Modelling is carried out for eleven major weeds in cucumber to develop estimated models for weed emergence time. Weed species were grouped according to their emergence patterns. Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Heliotropium europaeum, Polygonum aviculare and Solanum nigrum were early emerging, Convolvulus arvensis, Cyperus rotundus, Cynodon dactylon, Portulaca oleracea and Sorghum halepense were season long emerging Tribulus terrestris was the late emerging weed species. Different non-linear growth curves (Chapman-Richard, Weibull, logistic, Gompertz and cubic spline) fitted to the data of cumulative percent emergence for the different species and years. Cubic spline seemed the best model for many species.

Sorghum and millet are important food staples in semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. Sorghum and millet are cereal grains that have prospective to be used as substitute to wheat flour for celiac patients. These are considered as the good source of many important and essential fatty acids. The volatile profiling of these two important crops is comparable to other cereals as well. The present study was an effort to explore biochemical composition of commercially available sorghum and millet varieties with special reference to their fatty acid and volatile profiling. Chemical composition of sorghum and millet was determined according to respective methods. Fatty acid methyl esters were prepared and then subjected to GC-FID for fatty acids analysis. The results indicated that both sorghum and millet oils are rich in essential fatty acids comprising mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Main fatty acids that are identified in current study includes palmitic acid, oleic acid, palmitoleic acid, behenic acid, linoleic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid, myristic acid, etc. On the other hand volatile compounds from sorghum and millet were determined by preparing their respective volatile samples by using calvenger apparatus with suitable volatile extracting solvent. Volatile samples were then subjected to GC-MS analysis and respected results were compared with NIST library. About 30 different volatiles were identified in millet varieties while 35 different compounds were discovered in sorghum varieties belonging to aldehydes, ketones, benzene derivatives, esters, alcohols, sulphur compounds.

In Afghanistan food safety is managed by several ministries including Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and municipalities. There is no food law but multiple ministerial decrees which ensure if GMP is implemented well. There is no legal requirement to get food safety certification. Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) is recognized as a key part of food safety management practice in the global food industry and can be applied at any stage of the food supply chain. This article discusses accepted approaches to the application of HACCP principles for the development, implementation, and maintenance of HACCP plan. It is intended as an introduction to food safety system in Afghanistan, giving propositions to government on how to apply the principles in a stepwise approach, and showing how HACCP benefit public and private sector and also suggesting ways how to adapt this approach in the food businesses.

The present work was conducted in the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Food science department, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Kordofan, in order to evaluate some nontraditional oil seeds these are i.e. Marula (Sclerocarya birrea), Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seeds and Christ’s thorn (Zizyphus spina-christi) seeds. The seeds of the roselle and Christ’s thorn fruits were procured from Elobeid local market, North Kordofan State, while marula fruits were obtained from Elnuhod, West Kordofan State. The proximate composition of the seeds, cake and christ’s thorn pulp was done. Some chemical and physical properties were performed for the extracted oil. The results revealed that proximate composition of the seeds and cake differ statistically among the studied materials. Significant differences were observed among the oil extracted from these species; moreover, these oils differ significantly in color and viscosity only.

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of formic acid on the in vitro methane production and in vitro ruminal fermentation of alfalfa hay. Effect of 0.0 (control group: YF0), 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 ml/L (experimental groups: YF1, YF2, YF3, YF4, and YF5 respectively) formic acid (Amasil85-liquid) addition to rumen fluid on ruminal fermentation parameters of alfalfa hay were determined by using in vitro gas production techniques. Methane production of in vitro incubation increased (to about 20%) with addition of linearly increased formic acid. Linearly increased levels of formic acid addition to rumen fluid has significantly changed the production of in vitro total gas production, metabolic energy (ME) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) at linear, quadratic and cubic. The addition of 0.1 ml/L and 0.2 ml/L formic acid to rumen fluid significantly decreased in vitro total gas production, ME and OMD however addition of 0.3 ml/L and 0.4 ml/L formic acid was not changed in vitro gas production, ME and OMD levels and 0.5 ml/L formic acid was significantly increased all these parameters. Ruminal pH was not changed by addition of formic acid. Formic acid is a safe feed additive because of its properties antibacterial and flavorings and also is used as a fermentation promoter in silage. In this study it has been observed that all doses of formic acid increased in vitro enteric methane production and low doses decreased in vitro total gas production, ME and OMD and high doses have increased all these parameters. High doses have a positive effect on ME and OMD; however formic acid should be used at limited levels in diets due to the negative effect of increasing greenhouse gases. The effect of formic acid addition to the feed raw matter and rations of all livestock would be beneficial to investigate in terms of digestive system parameters and global warming, further in vitro and in vivo studies.

