The red flour beetle is a very important primary insect pest of wheat worldwide. The experiments were performed to check the virulence of Beauveria bassiana and Isaria fumosorosea by insect dipping method on the adults and 2nd instar of Tribolium castaneum. Conidia were taken from 15 days old fungi and subsequently four concentrations i.e., 2×108, 3×108, 4×108 and 5×108 spores/ml of both fungi were prepared in 0.05% Tween 80 solution. Minimum 12.5% and maximum 32.5% mortality of adult insects was recorded on 7th day after the treatment at 2×108 and 5×108 spores/ml concentrations of B. bassiana, respectively while on larval stages, minimum 2.5% on 5th day and maximum 80.0% mortality was observed on 7th day post treatment of B. bassiana, respectively. On the other side, minimum 7.5 and maximum 22.5 mortality percentage was noted on 7th day post application of I. fumosorosea, respectively while on immatures minimum 5% on 6th day and highest 70% mortality was noted on 7th day post infection with 2×108 and 5×108 spores/ml of I. fumosorosea, correspondingly. This study showed the effectiveness of insect pathogenic fungi against the important stored grain insect pest and proved to be a positive management strategy.

Drying method is preferred in agricultural products since it provides advantages in many processes such as increasing the strength of products, transporting and storing. It is necessary to estimate the drying behavior of the products in order to achieve the best drying without reducing the product quality. For this reason, many numerical drying models have been developed to estimate the drying kinetics of the products. Recently, artificial neural networks have been widely used for the development of these models. Artificial neural networks are mathematical models that work in a similar way to natural neuron cells. Radial based artificial neural networks are radial based activation functions in the transition to the hidden layer unlike other networks. In this study, modeling of drying kinetics with radial based networks was investigated. For the experiment, red hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) was dipped in boiled water and microwave pretreatments and, then dried in the oven at 65°C. The absorbable moisture values were calculated during the drying period. The radial based artificial neural network models were trained with the drying time values as input and the absorbable moisture values as output. The study was carried out with two data sets including all data and only the average. In trainings with all data, R value of the best model was calculated as 0.9566. R was calculated as 0.9998 with average data.

Apples, rich in phenolic compounds, are widely grown in abundance and consumed as fruit which reduces the risk of many illnesses. In this study, physico-chemical properties old apple cultivars from east of Turkey were investigated. Identification and quantification of phenolic compounds of freeze dried fresh apple varieties (fruit, pulp and peel) were analysed by using the HPLC method. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of samples was also found in 25.00-11.63 mg GAE/g DW and 49.86-86.12 µmol TE/g DW. The highest antioxidant activity was identified in the peel of the Kara Sakı apple whereas the lowest was identified in the pulp of Ak Sakı. Varieties of apple differ significantly in terms of ferulic acid and hidroxycinnamic acid. (-)-Epicatechin was found in the peel of Kara Sakı apple at the very most and p- coumaric acid was found in the pulp of Kara Sakı at the very least. Hidroxycinnamic acid was identified only in the peel. It is approved to these cultivars show unique long shelf life (unusual for apples) without any storage condition due to the significantly presence of ferulic acid.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of five different wavelengths of light on the comfrey plant (Symphytum officinale) (family Boraginaceae). The light source and wavelengths used in the study were UV-A (390-410 nm), blue (465-485 nm), red (620-630 nm) and cool white (CW) daylight (400-700 nm, 6500 K), LED (Light Emitting Diode). In the study, each of the 5 different light applications was applied for 45 days (T1: 100% blue; T2: 100% red; T3: 60% blue + 35% red + 5% UV-A; T4: 100% CW daylight; T5: 80% CW + 20% red). The experiments were carried out under conditions of 22C temperature, 60% humidity, 16/8 hours light/dark and 180 µmol.m-2.s-1 Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). After each application, measurements were taken of number of leaves, number of roots, height of plant, amount of chlorophyll in leaves, leaf colour and brightness. According to data obtained, the different wavelengths of the coloured light applied in the growing environment created a change in colour and brightness of the leaves, height of the plant, length of the roots, and number of leaves and roots.

It is commonly well-known that biofilms are the predominant mode of bacterial growth, reflected in the clinic observations, where approximately 80% of all bacterial infections are related to biofilms. Bacteria in biofilms are well protected against environmental stresses, antibiotics, disinfectants and the host’s immune system and are usually extremely difficult to eradicate. Due to common problems caused by biofilms, alternative anti-biofilm strategies must be developed. Enterococcus strains are able to form complex surface-associated communities (biofilms), which contribute to its resistance and persistence in both host and non-host environments, and are especially important in food processing and clinical environments. Enterococcus biofilms showed increased antimicrobial resistance to the most of antibiotics as compared to the planktonic bacteria, which make them difficult to combat. There is an increasing evidence that biofilms are often associated with infectious diseases. Novel anti-biofilm strategies must be designed to include natural bio products instead of common antibiotics. Mushrooms are a nutritionally functional foods and a source of pharmaceuticals having functions such as antitumor, immunomodulating, antioxidant, cardiovascular, anti-hypercholesterolemia, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-parasitic, antifungal, detoxification, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic. In addition, they have a notable activity against biofilms. In this study, the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities of some medicinal and edible mushrooms, namely Morchella angusticeps Peck, Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst., Cerioporus squamosus (Huds.) Quél., Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd and Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Singer were screened against multi drug resistant Enterococcus strains. As a result, it was observed that these mushrooms have notable potency to develop alternative medicines to struggle infectious diseases and biofilms.

