The discipline of landscape architecture plays an important role in many environmental issues such as increasing green areas in urban areas, supporting biodiversity, and managing water resources. This study was conducted to determine the environmental awareness levels of landscape architecture students in Turkey and to understand how educational programs affect this awareness. In the study, first of all, all universities and faculties providing undergraduate landscape architecture education in Turkey were examined, and then landscape architecture departments in different universities and faculties were included in the scope of the research. Surveys were administered to students studying in the landscape architecture departments of the specified faculties to measure their environmental awareness levels. In addition, it was analyzed how the courses taken by landscape architecture students affected their environmental awareness. Thus, effective strategies were developed and suggestions were presented to increase environmental awareness in landscape architecture education.

With its high protein, vitamin and mineral content, Spirulina platensis (SP) is the most widely used microalgae as a food supplement and the most cultivated microalgae for this purpose. Zinc is a regulatory microelement that is incorporated into the structure of many proteins in the cell and is particularly deficient in cereal-based societies. Due to the high adaptability of SP to environments with high metal concentrations and its high capacity to secrete substances called phytochelatin and metal-binding capacity, in this study zinc-enriched SP (ZnSP) was produced by binding metals to SP by organic means. For this purpose, modified media with 4 different Zn concentrations were prepared and SP was cultured in these media. Optical density, chlorophyll-a, phycobiliprotein and dry cell weight analyses were performed to monitor the culture. During the culture period, biomass and filtered culture medium were collected from logarithmic and stationary stages and Zn analyses were performed. The most suitable culture medium and growth conditions were determined to obtain Zn-enriched SP. 338.4 mg kg-1 Zn was measured in SP biomass grown in Zn-3 medium containing 8 mg L-1 Zn. It may be possible to obtain Zn-enriched SP in this medium and under the specified culture conditions, and even this ratio can be increased by adding Zn to the culture medium after the logarithmic stage.

This study investigated the effects of boron toxicity and humic substance applications on cotton fiber quality and yield over two consecutive years, targeting boron toxicity issues in soils affected by agricultural and geothermal activities. The experiment evaluated varying concentrations of boron (0.6–1.8–5.4–16.2 mg B l-1) and humic substances (0–200–400 kg ha-1), with a focus on their effects on seed cotton yield, fiber length, fineness, strength, and gin efficiency. In the first year, the highest seed cotton yield was recorded at 452.5 kg da-1 with the B1 application, followed by 428.3 kg da-1 with B2. In the second year, increased boron application led to a notable decrease in seed cotton yield, with the lowest yield at 99.3 kg da-1 for the B4 application. The highest dose of boron also significantly reduced fiber strength, with the lowest recorded at 31.57 g/tex, and gin efficiency, which dropped to 37.98%. Humic substance applications showed limited influence on fiber quality parameters; however, the highest dose (H3) led to a significant increase in fiber strength to 33.47 g/tex in the second year. Cotton leaves accumulated substantial amounts of boron, reaching concentrations of 2048 mg B kg-1 during the flowering period of the second year, suggesting that cotton could serve as a hyperaccumulator in phytoremediation efforts for boron-contaminated soils. The study further determined that cotton can tolerate boron concentrations in irrigation water ranging from 1.8 to 5.4 mg B l-1, making it a viable crop in boron-affected regions. These findings provide critical insights into the potential of cotton as a resilient crop in environments with elevated boron levels, underscoring the need for further research to optimize cotton cultivation under such conditions.

Open green areas undertake functions that improve and healing people’s living conditions. This research was conducted to understand the role of open and green areas in urban life and to evaluate the contributions of these areas to the quality of life. The study was conducted with people living in Selçuklu district of Konya province. These people visited urban open green areas in Selçuklu district and spent time in those places. The survey method was used in the study. The survey results reveal that open green areas have significant and positive effects on human health and psychology. The majority of the participants stated that they visited open green areas with sufficient frequency and that these areas met both their physical and mental needs. These findings emphasize the positive effects of open green areas on human health and psychology and support the need to protect and increase these areas.

In this study, the specific physicochemical, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of 20 different rosehip marmalade samples, produced using traditional and commercial methods in the Gümüşhane province and its districts, were comprehensively analyzed. To detect the chemical composition of the rosehip marmalade samples, analyses were conducted for total dry matter, pH, ash, titratable acidity (malic acid %), soluble solids, water activity, and color (L*, a*, b*). Additionally, alongside the physicochemical analyses, the contents of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose, and total sugar) were also determined. To assess the antioxidant properties, analyses for total flavonoid content, total phenolic content, DPPH (% inhibition), and ABTS (% inhibition) were performed. Furthermore, the antibacterial activities of the rosehip marmalade samples against pathogenic bacterial strains such as Proteus vulgaris ATCC 29212, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 23566, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 35150 were investigated.

Süt insanların günlük beslenmesinde vazgeçilmez bir besin konumundadır, özellikle sağlıklı süt tüketimi için kaliteli ve güvenli üretim vazgeçilmez bir unsurdur. Süt üretiminde hayvanların sağlık ve genotipik özellikleri üretimi doğrudan etkilemektedir. Kaliteli bir üretim doğru hayvan bakım programı ve hijyenik koşullara uyulmasıyla mümkün olabilmektedir. Bu kapsamda çalışmada Kütahya’nın Altıntaş ve Uşak’ın Banaz ilçelerindeki hayvanların meme sağlığının ve süt bileşiminin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Altıntaş’ta 3 köydeki 77 inekten, Banaz’da 2 köydeki 49 inekten süt örnekleri toplanmıştır. Sütün bileşimi yağ (%), kurumadde (%), yoğunluk (%), protein (%), laktoz (%), tuz (%), donma noktası (°C), iletkenlik (ms/cm) yönünden karşılaştırılmış ve mastitis prevalansı Californian Mastitis Testi (CMT) ile araştırılmıştır. Elde edilen verilere göre işletmelerin büyük bir çoğunluğunda mastitis varlığına rastlanmazken, mastitis belirtileri görülen ineklerin genellikle aynı işletmede yetiştirilen inekler olduğu belirlenmiştir. İlçeler arasında Altıntaş ilçesindeki ineklerin yağ oranı daha düşük (%3,51), kuru madde oranı (%9,26) ve protein oranının da daha yüksek (%3,33) olduğu belirlenmiştir. Banaz ilçesinde de sütlerde laktoz oranları (%4,78) daha düşük, yoğunluk (% 28,08) daha düşük, iletkenliğinin de daha yüksek (4,95 ms/cm) olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Köyler arasında süt kalitesi yönünden en yüksek değerlere Çayırbaşı köyünde yetiştirilen inekler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bunda üreticilerin bilinç düzeyinin yüksek olmasının, sözleşmeli üretim yapılmasının ve hijyen koşullarına dikkat edilmesinin sonucunda olduğu düşünülmektedir.

This study was carried out to determine the in-vitro antifungal activities of essential oils obtained from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), Turkish pickling herb (Echinophora tenuifolia subsp. sibthorpiana), clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.), cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill), dill (Anethum graveolens L.), juniper (Juniperus communis L.), and ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) against Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani infections. Essential oils were added to autoclaved potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium at 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm doses. Mycelium disks of both fungi with a diameter of 5 mm were transferred to the center of petri dishes and incubated at 24±2 °C for 7 days. The biocontrol efficiencies of the essential oils were calculated by measuring the mycelial development diameters. Essential oil applications showed significant antifungal activity against R. solani pathogen and cinnamon, thyme and clove essential oils at 1000 ppm, and dill essential oil at 2000 ppm doses completely inhibited mycelial development. The biocontrol efficiencies of juniper (2.4-12.6%), eucalyptus (2.8-26.6%) and ginger (18.2-37.3%) essential oils against R. solani were found to be low. While clove and thyme essential oils completely inhibited F. solani mycelial development at 2000 ppm dose, the biocontrol efficiencies of ginger (1.6-3.7%), eucalyptus (1.2-7.4%) and dill (2.9-9.8%) essential oils were low. It was concluded that especially clove, thyme, cinnamon and Turkish pickling herb essential oils showed high in-vitro antifungal activity against both phytopathogens and may have the potential to be used as an alternative to synthetic fungicide active substances.

