The objective of this study was to provide the basic data related to the tractor such as power ratios and annual use along with the production pattern, type of farms, farm size and their fragmentation, soil properties. In order to meet the above objective a survey study was conducted in 2013 in four provinces of the Aegean region namely Aydın, Denizli, İzmir and Manisa.Using a GPS device, the coordinates of the location of the agricultural lands were also found in order to analyze the data for further evaluation and GeoMedia Professional 6.0 CBS software. The results from the study indicated that the annual use of tractors is about 650 hours and the surveyed land is a typical example and resembles the whole country in terms of average land size and fragmented land structure. The total land owned by 305 farmers was calculated to be 4023.1 ha and each farmer has 7.47 ha land. On the other hand, the average parcel size was found to be 0.86 ha. The distance between the parcels ranged between 0.5-10 km mostly while %12 of the lands was out of this range.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of two different cage systems (enriched and conventional) and low and high stocking densities on performance, egg quality and egg shell microorganisms. In study, two different genotypes were used to native (Atak-S) and foreign (Lohmann) hens occurred of 864 hens used. As the cage system, the battery type was used in the conventional system and the enriched cage type was used in the alternative system. The results indicated that genotype and cage system significantly affected egg production and egg mass in the laying period (18-76 weeks). It was determined that Lohmann genotype and conventional cages had significantly higher egg production and egg mass in this period. It was seen that hens consumed significantly higher feed in enriched cages than in conventional cages, and were significantly better feed conversion ratio in low stocking density compared to high stocking density. The effects of genotype and cages system on the quality characteristics of eggs were found to be significant, and it was determined quality characteristics of Lohmann eggs were better (especially eggshell quality. In addition, it was understood that the internal quality of the eggs in the conventional cages and the external quality characteristics of the eggs in the enriched system were positively affected. The total numbers of microorganisms were determined to be higher on shell of eggs from enriched cages than conventional cages. The total numbers of microorganisms were higher in enriched cage eggs compared to conventional cage eggs. However, stocking density was not a significant effect on the microbial load of the eggshell.

Fermentation is known as a method that improves the nutritional value of foods in addition to preserving them. Various traditionally produced fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha, some cheeses, sausages and pickles have probiotic potential. Hence, consumption of fermented foods plays an important role in modulating of gut microbiota and supplying positive effects on health. With the help of beneficial microorganisms, the intestinal barrier can be improved which induces the activity of the immune cells associated to the gut. In recent years, probiotics have been used in foods in order to produce functional foods that have the potential to improve gastrointestinal health. It is known that intestinal microbiota and probiotics can interact in immune system and these interactions provide positive health effects like reducing risk of hypertension, improving gut microbiota, regulating immune system, preventing diabetes, allergies and diarrhea. In this paper, fermented foods having probiotic potential and the effects of consuming these foods on the immune system are revised.

The need for studies on the nutritional value of plants depends on their composition. The first generation genetically modified Plants (GMPs) have the same composition as their near-isogenic lines. Therefore, they have the same nutritional value, and most of the animal feeding studies have found no significant differences in the production and health parameters of animals that consumed first-generation GMPs in comparison to non-GMPs. Due to the recent production of transgenic plants with specific nutritional properties (second generation GMPs), their use as feed for animals is viewed with skepticism in very many countries. In this critical review, it is concluded that most of these nutritionally improved plants have not shown adverse effects on the performance of various animals compared to their near-isogenic lines and can therefore be considered in the animal feed industry. However, most of the experiments were conducted on laboratory animals. There is a need to conduct them with animals that are mainly consumed by humans, such as ruminants. There is also a need to feed the whole plant to these animals and not just certain parts of the plant to get a clear picture of its overall safety. In addition, there is a need to determine a suitable long-term nutritional and toxicological approach assessment.

Organic Agricultural products are natural food products that are checked and certified by authorized institutions at all stages of cultivation and presented to the consumer. In this study, the knowledge and practices of soil agriculture farmers in Amasya province about Organic Agriculture production were investigated by face-to-face survey method. In the survey, the local producers were asked what Organic Agriculture is in general, their status of producing Organic Agriculture, whether they fulfill the Organic Agriculture requirements for Organic Agriculture production. The obtained data were presented numerically and proportionally. Data were also analyzed with the Decision Tree method using the CART (Classification and Regression Tree) algorithm. According to the findings, although the local farmers declared that they knew what Organic Agriculture was at a high level, it was seen that none of the producers fulfilled the requirements of Organic Agriculture in practice. According to the survey data, while the farmers reported that they received the information about Organic Agriculture from TV-radio and the internet to a large extent (58.5%), a very small percentage (11%) stated that they received training. According to this result, it has been concluded that the local farmers do not have enough information about Organic Agriculture, but the lack of information can be easily eliminated via TV-radio and the internet. As a result, it was concluded that Amasya farmers do not have sufficient information about Organic Agriculture production for now, but if appropriate training is provided, successful Organic Agriculture production output can be achieved.

