In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Lepidium spinosum Ard., which is distributed in many regions of the world, were determined. The aerial parts of the plant were dried, powdered and extracted with ethanol. Total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) of the plant extract were determined using Rel Assay Diagnostics kits. Antimicrobial activities of the plant extract were determined against standard bacterial and fungal strains by agar dilution method. As a result of the studies, the TAS value of the plant extract was determined as 4.550±0.132, the TOS value as 12.610±0.221, and the OSI value as 0.277±0.007. In addition, it has been found to be effective at 25-200 µg/mL against standard bacterial strains and 100-200 µg/mL concentrations against fungal strains. As a result, it was determined that L. spinosum used in our study could be a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial source. In this context, it is thought that natural material may be used in pharmacological designs.

After the COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic, nothing has ever been the same for humankind. The lockdown, travel restrictions, closure of borders, and restriction of the movement of people and materials through quarantine measures applied all over the world to combat the COVID-19 pandemic affected agriculture alongside many sectors. The pandemic has made countries reconsider the issue of self-sufficiency in agriculture and it has been understood once again that agriculture is an indispensable element of human life. Agriculture is generally an input-intensive industry. Plant protection products, fertilizers, seeds, fuel, and labor are among the most important of these inputs. Failure to occur in one or more of these means a decrease in the quality and quantity of the product. Countries that do not want to face such a problem have taken some measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, some have been successful, and some have been insufficient. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to labor shortages in plant production, difficulties in accessing plant protection products, and disruptions in plant protection practices due to lack of labor force, financial problems and equipment shortages. The pandemic has also affected education and research activities. With this review, we tried to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on plant production and plant protection in Turkey and in the world.

The visual perception of landscapes is expressed as seeing the qualities of the landscape. This level of perception varies depending on the socio-cultural and economic structure of the people and the environment in which they live. The fact that the environment in which people live has a variable visual structure also constantly affects their landscape perception. Parks are one of the important urban landscape areas in cities. The existing structure of the parks located in the urban landscape areas affects the visual perception value of these areas on the users. The aim of the research is to evaluate the visual landscape quality value of the parks in the city of Serik in the direction of user opinions. In this context, the photographs of the selected parks within the boundaries of the research area were taken from certain points. The questionnaire form prepared with these photographs was applied to the park users on a voluntary basis. The data obtained from the questionnaire forms were digitized and analyzed. Within the scope of the analysis, the data belonging to the socio-demographic structure of the participants and the answers they gave to the propositions about the parks were determined by descriptive analysis (frequencies and descriptives). Whether there was a statistically significant difference between the sociodemographic structure of the participants and their answers to the propositions was analyzed with parametric tests (independent sample t-test and one-way analysis of variance). At the same time, the relationship between the visual landscape quality assessment criteria of the parks was examined by Pearson Correlation Analysis. The results of the analysis show that the features of the parks due to their planning, design and maintenance affect the visual landscape quality values. In this direction, suggestions have been developed to increase the visual landscape quality value of the parks.

Purple basil is widely used medicinally and aromatically due to its essential oil properties, and it is a plant that stands out with its antibacterial, antimutagenic and antioxidant properties. It has been determined that purple basil has positive effects on health such as appetizing, insomnia, sputum, diuretical and antispasmodic. Purple basil contains high concentrations of anthocyanins and with these properties it stands out as a potential new source of stable red pigments for the food industry. In recent years, it has been seen that purple basil has been processed into different products such as tea and sherbet in order to benefit from its functional properties. With the processing of purple basil into different products, it is seen that the consumption of basil and basil products has increased by consumers. In this study, purple basil sherbet samples were concentrated at different voltage gradient values (14, 17 and 20 V/cm) under atmospheric conditions with ohmic heating up to 25% soluble solid content (SSC) and the changes in their rheological properties during the concentration process was investigated. The changes in the rheological properties of the purple basil samples were determined in the range of 1-148 s-1 shear rate values and measurement temperature was 25°C. The compatibility of different rheological models (Newton, Power-Law and Herschel-Bulkley) to the experimental data was statistically evaluated to determine the flow behavior index of the purple basil sherbet samples. It has been determined that the shear stress values increased as the shear rate values increased in all the process conditions. Similarly, at the same shear rate values, it was determined that the shear stress values increased as the SSC values increased. It has been determined that the best suitable rheological model was Herschel-Bulkley Model for all purple basil sherbet concentrates. It is thought that the results obtained will provide important data to the food and machinery industry for the installation of pilot and industrial scale ohmic heating systems.

High morbidity and mortality rate associated with pneumococcal infection globally is of major concern most especially among infant. This burden is equally worsened by multidrug resistance strains due to indiscriminate consumption of antibiotics. Hence, need for constant search for cheap and effective bioactive compounds as alternative antimicrobials for the treatment of pneumococcal infection. Bioactive compound profiling and in-vitro antibacterial activity of ginger methanol extract against two predominant pneumococcal agents; Streptococcus pneumonia and Haemophilus influenza were investigated. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) was used for the identification and quantification of bioactive compounds in the ginger methanol extract. The antibacterial activity and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extract was determined using Agar well diffusion. Twenty-seven (27) matched bioactive compounds were detected in the sample. Zingerone (17.70%), α-zingiberene (13.30%), (6)-shogaol (10.84%), α-Farnesene (6.26%), β-Funebrene (5.61%), 6-gingerol (5.18%), α-curcumene (4.15%) were the major compounds present. All other identified compounds had less than 4% composition by peak area each. The antibacterial activity of the ginger crude methanol extract against S. pneumonia and H. influenza were 2.33 mm and 9.33 mm. MIC of the extract against the isolates was 10%. In conclusion ginger crude methanol extract contain an array of bioactive compounds and the extract exhibited antibacterial activity against predominant pneumococcal agents. Ginger extract can be harnessed for the production of new antimicrobials to combat pneumococcal infection.

Fruits and vegetables are basic crops of mass consumption for human population to meet their food requirements. Recent advances in medicinal studies have revealed that different parts of fruits and vegetables are loaded with phytochemicals responsible for eliminating the risks of different diseases. Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne) is one of the abundantly grown and consumed vegetable all around the world. Seeds of this vegetables are named as nutritional power houses due to their excellent nutrient profiles. In present study total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity, of pumpkin seeds extracts were determined. Extraction of pumpkin seeds was carried out in a Soxhlet apparatus using ethanol as extraction solvent. TAS and TOS were determined through Rel Assay Kits and free radical scavenging activity was measured through DPPH assay. TAS was found 4.18±0.36 and TOS 14.68±0.42, whereas value of OSI was measured 0.35±0.10. DPPH free radical scavenging activity was observed increasing with increasing the concentration and maximum value 56.10±0.90% was observed at 2 mg/mL concentration. From these results it was concluded that pumpkin seeds could be utilized as natural antioxidant source with potential to reduce oxidative stress and minimizing the risks of certain diseases.