Sustainable agriculture, a holistic approach to farming, offers a promising solution to the global challenge of balancing food production with environmental preservation. Sustainability is based on the idea that we should fulfill current needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to fulfill their requirements. It involves the farming practices that maintain the health of our land, water, and air while producing sufficient food necessary for the growing population. This comprehensive review explores diverse sustainable agricultural practices essential for balancing productivity, economic viability, and social equity. Key principles of sustainable agriculture, emphasizing environmental health, financial feasibility, and social justice, underpin a multifaceted approach. Permaculture, emphasizing biodiversity and ecosystem regeneration, aligns with nature’s principles. Crop rotation and diversification mitigate pests and diseases, and enhance soil health. Water management through techniques like drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting optimizes water usage. Innovative practices including aquaponics, hydroponics, vertical farming, and agroforestry ensure year-round, efficient food production. Climate-smart agriculture adapts to climate change, while precision agriculture enhances resource efficiency. Organic farming, relying on natural processes, offers a sustainable alternative to conventional methods. Challenges like excessive chemical usage, climate-related disruptions, and knowledge gaps persist despite promising outcomes. Overcoming these hurdles requires collaborative efforts, policy support, and education initiatives. Sustainable agriculture represents the path toward a resilient and food-secure future for our growing global population.

Bu çalışmanın amacı, İzmir ili merkez ilçelerinde üretilen Göçmen peyniri üretiminde standart reçetelerin tanımlanmasıdır. Bu amaçla ürünlerin mikrobiyolojik ve duyusal özellikleri değerlendirilerek tüketici profiline hitap eden ve endüstriyel üretime adapte edilecek en uygun standart reçetenin tanımlanması hedeflenmiştir. Araştırmada Balkan göçmeni bireylerden toplanan tarifler değerlendirilerek üretilen 4 farklı ürün için standart reçete çalışması yanı sıra duyusal analiz ve mikrobiyolojik analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Lor, Yoğurt, Lor-yoğurt ve Lor-süt şeklinde üretilen ürünlerde tat, koku, kıvam ve genel beğeni özellikleri hedonik skala (1-9) ile değerlendirilmiş ve  genel beğeni puanı ortalaması sırası ile 7,63; 4,32; 6,63 ve 7,84 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Benzer şekilde Lor, Yoğurt, Lor-yoğurt ve Lor-süt ile üretilen geleneksel ürünlerde Lactobacillus spp.sayısı sırası ile 8,18; 6,11; 6,41 ve 7,34 kob/g; Laktokok sayısı sırası ile 7,44; 7,51; 7,35 ve 7,36 kob/g ve maya-küf sayısı sırası ile 4,41; 5,61; 4,71 ve 2,85 kob/g olarak tespit edilmiştir. Lor, Yoğurt, Lor-yoğurt ve Lor-süt ile üretilen geleneksel ürünlerde Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) sayısı sırası ile 2,06; ˂10; 3,78 ve 2,58 kob/g olarak tespit edilmiştir. Escherichia coli (E.coli) aranan tüm örneklerde ˂10 kob/g olarak bildirilmiştir. Geleneksel ürünler içerisinde fermente süt ürünü olarak önemli olan göçmen peyniri Balkan topraklarından Anadolu’ya taşınan bir kültürel mirastır. Toplumları yansıtan yemek kültürüne sahip çıkmak, gelecek nesillere aktarılmasını sağlamak, gastronomi turizmini canlandırmak amacı ile standart reçete çalışmalarının yerel lezzetler üzerine yoğunlaşması önem arz etmektedir.

Mısır tarımındaki artışa paralel olarak bitki besin elementlerine duyulan ihtiyaç da yükselmektedir. Bu çalışmada, bitkisel atıklar ve sıvı hayvan gübrelerinin mısır bitkisinde gübre olarak kullanılmasının bitki gelişimi üzerindeki etkileri incelenmiştir. Bölünmüş parseller deneme deseninde yürütülen çalışmada, tarımsal bitki atıkları olarak nohut, buğday samanı ve kontrol grubu ana materyal olarak kullanılmış, ikinci alt faktör olarak ise kontrol grubu, sıvı hayvan atığı ve üre dozları uygulanarak mısır bitkisi üzerindeki etkileri araştırılmıştır. Araştırmada mısır bitkisinin tepe püskülü çıkış süresi, bitki boyu, ilk boğum çapı, bitkide sap kalınlığı, bitkide yaprak sayısı, koçan ve yukarısındaki toplam yaprak alanı, koçan uzunluğu, bin tane ağırlığı, ve tane verimi özellikleri incelenmiştir. Mısır bitkisin incelenen özelliklerinden bitki boyu, koçan yukarısı yaprak alanı, koçan uzunluğu, bin tane ağırlığı, tane tane verim değerleri, tarımsal bitki atığı, gübre uygulamaları, tarımsal bitki atığı × gübre uygulama interaksiyonunda istatistiki olarak önemli farklılıklar gösterdiği kaydedilmiştir. İncelenen diğer özelliklerden ilk boğum çapı tarımsal bitki atıklarına göre istatistiki olarak önemli farklılıklar gösterdiği, tepe püskül çıkış süresi, sap kalınlığı, bitkide yaprak sayısının ise uygulanan faktörlerden etkilenmediği belirlenmiştir. Araştırma sonucuna göre birçok özellikler bakımından en yüksek sonuçları veren nohut samanının organik tarım açısından tarımsal bitki atığı olarak mısır yetiştiriciliğinde kullanılabilirliği tespit edilmiştir. Sıvı hayvansal atık ve üre gübresinin ise mısır yetiştiriciliği üzerine etkisine bakıldığında, azot gübresinin 40 kg da-1 dozunun, sıvı hayvansal atık dozlarına göre daha yüksek değerler verdiği kaydedilmiştir.

