It is now clear that over use of pesticides and intensive management of orchards can lead to drastic declines in apple pollinator abundance and crop failures. During the period of study a grower’s survey was conducted to know about knowledge of farmers on native insect pollinators, pollinator management practices, their perceptions of the importance and utility of native pollinators, and their attitudes regarding pesticide application. Despite of having significant knowledge of managed pollination, only few farmers (2%) adopted supplementary methods of pollination (renting honey bee colonies, hand pollination etc.). In Pulwama, 60% of farmers had knowledge about native insect pollinators and 40% did not have any idea of native pollinators and in case of Shopian, the figures were fifty-fifty i.e. 50% had knowledge about native insect pollinators and 50% were unaware. During the period of investigation, native insect pollinators were sampled from different apple orchards under different management systems in early spring during apple flowering. A total of 17 species of insect pollinators belonging to 11 families and 3 orders_ Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera registered their occurrence at all the studied apple orchards of the Kashmir Valley. At all the study sites i.e. apple orchards under different management systems, family Halictidae and Empididae registered their presence as dominant groups. The % family contribution of the former at different orchard types decreased with increase in the intensity of the management system and the % family contribution of the later however, showed a direct relationship with the management system found, i.e. the more intense the system, the more abundant was the group. Other groups in general did not show any greater differences in abundances at different sites studied.

In order to study the quantitative variability of malting quality-related traits and to determine the genomic locations which control these traits, an experiment was conducted using one hundred fifty double haploid (DH) lines of barley and their two parents ‛Steptoe’ & ‛Morex’. Protein content (%) was measured using Kjeldahl method, diastatic power calculated with Lintner formula, Malt extract was measured for each by special weight achieved and based on Malt Berix Charts. Transgressive segregation in both directions was observed for all traits. Genetic map is fairly saturated and comprising 327 RFLP markers with a total length of 1226.3cM with an average marker spacing of 3.75cM. Seventeen QTLs by LOD≤2(LRS≤9.21) controlling different studied traits were identified for all studied traits. Total phenotypic variance explained by these QTLs varies from 23.2 to 45.05%. Highest LOD scores were obtained for QTL’s controlling diastatic power (Qdip3Ha) on chromosome 3H, and lowest LOD scores were obtained for QTL’s controlling seed yield per plant (Qsyp1Hb) on chromosome 1H. Therefore gain through marker-assisted selection (MAS) in this population would be limited and some of the “Steptoe× Morex” population was developed with the intention of isolating and advancing barley lines for release to the malting quality.

Requirement simple technology, low production costs, lack of polluting effects and reliability in terms of health of it is the most important advantages of edible films. Chitosan that extend the shelf life of food and increase the economic efficiency of packaging materials is one of the new materials used for edible films. Chitosan was obtained by deacetylation of chitin which is the most commonly occurred polymer after cellulose in nature, in shells of arthropods such as crab, shrimp, lobster and in cell walls of some bacteria and fungi. Chitosan has the important bioactive properties such as hemostatic, bacteriostatic, fungistatic, spermicidal, anticarcinogenic, anticholesteremic, antacids, antiulcer, wound and bone healing accelerator and stimulating the immune system. As well as these features, the film forming and barrier properties of its, chitosan is made the ideal material for edible films and coatings in antimicrobial characters. Especially, in the protection of qualities and the improving storage times of fruits and vegetables, have been revealed the potential use of chitosan. The coating food with chitosan films reduces the oxygen partial pressure in the package, maintains temperature with moisture transfer between food and its environment, declines dehydration, delays enzymatic browning in fruits and controls respiration. In addition to, chitosan are also used on issues such as the increasing the natural flavour, setting texture, increasing of the emulsifying effect, stabilization of color and deacidification.

Concentrations of selected metals (Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cr and Co) in some ready-to-eat-foods consumed in Nigeria were investigated with a view providing information on the risk associated with the consumption of these products. The concentrations of metals (mg.kg-1) in these ready-to-eat-foods are in the ranges of 2.4 – 5.2 for Cu; 0.1– 0.8 for Cd; 0.7 – 4.0 for Ni; 8.1 – 53.7 for Fe; 8.9 – 20.0 for Zn; 0.1 – 3.8 for Pb; 5.1 – 14.4 for Mn; 0.83 – 21.4 for Cr and 0.20 – 1.32 for Co. The concentrations and estimated intakes of Cd, Ni and Pb in some of these food types exceeded the permissible limits and tolerable daily intake respectively. The target hazard quotients (THQ) for the individual metals indicate levels of concern for Ni, Cd, and Co in some of the ready-to-eat-foods. The combined THQ values for the metals in the examined samples ranged from 1.7 to 10 with significant contributions from Cd, Ni and Co.

Gyromitra is one of the poisonous mushrooms with being evaluated as edible mushrooms in Turkey and in many countries. This study was performed to determine volatile aroma compounds of Gyromitra collected from Turkey at Horticulture Department of Çukurova University, Adana-Turkey in 2011. Gyromitra mushroom samples collected from Adana province of Turkey were used as material. Volatile aroma compounds were determined using Headspace Gas Kromotografi Mass Spectrometry (HS-GC/MS) technique. Twenty-four different volatile aroma compounds were detected in this study. Phenol was identified as the major aroma component at 47.10% content. This compound was followed with Carbamic acid methyl ester (14.12%), Acetic acid (4.47%), 1-Octen-3-ol (4.14%) and Acetaldehyde (4.10%). Phenol is an antioxidant compound and it has anti-carcinogenic effect. 1-Octen-3-ol is an alcohol which commonly found in mushroom. Acetic acid and Acetaldehyde are poisonous compounds. Although high number of phenol and 1-Octen-3-ol in Gyromitra fungus is displayed as flavor and significant in terms of health, containing toxic compounds such as acetic acid and the acid aldehyde raises the risk factors in exhaustion.