Propolis is a special resin and wax material collected from the leaves and shells of trees, buds and shoots of plants by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). In recent years, many researchers have studied the chemical composition, biological activity and pharmacological properties of propolis. The colour, odour and pharmacological properties of the propolis composition also vary as the composition changes depending on the plant, region, season and bee colony. Flavonoids, aromatic acids, phenolic acids and esters are the main compounds responsible for the biological activity of propolis. A number of studies have been conducted on the use of propolis or its active ingredients in the treatment of cancer. It has been observed that the use of propolis did not cause side effects according to in-vitro and in-vivo studies. Propolis should be extracted with different compounds for use in biological assays. The most commonly used compounds for extraction are ethanol, methanol, oil and water. A number of studies have been carried out showing the antitumor effect of propolis in cell culture and animal tests. The search for new drugs derived from natural products, which may function as chemotherapeutic agents and have low side effects, has increased in recent years. Combination with antioxidant therapy may improve the side effects of chemotherapy on leukocytes, liver and kidney, thus increasing the effect of chemotherapy with dose increase.

Main goals of the present study were (1) to initially investigate the nutrient contents and bioactive compounds in the bulb and cloves of garlic, and (2) to study the growth parameter after planting. Garlic bulbs were firstly separated into three categories as pickled, big and small, while the big garlic cloves were also classified into three categories as big, small and central. Secondly, the garlic samples were analyzed before planting for their element profile, proline, soluble protein, free amino acid, β-carotene, lycopene, total phenolic, soluble sugars, SOD and α-amylase activities. Finally, the growth parameters were measured using the cultivated cloves and the pickled bulbs. According to the result, the highest soluble protein, N, phenolic, lycopene and α amylase activity (97.06 mg, 2.58%, 971 mg, 0.368 mg and 38.13 EU, respectively) were recorded in the biggest cloves. The highest proline, amino acid, glucose content (93.84 µmol, 23.54 mg, 230.89 mg, respectively) and K, P, S, Mg, Mn, Fe and Zn (21940 ppm, 7577 ppm, 12200 ppm, 504 ppm, 38.1ppm, 377,7ppm and 44.5 ppm, respectively) were found in the pickled bulb. The maximum level of β-carotene (0.282 mg), Ca, Cl and Sr (11260ppm, 818.7ppm and 47.9 ppm) were determined in the small bulbs. Based on the growth parameters of seedlings, the highest value of shoot and root length (39.12 cm and 24.11 cm respectively), the fresh weight of shoot and root (5.29 g and 4.54 g respectively) and dry weight of shoot and root (1.70 g and 1.24 g respectively) were noted with the big cloves. The results of the current study have indicated that the pickled cloves have higher macro and micro nutrients, proline, amino acid and glucose, while the big cloves of garlic have higher proline, phenolic, N%, lycopene and amylase activity. It can be said that the big cloves showed good value for the five bioactive compounds, but the pickled exhibited good value for the macro and micro element and glucose.

Apiculture is one of the agricultural activities carried out widely in our country and in the world. Our society attaches great importance to beekeeping and honey products, especially honey, so bee colony health is very important in the continuity of bee products. There are many factors that can be shown to cause colony loss in bees and one of them is poisoning caused by pesticides. Causes such as improper dosing of pesticides, day-to-day spraying, or potentiation or effect differentiation due to random mixing of drugs may cause collective bee deaths. In this study, 188 dead bee samples (each sample contains approximately 100 g dead bees) from different bee farms, which were collected from beekeepers and brought to Adana Veterinary Control Institute with the suspicion of pesticide poisoning due to intensive deaths, were examined. Qualitative examination was performed by gas chromatography (GC) device. In the examination of dead bee samples, tau-fluvalinate residue was found in 2 samples in 2015 and cypermethrin residue was found in 1 sample in 2016. In 2017 and 2018, no detectable substance was detected in terms of pyrethroid pesticides. In 188 samples which we examined in terms of pyrethroit group pesticides, 1 substance was found to be toxic for bees. This shows, at the samples examined, that pyrethroid pesticides are not involved in bee colony losses in Çukurova.

Studies have shown that many of the synthetic additives which are added to food for different purposes have negative impacts on human health. For this reason, researchers have focused on natural additives that can replace with synthetic ones and positively affect health through their various functions. Biothiols have effects on color, taste and aroma in foods. In addition, they possess various functions in the prevention of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, lung and heart diseases by decreasing oxidative damage with their antioxidant and protective effects. In this review, the studies about thiol contents of food, their functions and the possibilities of using thiols in the food industry instead of synthetic additives have been brought together.

Eggs were coated with propolis in order to determine its effect on egg quality and total bacterial count. Effect of storage time prior to propolis coating was also studied. Eggs were obtained from a local farm, coated with 0, 3, 6 or 9% of propolis and stored at 4 ºC with a humidity of 75% for 30 days. A total of 18 eggs were used for egg quality traits and 6 eggs were chosen for microbial activity for each group. Bacteria were recovered with sterile cotton swabs from egg surfaces. Colonies with different morphology and color were detected. 11 bacterial species were determined following the characterization of 14 isolates. Elevated levels of bacterial counts were detected for daily eggs, which were significantly higher than those stored for 30 days. The quality traits of the daily eggs have also been found higher compared with the other groups. It was observed that coating the eggs with varying concentrations of propolis lead to significant differences in the total bacterial counts of the eggshells. Moreover, the egg quality traits which decreased with the increase in storage time have not been further affected with propolis coating.