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.

This study aimed to analyze the business impact of the catering sector using the fuzzy logic method. The research was conducted at a catering company in Istanbul, utilizing document review and participant observation methods to evaluate the business impact. The nominal prioritization method was used to identify critical business processes, and a model along with a mathematical formula was developed for calculating the business impact. The Fuzzy Logic Designer Toolbox in MATLAB was utilized for this calculation. The study identified eight critical business processes: (1) material supply, (2) material storage, (3) pre-preparation process, (4) cooking process, (5) portioning, (6) shipping, (7) hygiene and food safety, and (8) customer relationship management. The business impact was assessed using classical and fuzzy logic methods, and the results were compared. The fuzzy logic method provided a more flexible and comprehensive assessment, managing uncertainty and variability more effectively than classical logic. Overall, it proved to be more effective in optimizing business processes, offering a more dynamic and holistic approach to improving and prioritizing these processes.

For Turkish society, bread has been an indispensable part of the kitchen and daily life throughout history. Due to its high consumption in Turkish society, it plays an important role in terms of both health and nutritional habits. Contamination from the soil where wheat is planted to the bread making process is of great importance for health. In this study, the amounts of heavy metals such as aluminum, copper, nickel, chromium, manganese, iron, lead and cadmium in the soil of an agricultural land, in flour obtained from wheat grown there and in bread made from this flour were investigated using ICP-MS. The average levels of Al, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Cd, Fe, Pb and As in soil samples were 120.46, 12.23, 44.9, 93.46, 10.83, 2.06, 196.87, 1.96 and 0.21 mg/kg, respectively. In flour samples, these levels were 17.20, 2.03, 28.93, 26.3, 3.37, 0.09, 30.93, 1.37 and 0.03 mg/kg, respectively. In bread samples, 11.27, 0.77, 8.27, 18.63, 0.4, 0.02, 12.76, 0.04 and 0.001 mg/kg, respectively. The results obtained show that high metal levels in the soil are also found in bread. This indicates that heavy metal levels in bread may pose health risks in long-term consumption. Especially levels of aluminum, nickel, chromium and cadmium metals can cause serious health problems. Therefore, it is important to reduce heavy metal contamination in agriculture and production processes and to conduct regular inspections. Compliance with maximum limits set by health authorities and regulatory agencies is also critical for public health.

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.

Parks and public open green spaces are open spaces for all segments of the society. These places, which are important recreation areas, enable the elderly to renew themselves, to breathe a little in the open air, to be alone with nature even in the city. These opportunities provided by parks are utilised by elderly users. Today, the population of elderly individuals is increasing day by day due to the slowdown in population growth rate. In this study, it is aimed to determine the park usage purposes of the elderly and important park features that encourage physical activity and social interaction. Within the scope of the research, 96 elderly individuals were interviewed with 96 elderly individuals within the scope of face-to-face survey study by going to the park at random times on weekdays and weekends on a voluntary basis by using the questionnaire form prepared for revealing the user profile of individuals aged 40 and over in Ihlamur Park in Selçuklu District, determining the preference times of the park, determining the duration and times of park use, determining the reasons for park preference and selection, and evaluating park user satisfaction and expectations. The findings show that parks are an important social area for elderly people in the same age group with their seating areas, walking paths, simple fitness equipment, as they create a gathering area for elderly people in the same age group, and therefore, parks require careful planning and implementation in the design, management and use of parks and should contain a large amount of space for socialization. In line with these findings, it will be possible for elderly people to benefit more from parks and have a more enjoyable time with landscape designs that provide socialization opportunities for elderly users. Thus, elderly individuals will be able to develop a sense of belonging for the park.

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.

Synthetic fungicides that combat plant pathogenic fungi can enhance crop yields, ensuring stable crop production and market quality. However, the increase in the use of fungicides may cause to development of fungicide-resistant pathogen strains and the accumulation of fungicide residues in the food chain above safe limits. This situation underscores the need for improved fungal disease management through alternatives to synthetic fungicides. These alternatives include plant-derived compounds such as essential oils and extracts. Essential oils are known to be potent antifungal compounds against both human and plant pathogens. Aspergillus niger is a toxin-producing fungal disease agent that causes Aspergillus crown rot in peanuts. In this study, the antifungal activities of nine different essential oils from Foeniculum vulgare, Lippia citriodora, Origanum majorana, Origanum minutiflorum, Origanum onites, Origanum syriacum, Origanum vulgare, