The farming technique of radical terracing is one of the new agricultural technologies introduced in Rwanda to enhance farming activities in the highland areas. The study was designed to analyze the applicability of the adoption and diffusion model of farm innovation on adopting radical terraces in Rwanda. It adopted a descriptive correlational research design to the farmers owned radical terraces in Nyamagabe District. The purposive sampling technique was applied to select 19 Key Informants and 192 farmers. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, direct observation and documentary sources. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for quantitative data analysis whereas thematic and narratives content analyses were used on qualitative. The research outcomes show that the level of farmers' adoption was medium. Besides, the farmers’ access to agricultural information; and farmers’ participation were found to have a positive influence on the applicability of the adoption-diffusion model on the adoption of radical terraces. The study showed that the adoption of radical terraces in Nyamagabe depended on the compatibility with the existing values and practices among farmers based on the information-contagion model and the social participation model that is widely used in the agricultural context. The study recommended the government continue sensitizing farmers on the importance of adopting radical terraces for better use and maintenance as a modern farming practice. Further research should focus on the applicability of technology characteristics user's context model on the adoption of radical terraces in Rwanda.

Salinity, which is one of the abiotic stress factors, severely restricts plant production as a result of the negative effects of plants in different growth and development periods. Therefore, it is extremely important to determine the tolerance limits of plants to salinity in order to eliminate the limiting effect in terms of plant growth. Flax is an industrial plant that is used for multiple purposes and has commercial importance in the world. This research was carried out in controlled laboratory conditions in 2021 to determine the effects of salinity on the germination of flax seeds. In the study, germination rate, root length, root fresh weight, shoot length and shoot fresh weight were evaluated. The result showed that significant differences between different NaCl solutions for all evaluated characters. Although the highest value was obtained in the control group in Mures variety, the highest value was obtained in 25 nM NaCl concentration in all other characters except for the germination rate in Dakota variety. The highest germination rate of 93.3% was obtained from the control application (0 mM NaCl) in both varieties. On the other hand, there was no germination in both varieties in 200 mM application.

Pestil is one of the important foods traditionally produced in Türkiye, with high energy, vitamin and mineral content. It is obtained by naturally drying the pulp obtained from different kinds of fruits after mixing it with ingredients such as sugar and flour. In regions where the fruiting period depends on the season, fruit pulp is produced in order to benefit from it in winter. In addition, bioactive components originating from the fruit increase the nutritional value. In this study, the physicochemical and antioxidative properties of the pestil obtained from three different Hawthorn fruits (Crataegus meyeri, Crataegus turkestenica and Crataegus orientalis) known to have positive effects on health were investigated. The results revealed that, depending on the fruit type, pestil samples have high antioxidative properties (IC50: 50.11±0.16-52.1±2.14 mg/mL) due to the high phenol content (39.8±0.16-52.95±1.21 mg GA/g DW). In this context, in the present study, it has been seen that the pestil prepared with the traditional method from three different Hawthorn fruits should be industrially produced as a product for people to access healthy and various foods today.

Covid-19 salgını gıda ve hayvancılık sektörünün önemini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Hayvancılık sektöründe üretimin devam etmesi olası gıda krizini önlemiştir. Covid 19 salgını ülkemizde hayvancılık üzerinde bazı etkiler yaratmıştır ve küresel piyasalarla birlikte maliyetlerde artış olmuştur. Ne yazık ki maliyetlerdeki artış halen devam etmekte ve üreticiyi zor duruma sokmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, pandemi sürecinin Türkiye’de hayvancılığı üzerine olan etkileri değerlendirilmiştir. Bu konu ile ilgili ulaşılabilen kaynaklar incelenerek mevcut durum ortaya konulmuştur. Ayrıca, COVID-19 etkeninin özelliği ile hayvan türleri arasındaki farklılıklara ait bilgiler verilmiş ve çiftlik hayvanları sayıları incelenerek büyükbaş, küçükbaş, kanatlı ve arı ürünleri üretimleri incelenmiştir. Bu çalışma, COVID- 19’un hayvancılık sektöründe ve çiftlik hayvanlarında görülen etkileri ile ilgili veriler derlenerek literatüre katkı sağlamak üzere hazırlanmıştır.

In this study, determination of the morphometric parameters and egg fecundity freshwater crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823), measurement and comparing of were aimed in Tatlı and Gıcı Lakes from Bafra Fish Lakes in Samsun, Turkey. The research was carried out between November 2018 and October 2019 by monthly catching of freshwater crayfish using fyke net at determined stations. While 105 of 242 freshwater crayfish from Tatlı Lake were female and 137 were male, 87 of 216 freshwater crayfish from Gıcı Lake were female and 129 were male and the difference between the sexes was not significant. The average total length and average weight of freshwater crayfish from Tatlı Lake were 10.27±0.09 cm and 33.76±0.88 g, respectively. In Gıcı Lake, the average total length and average weight of freshwater crayfish were 10.44±0.41 cm and 37.15±1.91 g, respectively. A strong positive linear relationship was found between length and weight of freshwater crayfish in Tatlı Lake and Gıcı Lake. However, the claw length and claw width of the male freshwater crayfish were greater. The average number of individual eggs, the average total egg weight, the average unit egg weight and the average egg diameter of the sampled egged crayfish in Tatlı Lake were 241.24±11.94, 3.22±0.17 g, 0.013±0.001 g and 2.61±0.02 mm, respectively. These were 245.38±15.87, 3.03±0.19 g, 0.013±0.001 g and 2.73±0.02 mm for sampled egged lobsters in Gıcı Lake, respectively. At the end of the study, it was determined that the environmental and morphometric parameters, egg fecundity of freshwater crayfish in Tatlı and Gıcı Lakes were similar between the lakes.

