Agroforestry is a system that combines household and community level food production ecosystem services along with income security. It has potential of carbon sequestration and puts a positive impact on balancing greenhouse gases. The research was carried out to assess the variability of carbon stock under the agro-forestry systems in Churiya range at Rakshirang Rural Municipality of Makwanpur district of Nepal. Thirty households were sampled for this study; ten households from each of three different systems namely, Agrisilviculture, Silvopasture and Homegarden for data collection. Simple random sampling was used for the sample plot selection from the selected agroforestry systems for biomass and soil carbon estimation. Each system consisted of ten sample plots. Diameter and height of all trees with diameter at breast height greater than 10 cm were measured. The diameters of the trees were measured at standard height, i.e., diameter at breast height. Above ground biomass, below ground biomass and soil organic carbon were summed to determine the total carbon stock in the agroforestry systems. Collected data were analyzed through tabular analysis, and volume and biomass estimation of the trees. Total carbon stock was found higher in Silvopasture system (32.41t/ha), 28.58 t/ha in Agrisilviculture system and 30.71 t/ha in Homegarden system. Results have shown the potentiality of agroforestry systems for carbon sequestration. Such systems need to be promoted for their efforts by encouraging them with some subsidized input support, financial support or some capacity building trainings by the government.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture is vital for enhancing food security in rapidly growing cities by bridging the food production gap between urban and rural areas. This study employed a snowball sampling technique to gather data from urban farmers in Mogadishu to assess the constraints and opportunities for growing horticultural crops in the city. Utilizing this sampling method, the research identifies key challenges and motivating factors for urban horticulture. Findings indicate that temperature, wind, pest and disease outbreaks, and limited irrigation water significantly restrict production. Farmers using greenhouses experience fewer obstacles due to enhanced protection from environmental factors, improving crop quality. In contrast, those farming in open fields struggle with high irrigation demands, pest infestations, and low-quality yields unattractive to buyers. Leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) and whiteflies are the most prevalent insect populations, sometimes requiring the removal of infested plants to control their spread. The study also observed that urban farmers use two conventional protected farming types, plastic greenhouses and net houses with steel frames, in which plastic greenhouses face issues such as inadequate gutter height and poor ventilation. To combat extreme temperatures, farmers employ primitive methods such as fogging, applying lime solutions, and adjusting greenhouse openings. Additionally, factors like increased market availability, the rise of supermarkets and hotels, rural displacement, diaspora return, and drought-induced vegetable scarcity in rural areas have motivated urban residents in Mogadishu to pursue farming within and around the city.

Environmental factors such as drought, resulting from global climate change, have increasingly limited productivity in melon cultivation in recent years. Turkiye's geographical location and rich genetic diversity make it highly probable that drought-tolerant genetic material exists within this diversity. In this study, 192 melon genotypes were used, sourced from the cucurbit genetic resource collection of the Department of Horticulture at Çukurova University, which includes materials from various regions of Turkiye and around the world. In the pre-screening screening phase conducted in the first year of the research, 192 genotypes were grown under drought stress conditions created using 5% PEG 6000 for two months. Parameters such as stem length, stem dry weight, root dry weight, number of leaf, and a 0-5 scale were evaluated in the green parts and roots of the plants. A general decrease was observed in all parameters except root dry weight, where a 3% increase was noted in the average of the genotypes. In the special screening phase of the study, 15 genotypes selected based on the initial screening results were subjected to a second stress test under hydroponic conditions in a climate-controlled plant growth chamber using 8% PEG 6000, parameters such as visual scale evaluation (0-5), stem fresh and dry weight, root fresh and dry weight, stem and root length, number of leaf, leaf relative water content, relative water content, and electrolyte leakage were examined. All parameters showed varying degrees of reduction in the drought-stressed genotypes compared to the control groups, except for percentage change values. An increase in electrolyte leakage was observed compared to the control. As a result of the two different screenings, the drought tolerance levels of the melon genotypes were determined. Genotype Kav-248 was identified as the most drought-tolerant, while Kav-20 was found to be the most sensitive.

In this study, the freshness levels of boiled chicken eggs were determined using an electronic nose and machine learning techniques. Eggs were boiled and stored under refrigerator conditions (3±1ºC) from day 0 to day 6. Each storage day, eggs were divided into two groups based on cooling methods: quick-cooled and fast-cooled. Sensor readings were taken using an electronic nose, and image changes from 110 daily image files were processed with a machine learning program. With 85% of the image data used for training and 15% for testing, a classification accuracy of over 98% was achieved. The results showed that egg white solidified in more than 4 minutes and yolk solidified in 11 minutes. Fast-cooled eggs exhibited significantly lower odor levels, indicating superior freshness. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of electronic nose and machine learning systems in accurately determining the freshness of boiled eggs.

This study aimed to determine the tachinid parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) associated with different hemipteran hosts in Bolu and Düzce provinces in the Western Black Sea region of Türkiye in the period from 2022 to 2024. For this purpose, samples of Hemiptera were collected from various weeds, shrubs and cultivated plants. These specimens were brought to the laboratory and cultivated on the corresponding host plant material at 25 ± 2 °C and 60-70% RH. In this study, three different parasitoid species of tachinids were identified on three different hemipteran hosts. Of these, Graphosoma lineatum Linnaeus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a new host record for Ectophasia crassipennis (Fabricius, 1794) and Gymnosoma clavata (Rohdendorf, 1947) (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Türkiye. In addition, information on the hosts of the parasitoids parasitoids in Türkiye is presented.

The aim of this study was to investigate the growth of C. sporogenes in model white cheese stored under cold conditions (4°C) and in vacuum packaging and its effect on quality parameters. For this purpose, two different cheeses were produced, contaminated (CMBP) and not (MBP) with C. sporogenes 73 and C. sporogenes 97 strains, and physicochemical, microbiological and volatile component analyses were performed every 15 days during the 60-day storage period of the cheeses. No significant difference was detected in dry matter (%), fat in dry matter (%), and protein (%) contents of cheeses during storage. As an important finding, C. sporogenes did not affect the acidity values (pH and % acidity). The pH and % acidity values of the cheeses were found to be 4.79±0.03 – 4.98±0.05 and 2.04±0.06 – 2.16±0.06, respectively. When the microbiological results were examined, the total mesophilic aerobic bacteria (TMAB), lactococci and lactobacilli counts of the cheeses decreased during storage, while the yeast-mold counts did not change. There was no change in CMBP cheese with an initial C. sporogenes spore count of 4.62±0.11 during storage. When the color parameters of the cheeses were examined, a difference was detected in the L* value and was lower in CMBP. At the end of storage, there was no change in the a* values of the cheeses, while the b* values decreased. It was determined that there were differences in the aromatic compounds of the cheeses and while the contents of acetic acid, butyric acid and acetoin, which are LBD indicators, were found to be 32.34%, 17.17% and 17.82% in CMBP cheese, butyric acid was not detected in MBP cheese. The results showed that C. sporogenes survived for a long time in white cheeses stored at pH values below 5 and at low temperatures and could cause the LBD on its own.

Marketing information enhances farmer’s decision to increase production and productivity of agricultural commodities. This paper examines farmers’ perspectives on agricultural marketing information in developing countries, with a case study focusing on three districts in Tanzania. Data were obtained from a survey conducted on 291 maize farmers in the three districts namely Arusha (103 farmers), Njombe (100 farmers) and Kongwa (88 farmers), selected from three regions in Tanzania Mainland. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the percentage distributions of the farmers based on socio-economic characteristics and Likert scale ratings of the farmers’ levels of agreement with the debriefing questions constructed to evaluate their perceptions. The analysis of the socio-economic variables of the farmers suggests male dominance in maize farming, predominant youthful farming demographics, predominantly large household Size, and predominance of low-level educational backgrounds among maize farmers in the study areas. The results of the socio-economic characteristics underscore the importance of targeted policies to support maize farmers, focusing on education, youth engagement, and household resource management. The overall result of farmers’ perceptions of agricultural marketing information indicates a widespread agreement across districts highlighting the shared challenges and priorities among maize farmers in Tanzania, particularly indicating that farmers recognize the benefits of agricultural services and understand the importance of communication infrastructure for economic development. The study thus, recommends establishment of local marketing information centers to reduce costs and time associated with gathering market information, enhancement of digital literacy to train farmers, and collaboration with critical stakeholders; such as government, private sector, and non-profits organizations to fund and sustain marketing information infrastructure for farmers. Investments in communication and marketing infrastructure will bridge information gaps, enhance market access, and ultimately drive economic development among maize farmers. This structured approach will not only improve maize farmers’ productivity but also contribute to broader rural development goals.

Araştırmada farklı illerdeki topraklardan izole edilmiş bakterilerin kadmiyum (Cd) ile kirletilmiş topraklarda yetiştirilen mısır bitkisinin gelişimi ve besin elementi alımına etkilerini belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Sera koşullarında yürütülen çalışmada 3 kg kapasiteli saksılar kullanılmış ve tesadüf parselleri deneme desenine göre üç yinelemeli olarak saksı denemesi yürütülmüştür. Araştırmada Ordu (B1), Hatay (B2), Sivas (B3), Adana (B4), Isparta (B5) ve Antalya (B6) illerinden izole edilmiş bakteriler kullanılmıştır. Kadmiyum uygulamaları 0 mg Cd kg-1 ve 5 mg Cd kg-1 olarak uygulanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları, bakteri uygulamalarının mısır bitkisinin kuru madde üretimini arttırdığını ve en yüksek kuru madde üretiminin 57,6 g saksı-1 ile Cd0 uygulamasında B2 aşılamasında olduğunu göstermiştir. Araştırmada hem Cd0 hem de Cd5 uygulamasında bütün bakteri aşılamaları kontrole oranla bitkinin kuru madde üretimini arttırmıştır. Aynı durum azot (N) konsantrasyonu için de geçerlidir. Araştırmada ortalama değerler incelendiğinde, fosfor (P), kalsiyum (Ca), demir (Fe), bakır (Cu), mangan (Mn) ve çinko (Zn) konsantrasyonları özellikle Cd ile kirletilmiş topraklarda bakteri aşılaması ile bitkide artmıştır. Bu durum, Cd ile kirlenmiş topraklarda bakteri aşılaması ile bitki yetiştirmenin önemli bir strateji olabileceğini düşündürmektedir.

This study aimed to determine the effects of the addition of different doses of Lactobacillus brevis to oat silage on the physical and chemical properties, aerobic stability, in vitro organic matter digestibility, and energy value of the silage.  In the study, the treatment groups were oat control (OC), 1x106 (Lb6), 1x108 (Lb8) and 1x109 cfu/kg dry matter (Lb9) L. brevis inoculated oats. Inoculation of L. brevis into oat silage increased the number of lactic acid bacteria and decreased the pH of the silage at the time of opening. This inoculation decreased the organic matter, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents of the silages at opening compared to those of OC, while increasing the dry matter and crude protein contents. The L. brevis inoculation into oat silage decreased the pH values and yeast counts on the fifth day after opening the silages compared to OC, without affecting the amount of CO2 production and mold count. The inoculation did not affect the in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy value of silage; but increased the net energy lactation value compared to OC. When the L. brevis doses are evaluated independently, it can be said that 1*108 and 1*109 cfu/kg DM doses contributed more effectively to oat silage, so any of these doses can be preferred.

Bu çalışmada ülkemiz ve dünya genelinde uzun yıllardır yaygın bir şekilde tüketilen erişteye belirli oranlarda ve farklı formlarda ilave edilen çörek otu, kekik ve zerdeçalın, eriştenin bazı kalite özelliklerine etkileri araştırılmıştır. Üretimde kullanılan tane çörek otu, toz çörek otu, yaprak kekik ve toz kekik formülasyona %1, %2, %3 ve %4 (ağırlıkça); zerdeçal ise %0,5, %1, %1,5 ve %2 (ağırlıkça) oranında ilave edilmiştir. Baharatların ilavesi ile üretilen eriştelerin nem içeriklerinin genel olarak azaldığı, % kül içeriklerinin tane ve toz kekik içeren eriştelerde, % protein içeriklerinin ise tane ve toz çörek otu içeren eriştelerde artış gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir. Eriştelerin renk değerleri (L*, a*, b*) baharat ilavesine bağlı olarak değişiklik göstermiştir. Erişte formülasyonuna ilave edilen baharatlar L* değerlerini düşürerek eriştelerin parlaklığını azaltmış ve özellikle zerdeçalın yüksek a* ve b* değerinden dolayı daha sarı renkli erişteler elde edilmiştir. Erişteye artan oranlarda baharat ilave edilmesi ile optimum pişme süresi (dk), su absorpsiyonu (%) ve hacim artışının (%) kontrol eriştesine göre azaldığı, pişme kaybının (%) ise arttığı belirlenmiştir. Genel kabul edilebilirlik açısından kontrol eriştesi duyusal analizlerde en yüksek puanı almıştır. Erişteye katılan baharatların ilave oranı arttıkça, duyusal ve pişme özellikleri olumsuz yönde etkilenmiştir. Bu sebeple eriştenin çalışmada değerlendirilen özellikleri bozulmadan, kabul edilebilir bir şekilde bu baharatlarla zenginleştirilebilmesi için en fazla %2 oranında çörek otu ve kekik; %0,5 oranına kadar zerdeçalın başarı ile kullanılabileceği sonucuna varılmıştır.