In this study, the dynamism of forest areas was tried to be determined by determining the ecological differences between the areas where Fagus orientalis Lipsky. (Eastern beech, Fagaceae), a very important species for forestry in Turkey, and the soils of agricultural fields. lime %, total salt %, pH, texture, field capacity %, C%, N%, C/N ratios, 30-day carbon mineralization of the lands of Eastern beech forests and agricultural fields, which are naturally formed in Sivas province Koyulhisar district, under controlled conditions (28°C, 80 humidity %) was determined by the respiration method, and two areas in two different ecosystems were compared. When the carbon mineralizations of eastern beech soils were examined seasonally, it was determined as 19.54>18.23>17.87>17.18 mg C(CO2)/100g DS/30 day in spring>autumn>summer>winter seasons, while it was determined as 14.46>13.87>13.68>13.65 mg C(CO2)/100g DS/30 day in autumn>summer>spring>winter seasons in agricultural soils, respectively. Significant relationships were found between the C%, N%, 30-day carbon mineralization cumulative values and % carbon mineralization rates between both areas.

The management of forests, a source of livelihood in Nigeria, especially in the rural areas has received little attention in recent times. As a result, most of the forest dwellers who depend on these forests for survival are poor and are beginning to diversify their livelihood into off and non-forest activities as a relevant source of income. This study assessed participation in forest management practices, livelihood diversification and, the welfare of forest dwellers in Gambari Forest Reserve, Oyo State, Nigeria. Primary data, collected from 121 respondents using a multistage sampling Procedure were analyzed employing Descriptive Statistics, Logit, Tobit, and Ordinary Least Squares model. The decision to participate in forest management practices was significantly linked to gender, age, and membership in a forest association. Also, participation in forest management practices, gender, age, and credit accessibility significantly influenced livelihood diversification positively while farm size and monthly income had negative effects. The welfare of forest dwellers was found to be positively influenced by being a married indigene, having access to credit, participation in forest management practices, livelihood diversification, and monthly income while age, education, and market distance from homestead negatively affected the welfare of forest dwellers.

In recent years, medicinal and aromatic herbs, which contain variety of antimicrobial compounds and have no risk to human health in terms of antibiotic resistance, are increasingly used as alternatives to antibiotics. In the study, chemical composition, total phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of essential oil and extract of Mentha x piperita L. growing wild in Eskisehir were investigated. Carvone (55.8%), limonene (12.8%), 1.8-cineole (8.7%) and trans-dihydrocarvone (6.4%) were determined as the main constituents of the essential oil, while the major components of the extract were carvone (56.4%), 1.8-cineole (14.1%) and trans-dihydrocarvone (8.4%). The total phenolic contents of essential oil (2204.33 µg GAE/g) were significantly higher than of extract (744 µg GAE/g). The essential oil and the extract were inhibited 84.08% and 42.59% by the DPPH radical, 91.87% and 48.40% by the ABTS radical, respectively. The highest inhibition zone was observed against S. aureus (23 mm). However, minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of the essential oil were ranged between 2.5% and 10% (v/v), while MIC values of the extract were determined as 10% and >10% (v/v). The present study demonstrated that M. piperita could be used in pharmaceutical and food applications as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial substance.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on eating habits, and lifestyles including sleeping and smoking habits, and physical activity of the Turkish population aged >15 years using a web-survey. The survey was conducted from the 5th of August to the 4th of October 2020 by using an online platform and disseminated through institutional and private social networks (Facebook and WhatsApp) and institutional mailing lists. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information, anthropometric data, changes in dietary habits, and changes in lifestyle habits. The total number of participants was 1020 in the study and 71.1% of them are female, and 80% of the participants were in the 20-59 age range. More than half of the participants (67.42%) declared that their eating habits and lifestyles changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the participants (63%) declared that there is no special food that can improve their immunity against the Covid-19. Contrary to them, most of those who added certain foods to their diets or increased the consumption of certain foods to improve the immunity (39.8%), declared that they got that information from social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. In particular smoking habits did not change and sleep hours increased during the Covid-19 period. Concerning physical activity, no significant difference was found between the percentage of people before and during the Covid-19 period.

Syzygium aromaticum commonly known as Clove is considered to be the most precious spice among others, which has been continued to be utilized for centuries for different biological and therapeutic purposes. It is a tropical tree which belongs to the Myrtaceae family and natively originated from Indonesia. However, in current times it is found in a few other places of the world including Brazil. Clove is viewed as perhaps the most extravagant source of phenolic mixes, for example, eugenol, eugenol acetic acid derivatives and so on. These mixtures have incredible potential for restorative, organic and other rural applications. In this review we have tried to figure out some of the important medicinal or therapeutic as well as phytobiotic and agricultural utilizations of the products prepared from Clove. We have tried to give an extra emphasis on the application of clove as a product of herbal contraception however for this purpose dose of the extract (either aqueous or ethanolic) of clove plays the vital role in this case. Although for establishing or making clove products commercially available as a safe product for herbal contraception or other medicinal impacts, more studies are required, and it could open a new era in the field of herbal medicine that would be much safer and feasible.