This study was conducted to determine the associations of some milking traits and milk yield in water buffalo farms located in Bafra district of Samsun province. In total, 37 Anatolian Buffalo farms enrolled to Buffalo Breeders Association (BBA) were evaluated by applying face to face survey on the current milking practices and farm characteristics in February 2020. Number of milking cows (NM), number of workers (NW), age of the milker (AM), experience of the milker (EM), education of the farm owner (EO) and hygiene score of the milking parlor (HM) were evaluated as the farm traits affecting daily milk yield (dMY). Milking type (MT), milking frequency (MF), udder cleaning pre-milking (UC1), udder cleaning post-milking (UC2), giving feed after milking (GF) and milking duration (MD) were selected as the milking practices affecting dMY. It was concluded that dMY was significantly affected by AM, EM, EO and MD.

The storage of spermatozoa and keeping alive for years in the spermatheca by the honey bee queen is a phenomenon allowing her to fertilize eggs throughout her life. In this study, the queens that were 2-week, 1-year, and 2-year-old were analyzed to determine the viability of spermatozoa in their spermathecae. The sister queens reared by the grafting method were instrumentally inseminated with 8 μl fresh semen when they became 6 days old. One week after instrumental insemination, one batch of queens (2-week-old) was dissected for spermatozoa viability test. Another set of queens was introduced into production colonies in Langstroth hives after the onset of oviposition in the mating nuclei. The queens were maintained in production colonies for one year and two years until the dissection process for spermatozoa viability test. The viability of spermatozoa was measured by the dual staining method. We determined that the mean viability of spermatozoa in 2-week, 1-year and 2-year-old queens were 97.3%, 91.1% and 88.1%, respectively. The viability of spermatozoa in queens decreased with age, and the differences between the viability means were significant. However, we did not detect a steep decline in the viability of spermatozoa in queens (6% in one year and 9% in two years) in a wide range of timescale in contrast to previous reports. Furthermore, we found high viability of spermatozoa in the spermathecae of queens at the start of their lives and one- and two-years of age.

This study investigated the reproductive performance, lamb survivability, and growing performance of Morkaraman ewes, the estrus of which was induced by natural and synthetic progesterone and which were inseminated by laparoscopic technique at the end of the mating season (December). In the study, 5 different estrus synchronization methods (CIDR, Crestar, Natural progesterone, Cronolone and MAP), 100 Morkaraman ewes, and lambs born to them were used. After the completion of the estrus synchronization methods, the first sign of estrus was detected earliest in the natural progesterone group (39.53±1.87 hours), and there was a significant difference between the natural progesterone and vaginal sponges containing MAP and Cronolone concerning the time to the first hour of estrus. Estrus rates were found significantly different across the study groups, with the shortest time to estrus having been achieved by MAP. The lambing rates for CIDR, Cronolone, Natural progesterone, MAP, and Crestar groups were 74%, 61%, 56%, 33%, and 10%, respectively. There was no significant difference between the treatment groups concerning birth weight, weight at various periods, and survivability of lambs although a significant difference was found in their weaning weight.

Tea is one of the most important non-alcoholic beverage in the world and has been gaining further popularity as an important ‘health drink’ in view of its inferable medicinal value. In Bangladesh, commercially tea was cultivated since 1854 by establishing first tea garden Malnicherra Tea Estate in Sylhet. From 1947 to 2020, tea growing area, production and per hectare yield were increased 127.71%, 370.53% and 137.96% respectively. The major reasons behind the increasing tea productivity are extension of tea growing areas as well as cultivation of the tea clones (BT clones) released by Bangladesh Tea Research Institute (BTRI). Till now BTRI released 23 clones and 5 biclones, having average per hectare yield of 3461.67 kg. In the world, tea production, consumption and exportation have increased significantly. Unlike world condition, there is a negative relation between tea production and export in Bangladesh. From 1980 to 2020 the quantity of tea exports was decreased by 92.99%. This situation emphasizes the need for exploring alternative means by the tea industries of increasing profits from tea cultivation and tea export. As a result, researches on tea varietal improvement is needed for rapid economic growth and development of tea industry as well as to encourage tea plantation business to go ahead with more production to meet our own demand along with quality tea to flourish tea business in Bangladesh.