The aim of study is to reveal the factors affecting the knowledge sources used by melon farmers in Hatay province, and their attitudes towards input use. In addition, the research also investigated farmers’ attitudes towards plant protection knowledge and support policies. In the study was surveyed with melon farmers. The data were obtained through face to face interviews during the period of Summer-2022. In the study, factor analysis was used to determine farmers’ the factors affecting the knowledge sources. Factors affecting the knowledge sources used by farmers were determined as two-way and one-way communication. The factors affecting the sources that farmers depend on in dose adjustment were determined as internal and external factors. Besides, farmers think that the knowledge sources should be understandable and accessible. On the other hand, farmers think that the sources they depend on should be accurate and reliable. In melon cultivation, chemicals are used excessively to combat diseases and pests. Also, farmers stated that if precautions are not taken while spraying, poisoning may occur. Moreover, it is thought that empty pesticide containers should be destroyed and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides may harm products and the environment. Furthermore, farmers claimed that support policies for melon production were not sufficient. As a result, it has been understood that melon farmers have a good level of education and are conscious individuals. However, it is thought that the training and extension activities will help farmers increase their income and environmental awareness.

In this study, challenges experienced by dairy cattle enterprises in Southwestern Uganda and the factors influencing their profitability were respectively analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression in STATA 15.0 statistical software. Eighteen questions relating to the challenges experienced by dairy producers in the study area were factor analyzed using principal components analysis with varimax rotation. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin’s measure of sampling adequacy was 0.643, above the commonly recommended value of 0.6, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (ꭓ² (153) = 1670.13, P<0.001). Using both the scree plot and eigenvalues greater than 1 to determine the underlying components, the analysis yielded five factors explaining a total of 67.42% of the variance in the data. These factors were investment constraints, productivity constraints, climatic and environmental conditions, veterinary and social security services, and marketing constraints, which explained 21.32%, 13.01%, 11.97%, 11.03%, and 10.097% of the variance after rotation, respectively. The factors hypothesized to influence the profitability of dairy enterprises were; daily milk yield per lactating cow, the prevalence rate of diseases, percentage of lactating cows to those raised on the enterprise, attendance of animal production training, the unit production cost of milk, and enterprise size according to the number of animals raised. Regression analysis results of these factors revealed that the unit production cost of milk, enterprise size, and daily milk yield per lactating cow were statistically significant. The estimated model had an R-squared value of 0.92. The recommendations emphasized in this study were reducing milk production costs, rational use of production resources, adopting improved cattle breeds, improving feeding by supplementing animal diets with concentrate feeds to increase milk yield, and general improvement in dairy herd management practices, including disease control strategies.

This study was conducted to assess variability among linear body measurements (LBMs), deduce components that describe these traits, and investigate the inter-relationship among them. For this purpose, seventeen LBM traits namely heart girth, body-length, wither-height, ear-length, forelimb-length, hindlimb-length, barrel-girth, face-length, hip-width, chest-width, chest-depth, tail-length, neck-length, hump-length, hump-circumference, forehoof-circumference and hindhoof-circumference were measured on 300 (51 males and 249 females) camels. PC factor analysis was used to describe the variation in LBM traits where extracted factors were varimax rotated to enhance interpretability. Pearson’s correlation coefficients among the traits were positive and very highly significant. From the factor analysis, two principal components (PCs) were extracted, which accounted for 63.2% of the total variance. PC1 accounted for 57.0% of the total observed variance and was loaded by EL, BL, FL, HL, FLL, WH, CD, NL, and HC; while PC2 contributed 6.1% of the total observed variance and had its loading on HG, BG, and HW. The results obtained from this study could be useful in designing appropriate husbandry, selection, and breeding programs for utilization of camel genetic resources.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing consumer preferences for UHT milk consumption in Erzurum province. The primary data used in this research was derived from Palandoken, Yakutiye and Aziziye districts of Erzurum province in 2010. The factor analysis was used to find out the factors affecting consumer preferences for UHT milk and to reduce these factors. As for the segmentation of consumers and bringing out the profile of each segment, cluster analysis was used. According to the results, 95.00% of households consumed UHT milk. 18 factors that are affecting the consumption of UHT milk were reduced to five main factors with factor analysis. The factor scores which determined with factor analysis were divided into three clusters by cluster analysis. UHT milk for consumers entering the first cluster has because of homogenous and packaging as well as intrinsic and extrinsic properties for advertising and price advantage is preferred. UHT milk for consumers entering the second cluster has ease of preparation and transportation, and confidential properties are preferred by reason. On the contrary, consumers entering the third cluster prefer to UHT milk for a good diet product.