The aim of the present study is to assess the effects Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum, Fabaceae), sunflower (Helianthus annuus, Asteraceae), green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum, Zingiberaceae) and seed extracts, which they belonged to three different plant families, on common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) spermatozoa motility parameters and oxidative stress conditions. For this reason, sperm samples treated with seed extracts at the ratios of 0.1%, %0.5, 1%, and 2%, were incubated at 4°C and sampled at 2nd and 48th hours. Among sperm motility parameters, curvilinear velocity (VCL), average path velocity (VAP), straight-line velocity (VSL), straightness STR), linearity (LIN), and wobble (WOB) were determined by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). According to the results, sunflower and green cardamom seed extracts have attenuated motility parameters at all tested concentrations. However, motility parameters measured in %0.5 of fenugreek seed extract were higher than all other groups including the control at 48th hour. Also, TBARS values as an oxidative stress indicator in this group were decreased. 2% of all seed extracts had negative effects on the sperm samples. Particularly, 2% sunflower seed extract caused the higher oxidative stress. These results indicate that fenugreek seed extract is more proper for the maintenance of common carp spermatozoa at 4°C, comparing to those of sunflower and green cardamom.

Apiculture is one of the agricultural activities carried out widely in our country and in the world. Our society attaches great importance to beekeeping and honey products, especially honey, so bee colony health is very important in the continuity of bee products. There are many factors that can be shown to cause colony loss in bees and one of them is poisoning caused by pesticides. Causes such as improper dosing of pesticides, day-to-day spraying, or potentiation or effect differentiation due to random mixing of drugs may cause collective bee deaths. In this study, 188 dead bee samples (each sample contains approximately 100 g dead bees) from different bee farms, which were collected from beekeepers and brought to Adana Veterinary Control Institute with the suspicion of pesticide poisoning due to intensive deaths, were examined. Qualitative examination was performed by gas chromatography (GC) device. In the examination of dead bee samples, tau-fluvalinate residue was found in 2 samples in 2015 and cypermethrin residue was found in 1 sample in 2016. In 2017 and 2018, no detectable substance was detected in terms of pyrethroid pesticides. In 188 samples which we examined in terms of pyrethroit group pesticides, 1 substance was found to be toxic for bees. This shows, at the samples examined, that pyrethroid pesticides are not involved in bee colony losses in Çukurova.

This review article discussed the effects of various production systems on the welfare of laying hens. The global egg production capacity has been increasing with the evolving production systems which are driven by the consumer preferences. In developed countries, the egg industry has shifted from focusing on quantity and quality of eggs to asking questions of how these eggs are produced. Animal welfare issues emphasized by consumers in these countries led to the banning of conventional cages as seen by European Union in 2012. Such legal measures have uplifted research in various alternative production systems which are thought to be animal friendly. Countries that have adjusted to alternative systems such as free range are registering an increase in the number of free range eggs which is a positive sign for an industry that is willing to adapt and move forward. However, in developing countries, conventional cages are still being used because they are fundamental to the quantity of egg production which is a success indicator of the egg industry. In addition, lack of awareness within the consumers and local producers that birds are sentient has not helped the poultry industry in such countries. However, the alternative production systems have also not fulfilled all the behavioural needs of the animals and, hen welfare issues such as keel and bone damage are common in enriched and perched systems. Also, the high prevalence of diseases and parasites are observed with significant levels in litter floor and outdoor systems an issue attributable to the direct contact between birds and soil or faces. Due to the continuing welfare issues in all laying hen production systems, it is suggested that in addition to genetic selection for traits like bone strength, reduced feather pecking, research should combine both the modification of equipment’s or materials used in each production system and environmental factors such as illumination and temperature as an alternative to improve hen welfare.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a beneficial group of free-living soil bacteria that colonize the rhizosphere and are helpful in root growth and development. PGPR plays an important role in plant growth through the production of phytohormones, solubilization of inorganic phosphate, increased iron nutrition via iron-chelating siderophores and volatile compounds that affect the plant metabolism and signalling pathways. Additionally, PGPR shows synergistic and antagonistic interactions with rhizosphere microorganisms and soil which indirectly improve and enhance plant growth rate. Various environmental factors affect the PGPR growth and proliferation in the plants. There are several shortcomings and limitation in the PGPR research which can be addressed through the use of modern approaches and techniques by exploring multidisciplinary research which combines applications in microbiology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, agro-biotechnology, and chemical engineering. Furthermore, PGPR is also known to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), carbon footprint, and also increase the nutrient-use efficiency. Here we describe the importance of PGPR in sustainable agriculture and their role in plant growth and development.