Eight nearly homozygous, horticulturally superior and optimally divergent lines of tomato having Indian and exotic adaptability were used for carrying out half diallel design to study General Combining Ability (GCA) and Specific Combining Ability (SCA) estimates for fruit weight, polar and equatorial diameter, locules fruit-1, pericarp thickness and fruit firmness. The variances due to both GCA and SCA were significant, suggesting that both additive and non additive genetic variance were involved for genetic control of the character fruit polar and equatorial diameter, and locules number in F1 and F2 generations. However, the variance due to GCA was more pronounced for fruit weight, pericarp thickness and firmness as a result of additive gene action. Due to their high general combining ability effects, exotic parents Ec 490130 and Ec 177371 producing firm fruited small to medium sized tomato fruits having constant expression of GCA effects over the generationsregarded as best general combiners. The crosses GT 1 x Ec 490130 and Ec 490130 x Ec 398704 having high x high and high x low combinations, respectively in F1. While in F2, GT 1 x Ec 177371 and H 24 x Ec 490130 having high x high and high x low combining lines were considered as best crosses for greater fruit firmness. Therefore, heterosis breeding in F1 and selection of desirable lines in F2 generation is recommended for further improvements were suggested for future hybridization programmes.

This study was conducted to reveal of future estimation of the dry bean production area, production quantity, export quantity, import quantity and supply-demand balance in Turkey. The data used in the study were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TIS), FAO and the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock records. The Double exponential smoothing method was used to estimate the future data. The data was used in the analysis includes dry bean production areas (ha), quantity of production, export, import and domestic use between 1994 and 2014. In the next five years (2015-2019), it was forecasted that there would be a decrease in the amount of the dry bean production areas, production quantity and export quantity whereas there would be an increase in the amount of the dry bean import quantity and domestic use. At the same time, it was expected that the amount of dry bean domestic supply would be higher than dry bean domestic demand. The reason for this surplus is high import quantity. In other words, it was foreseen that Turkey’s external dependence in dry bean will increase. In order to ensure continuity of production, it should be increase the income of dry bean producers, decrease the dry bean production cost and encourage the production. The policies to prevent domestic prices fall should be developed.

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an annual plant as one of the natural sources for noradrenaline hormone. In this research, hairy root culture of purslane was established by using Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834. In the following, Box-Behnken model of response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize B5 medium for the growth of P. oleracea L. hairy root line. According to the results, modelling and optimization conditions, including sucrose, CaCl2.H2O, H2PO4 and NO3-/NH4+ concentrations on maximum dry weight (0.155 g) and noradrenaline content (0.36 mg.g-1 DW) was predicted. These optimal conditions predicted by RSM were confirmed the enhancement of noradrenaline production as an application potential for production by hairy root cultures.

In this study, the samples were collected seasonally from 9 stations vertically by 57 cm diameter with 200 micron mesh size between 2011-2013. We obtained 23570 eggs/m2, 107 prelarvae/m2 and 8605 larvae/m2 identified 30 species belonging to 19 families. The eggs and larvae of the species Engraulis encrasicolus (21624 eggs/m2, 7169 larvae/m2) were found to be dominant in Izmir Bay. Maximum species diversity were detected in the spring (17 species) and summer (19 species).

Sustainable marketing is a holistic approach that puts equal emphasis on environmental, social equity, and economic concerns in the development of marketing strategies. The purpose of the study is to examine and discuss the sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives practiced throughout the World and Turkey, and to put forth suggestions to further improve the performance of agricultural marketing initiatives in Turkey. Some of the sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives practiced around the world are carried out through civil organizations. Furthermore; some of these initiatives have also launched by farmers, consumers, food processors and retailers. The long-term strategies to increase these initiatives should be determined due to the fact that examples of successful sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives are inadequate and cannot be spread in Turkey. In this context, first of all, the supports provided by the government to improve agricultural marketing systems, such as EU funds for rural development should be compatible with the goals of sustainable marketing. For this purpose, it should be examined whether all proposed projects related to agricultural marketing meet the social, economic, and environmental principles of sustainable marketing. It is important that supporting organizations, especially civil society organisations, should take an active role for faster dissemination and adoption of sustainable agricultural marketing practices in Turkey. These organizations may provide technical assistance in preparing successful project proposals and training to farm groups. In addition, the other organizations, such as local administrations, producers' associations, cooperatives, can contribute to the success of sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives. The use of direct marketing strategies and vertical integration attempts in sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives that will likely be implemented in Turkey is important in terms of the success of the initiatives. It's also essential to bring to the fore the various themes, such as regional delicacies, safe production methods, human and environmental health, regionalism, regional artisanship, and biodiversity to cultivate a successful marketing strategy in promotional activities of sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives.