This study focuses on empowering women both in peri-urban and rural areas through mushroom production. It was conducted in Kampala Metropolitan area-Uganda, during October 2016. It focused on estimating profits, conducting benefit-cost analysis/ratio (BCR) and return on investment (ROI), finding reasons as to why women involved in the mushroom production and identifying the constraints of mushroom farming from the perspective of women as well as the possible solutions to the constraints. 29 women were interviewed face to face through the use of the questionnaires. The study revealed an average net profit of 3,464.28 US dollars, BCR of 3.84 and ROI of 2.84 per farm in a period of three months. Our study revealed that mushroom production is a profitable enterprise for women. The major reason for women to involve in mushroom was to earn income. However, a range of other reasons was given such as fast maturity of mushrooms, availability of market, healthy benefits of mushrooms, etc. were the most important reasons. The problems faced by women farmers were ranked from the most pressing problem to the least pressing problem in this order; Low market prices per kilogram of mushroom, scarcity of cotton during some seasons, poor quality mushroom spawn supplied to farmers by breeders, inadequate extension, and advisory services were the most observed problems among others. The suggested solutions were organizing farmers into groups or cooperatives in order to negotiate for better markets locally and abroad together with the help of government, researchers to carry out more research on the suitability of other substrates like bagasse other than relying on only cotton, ensuring that mushroom spawn breeders conform to the set standards of quality spawn production and re-equipping local extension workers with knowledge regarding mushroom production among others.

This paper focus on the seafood consumption attitudes and behaviours of the millennials (Generation Y) and non-millennials (Generation X, Baby Boomers and Silent Generation) comparatively. The data was collected from a face to face survey which was applied to randomly select 407 individuals in the city of Adana, Turkey in November 2016. As a result of factor analysis applied in the study, it was found that Millennials was significantly and inversely correlated with consumption of wild fish and freshwater fish. Non-millennial generation was inversely correlated with consumption of marine fish, freshwater fish and mussels and the correlation is insignificant. According to the results of the chi square test, it was determined that Millennials mostly preferred to consume fresh (unprocessed) fish. Mann-Whitney test results show that they value health and nutrition factors for consumption and there is a significant difference between these two factors. Besides, factors mainly effecting their purchase behaviour of seafood are directed to freshness, seasonality, place of purchase and wild-aquaculture product classification and there are significant differences between these factors. The fact that the Millennial’s average response to consumption and purchasing is higher indicates that they are more cautious.

Applying different technological processes during the production of food has a lethal effect on the bacteria but DNA of these bacterial strains may cause false positive results when detected by real time PCR technique because they preserve their existence for a certain period of time. To overcome this shortcoming of the real time PCR technique, a new method has been developed in recent years, based on the removal of dead cell DNA from the medium by treatment with Propodium Monoazide (PMA) before DNA extraction. In this study, real-time PCR method was combined with PMA application for the detection of live cells of Salmonella Typhimurium in heat treated milk samples. For this purpose, milk samples inoculated with S. Tyhimurium were heat treated at different temperatures (60, 65, 70 and 75°C) and times (15, 60, 300, 900 sec) and number of live bacteria was determined comparatively by direct real-time PCR, PMA/real-time PCR and conventional cultural method. As a result, unlike the direct real time PCR technique, PMA/real-time PCR method prevents to a certain extent of false positive results from dead cells at all tested temperatures and times but higher results were obtained from PMA/real-time PCR method when compared to conventional cultural results. Therefore, further studies should be carried out to optimize the conditions of the PMA application in order to eliminate the high positive results detected by the PMA / real-time PCR method

In the study it is aimed to determine the stabilities of some agronomic traits of 10 different durum wheats over the years in conditions of Bursa. Research was carried out in randomized complete block design with three replications between the years of 2008-2013. Averages of genotypes of agronomic characteristics, Eberhart and Russell’s regression coefficient and deviation from regression, Francis and Kannenberg’s coefficient of variation and environmental variance used as stability parameters. When the results of the study evaluated at the stability analysis, Amb × Çak-30 lines were determined to be stable in most of the agronomic traits. As for grain yield, which is of great importance for the producer, breeding lines of Amb × Çak -26 and Amb × Çak-30 were determined in good harmony at Bursa under different climatic conditions over five years.

Niğde is one of the provinces in Turkey where potato production is carried out intensively. In this study it was aimed to examine the change in the potato production costs and profitability in Niğde province in 2000-2014 period. In Niğde the absolute profit obtained from the potato production was calculated as 355.6TL/da for 2014. Among the examined years, the year in which the highest absolute profit was 2005 with 450.8 TL/da and the lowest absolute profit was in 2012 with -329.7 TL/da. Gross production value can meet the production costs in all of the examined years except for 2012. However, with the increase in production costs, absolute and relative profits tended decrease.

Pomegranate has been recently considered as a significant fruit for human health and demanded year-long apart from two-month standard harvest period. To extend market supply durations over longer periods, various methods and treatments should be applied to pomegranates to preserve quality parameters throughout different storage durations. The present study was conducted at cold storages of ÇOMÜ Agricultural Faculty to investigate the effects of 1-Methylcyclopropane (1-MCP) and MAP (LDPE, 20 mµ) treatments on quality attributes of ‘Hicaz’ pomegranate cultivar. Experimental materials were treated with two different doses (625 and 1250 ppb) of 1-MCP alone and combined with MAP (625 ppb + MAP and 1250 ppb + MAP) and stored at 3 different storage durations (40, 80 and 120 days). All fruits, including control group, were stored at 6.5-7.5°C temperature and 85-90% relative humidity. At the end of each storage period, fruits were subjected to weight loss (%), Total soluble solids (TSS) content (%), titratable total acidity (TTA) (%g), pH, grain color (a value), decay ratio (%) analyses and assessments were performed for these quality and biochemical characteristics. Both Doses of 1-MCP alone and combined with MAP treatments were found to be more efficient in decelerating the adverse effects on rotting, perishes and other quality parameters, however there were not significant differences between two doses of 1-MCP. Therefore, MAP or 625 ppb 1-MCP treatments alone or combined with MAP treatments can be recommended for better preservation of quality parameter throughout the storage of pomegranates.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has been remained an important agricultural crop in resolving global food issues through decades. The crop has experienced enormous growth in terms of production throughout the world in recent decades because of improvement in agricultural mechanization, fertilizers application and irrigation practices. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of this valuable crop is still vulnerable to losses due to prevalence of different viral, bacterial, fungal and nematodes infestations. Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, is one of the most threatening pathogenic diseases which not only results in direct crop losses but also cause farmers to embrace huge monetary expenses for disease control and preventive measures. The disease is well known for notorious ‘Irish Famine’ which resulted in drop of Irish population by more than 20% as result of hunger and potato starvation. Globally, annual losses of crop and money spend on fungicides for late blight control exceeds one trillion US dollars. This paper reviews the significance of late blight of potato and controlling strategies adopted for minimizing yield losses incurred by this disease by the use of synthetic fungicides. Advantages and disadvantages of fungicides application are discussed.

Çalışmanın amacı, Erzurum’da ikamet eden tüketicilerin menşe işaretli Karnavas Dut Pekmezi tüketim tercihleri ve satın alma modellerini etkileyen temel faktörlere dayalı bütünsel pazarlama stratejilerini belirlemektir. Çalışmanın ana materyali, Erzurum ilinde ikamet eden ve Karnavas Dut Pekmezi tüketen 401 hane halkı ile yapılan anket çalışmasından elde edilen birincil verilerden oluşmaktadır. Elde edilen verileri dikkate alarak; satın alma kararı üzerinde etkili olan ana faktörlerin belirlenmesinde Temel Bileşenler Analizi (PCA) ve tüketicilerin tüketim sıklıklarına göre grupların oluşturulmasında İki Aşamalı Kümeleme Analizi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları; Karnavas Dut Pekmezi’ni yoğun ve ılımlı düzeyde tüketen kullanıcılar sırasıyla doğrudan pazarlama yaklaşımları altında kırsal kalkınmaya katkı sağlamak için menşe etiketli bütünsel kalite ve geleneksel üretim metotlarından sağlanan duyusal kalite niteliklerini dikkate alan yerel markalı genişletilmiş ve gerçek mamul imajlarının perakende seviyesinde konumlandırılmasının gerekliliğine işaret etmişlerdir. Diğer taraftan düşük düzeyde kullanıcılar ise, geleneksel üretim metotları ve hedonik kalite yaklaşımını uygulayan yerel markalı gerçek mamul imajları altında mamullerin konumlandırılması ve tutundurma karması ile yayılım etkisinin artacağı üzerine odaklanmışlardır. Bu yüzden her bir segmentteki kullanıcıların ihtiyaç ve istekleri dikkate alınarak, onların fayda beklentileri ile mamul imajlarına göre konumlandırma ve tutundurma stratejileri uygulanabilir.

Agriculture is an important sector in Turkey’s economy. Access to credit financing is critical for timely acquisition of different inputs, farm productivity, and ultimately farmers’ financial well-being. Historically, Ziraat Bank and Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, supported by Turkish government, have been the principle supplier of loanable funds in the agricultural sector. However, since 2000, many private banks have discovered the potential of this market and entered the competition. This study was designed to investigate the structure of the agricultural credit market in Turkey and identify factors that influence farmers’ preference among alternative lenders. It was found that although the 550 Turkish farmers surveyed had several options among lenders, low interest rates and attainable eligibility criteria emerged as the most important differentiators among banks. Results from the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) demonstrate the rising role of private banks’ credit. However, Ziraat Banks’ subsidized credits still dominant and its composite weight is 30.74% of total amount of agricultural credit market.

Karabuğdayda olgunlaşma alt dallardan başlar, yukarıya doğru devam eder ve hasat döneminde bitki üzerinde çiçekler, yeşil ve kahverengi taneler aynı anda bulunabilir. Bu yüzden homojen bir olgunlaşma olmaz ve verim düşer. Bu çalışma karabuğdayda tane verimi ve tanede mineral besin içeriğindeki değişime bitki morfolojisinin (ana gövde-dal, orta dallar ve alt dallar) etkisini araştırmak amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Tarla denemesi 2014 ve 2015 yıllarında Isparta koşullarında tesadüf blokları deneme desenine göre üç tekerrürlü olarak kurulmuş ve Aktaş karabuğday çeşidi kullanılmıştır. Karabuğdayın ana dal, orta ve alt dallardaki tane verimi ve bunların verime katkısı her iki yılda da istatistiksel olarak önemli olmuştur. Bitki morfolojisine göre, 2014 ve 2015 yıllarında sırasıyla en yüksek tane verimi 1,548 ve 1,579 g/bitki ve tek bitki verimine en yüksek katkı sırasıyla, %40,72 ve %38,61 alt dallarda belirlenmiştir. En düşük değerler ise ana gövdeden elde edilmiştir. Karabuğdayda uygun hasat zamanı olarak verime katkısı en fazla olan alt ve orta dallardaki taneler tamamen olgunlaştığı (kahverengi tohumlar) dönem önerilebilir. Karabuğdayın mineral besin içeriği bitki morfolojisine göre değişmiş ve genel olarak K ve Mn dışında en yüksek değerler ana dalda belirlenmiştir.