Much of the sustained agricultural growth necessary for poverty reduction and sustainable development comes from adequate and expanded improved agricultural inputs use like hybrid seeds, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and inorganic fertilizer. However, smallholder farmers faced various and empirically unidentified constraints in the sustainable use of improved agricultural inputs. This study, therefore, is to examine the trends and challenges farmers faced to use improved inputs. The study has used secondary data from various databases such as FAOSTAT, World Bank, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and agricultural statistics. Simple graphical sketch, tabular and percentage analysis was employed for interpretation of the data. The study revealed that the trends in the use of various improved inputs are not based on the regular basis. The sustainable improved input intensification by smallholder farmers was influenced by various socio-economic, physical, and institutional factors. Understanding trends and challenges in input utilization provide baseline information for input intensification policies and strategies. Therefore, this review pointed out that it is possible to increase inputs intensification by smallholder farmers.

Bu çalışmada ilk olarak dört farklı turp çeşidinin (siyah, beyaz, iri kırmızı, kırmızı fındık) farklı PEG6000 (%5, %10, %15, %20) konsantrasyonları uygulanarak oluşturulan kuraklık koşullarında çimlenme ve vejetatif gelişim parametreleri değerlendirilmiştir. Çimlenme parametresi olarak; çimlenme yüzdesi (%), çimlenme süresi ve vigor indeksi belirlenmiştir. Bitkilerde vejetatif gelişim parametresi olarak; yaprak sayısı (adet), sürgün boyu (cm), kök uzunluğu (cm), yaprak genişliği (cm), yaprak uzunluğu (cm), gövde çapı (mm), bitki yaş ve kuru ağırlıkları (g) ölçülmüştür. Beyaz, siyah ve kırmızı fındık turp çeşitlerinde %15, kırmızı iri turp çeşidinde ise %20 PEG uygulamalarında vegetatif gelişim parametreleri belirgin bir şekilde düşüş göstermiş olup, bu dozlar salisilik asit uygulamaları için eşik değer olarak belirlenmiştir. İkinci aşamada, çeşitlerin kuraklığa toleransını arttırmak amacıyla PEG6000 içeren ortamlara farklı dozlarda salisilik asit (0,25, 0,50, 0,75, 1,00 mM) uygulanmıştır. Salisilik asitin farklı dozlarının, kuraklık koşullarında turp tohumlarının çimlenmesi ve vejetatif gelişim parametreleri üzerine etkisi, çeşide bağlı olarak değişiklik göstermiş olup, çimlenmeyi teşvik edici etki yaptığı belirlenmiştir. İri kırmızı turp çeşidi hariç, bitki gelişimi üzerinde de genel anlamda olumlu etki yapmış, bu çeşitte uygulanan SA dozlarının inhibe edici etki yaptığı tespit edilmiştir. Siyah turp çeşidinde eşik değeri olarak belirlenen %15’lik PEG6000 konsantrasyonunda 0,50 mM salisilik asit uygulaması; beyaz ve kırmızı fındık turp çeşitlerinde ise eşik değeri olarak belirlenen %15’lik PEG6000 konsantrasyonunda 0,25 mM salisilik asit uygulaması vegetatif parametrelerinin iyileştirilmesi açısından oldukça iyi sonuç vermiştir.

Access to land in Bangladesh is governed by the state rule but informal tenure arrangement is existing all over the country. Land productivity differs with the contractual arrangement between landlord and tenant. Inefficiency may arise due to sharecropping which is known as Marshallian inefficiency. This study investigated the productivity the productivity, profitability and efficiency of different tenure arrangement of Boro rice cultivation selecting 120 farmers from Rangpur district of Bangladesh. The stochastic frontier production function was employed to determine the efficiency. Moreover, t-test was performed to see whether any significant difference exist among tenure categories in terms of productivity, profitability and efficiency. Four types of tenure arrangements were identified as cash tenant, fifty-fifty input-output sharing arrangement, only output sharing arrangement and owner farmers. Result revealed that productivity and profitability was higher for owner and cash tenant compared to others. Significant productivity and profitability difference were found between owner farmers and cash tenants versus sharecroppers. Result also found that inefficiency level was significantly high for fifty-fifty input-output share tenant and only output share tenant compared to cash tenant and owner operator implying that Marshallian inefficiency exist due to sharecropping system in the Boro rice production.