Honeydew is a sugar-rich, sticky substance secreted by many plant-feeding insect species from the order of Hemiptera and Lepidoptera. Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), on the other hand, feed on nitrogen-poor, carbohydrate-rich phloem sap and excrete excess carbohydrate as honeydew from their anus. The aphids, constituting the main material of the study were sampled from the Catalpa bungei C. A. Mey (Bignoniaceae) tree located in the central campus of Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University and then preparation procedures were carried out for species identification under laboratory conditions. According to the identification key organized according to the host plant, the samples were identified as Aphis gossypii Glover. The honeydew of A. gossypii Glover, known as the cotton aphid, was collected from the host plant and the effects of two different concentrations of the honeydew (10 and 20 g/L) on fungal growth were determined using both solid and liquid media. Different Trichoderma strains and Beauveria bassiana were used to examine fungal growth. Fungal growth in the prepared nutrient media was determined as the amount of biomass (gram). The honeydew content (phenolic substance, sugar and amino acid amounts) was determined and supported by FT-IR analyses. The growth of fungal species in the PDA medium, which was preferred as the control medium, and the medium containing honeydew was compared. It has been determined that fungal growth is better in the medium containing honeydew, and therefore honeydew increases fungal growth. With this study, it is predicted that aphid honeydew can support the growth of both fungal agents used in biological control and plant pathogens.

This research was conducted in 2020 to determine the effects of leonardite-derived humic acids (Humas-15, Liquid Humus and Humico Maximix-K) with different properties, along with reduced nitrogen fertilization, on tuber yield and quality in potatoes (cv. Van Gogh). In the study, chemical fertilizer applications were made as basic fertilization (20 N 10 P 10 K), reduced fertilization I (15 N 10 P 10 K) and reduced fertilization II (10 N 10 P 10 K). Humic acids were applied twice with irrigation water, at the beginning of the flowering period and 15 days later. Humas-15 and Liquid Humus were applied at 1.0 and 2.0 lt/da doses, and Humico Maximix-K was applied at 400 and 800 g/da doses. A total of seven traits (tuber number per plant, tuber yield per plant, marketable tuber yield, total tuber yield, dry matter content, reducing sugar content and total sugar content) were measured. Reducing nitrogen applications with humic acid applications significantly affected all the traits studied. Humic acid applications combined with reduced nitrogen fertilization increased the number of tubers per plant by up to 13%, marketable tuber yield by up to 18% and total tuber yield by up to 16% compared with the control. Total and reducing sugar contents varied between 1.27-1.58% and 159-389 mg/100g fw, respectively depending on the applications. In the study, the highest tuber yield was obtained from 1.0 and 2.0 L/da Humas-15 and 2.0 L/da Liquid Humus applications applied together with reducing nitrogen applications which have close values to the recommended fertilization applications.

Mulching, a widely employed agricultural practice, has been recognized for its influence on soil moisture retention, temperature regulation, and weed suppression, thereby improving growth and yield of crops. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of mulching materials on growth and yield attributes of summer squash under water constraint condition during March to May 2023 in Chitwan, Nepal. The experiment was laid in single factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four different mulches (rice straw, wheat straw, rice husk and silver on black plastic mulch 30 microns) and control replicated 4 times. All the Plant growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaves per plant and plant spread, were highest in silver plastic mulch and the poorest in the un-mulched plots. Mulching also significantly influenced floral characters, with plastic mulch demonstrating superiority in traits such as days to flowering, number of flowers per plant, and sex ratio compared to organic mulches and the control. Fruit length, diameter, and weight exhibited the highest values under plastic mulch and the lowest values under the control, while all organic mulches showed similar results. The highest yield of 41.44 Mt ha-1 was achieved with silver plastic mulch, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing crop productivity, while the lowest yield of 11.77 Mt ha-1 was recorded in the control plots. Despite its higher cost, silver pastic mulch exhibited highest net return and benefit-cost ratio. Rice husk mulch, with the second highest benefit-cost ratio and relatively low cost of production, emerged as promising alternative. Although mulching did not notably affect the soil pH, the varying soil organic matter percentages were observed, with the highest on rice straw mulch and the lowest on silver plastic mulch. The study suggests that while plastic mulch can significantly boost productivity during water scarcity, rice husk mulch offers a cost-effective alternative with substantial economic benefit.