Oat breeding activities at the Transitional Zone Agricultural Research Institute (TZARI) have been continuing since 1929. Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to select those that are high in yield and quality from local oat lines that are compatible with regional conditions and to register them as new oat cultivars. Field trials were conducted in rainfed conditions in Eskişehir TZARI Central and Hamidiye Campuses in the 2017-2018 crop season. In the study, ninehteen local lines (Avena sativa L.) collected from different parts of the country and Checota, Kahraman, Kırklar, Yeniçeri and Sebat varieties as a standard were used. In this research, besides various agro-morphological traits such as grain yield (GY), thousand kernel weight (TKW), plant height (PH), lodging score (LS), heading days (HD), grain protein content (PC), beta-glucan (BG), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) values were examined. According to the results of this study, differences between genotypes in parameters other than ADF and NDF values were found statistically significant. The means of grain yield was 2,93 t ha-1, and the GY of genotypes was ranged from 2,31 to 3,58 t ha-1 in the trial. TKW was ranged from 25,5 to 37,1g; PH was 83,3 to 130,2 cm; HD was 126,0 to 141,0 days; BG was 3,29 to 5,16%; PC was 13,4 to 15,9%; ADF was 16,4 to 19,4%; NDF was 30,8- 38,8% in the genotypes. Accordingly, G13, G16, G19, G21,G22 and G23 local oat lines have been found to be promising in terms of targeted agro-morphological and quality characteristics and transferred to advanced level in the oat breeding program.

The study was conducted to determine forage quality criteria of Salvia multicaulis VAHL. species collected from different locations of Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in 2018. Results of statistical analysis of the study data revealed that there were significant differences among the locations for all of the investigated traits. Additionally, among the locations the investigated traits were changed as following; dry matter content (DM) 88.66-91.58%, crude protein content (CP) 16.47-25.37%, insoluble protein content in acid detergent (ADP) 0.8%-1.10%, acid detergent fiber content (ADF) 22.08-29.54%, neutral detergent fiber content (NDF) 29.71-%43.85%, calcium (Ca) content 1.22-1.82%, phosphor (P) content 0.23-0,40%, Ca:P ratio 3.05-6.87, potassium (K) content 1.20-2.58%, magnesium (Mg) content 0.28-0.46% and K/(Ca+Mg) ratio 0.55-1.44. Results of the study revealed that dry forage of Salvia multicaulis species is both rich in terms of crude protein content and having a high digestibility level and its macro minerals content and K/(Ca+Mg) ratio to be sufficient for animal feeding. However, due to its too high level Ca:P ratio than critical top level (2:1), it is important to be careful against the risk of poisoning of animals when the forages of this species are used in animal feeding. Hence, additional research is required to determine the harmful effect of the species on the livestock health.

In this study, oxidative stability of soybean oil (SBO) enriched with ethyl ecetate extracts of olive by-products was investigated. Total phenolic contents, phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of olive wastewater (OMWW) and olive pomace (OP) extracts were also determined. Total phenolic contents of extracts obtained from OMWW and OP were 134.45 and 281.43 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g extract, respectively. While antioxidant activities of OMWW extracts in the linoleic acid emulsion were in the range of 85.79 % and 88.54 %, OP extracts had 83.30 % and 90.09 % at different concentrations (0.5, 1, 2 ve 3 mg/mL) after incubation at 37 °C. β-carotene bleaching activities of the extracts at 50 °C were found as 26.80-66.63% in OMWW extracts and 18.76-53.32% in OP extracts, respectively. 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities of OP extracts were higher than those of OMWW extracts and ranged from 30.6% to 87.7% in OP extracts and 16.6% to 54.1% in OMWW extracts at these concentrations. Both the antioxidant and antiradical activities of extracts significantly increased with increased concentration (p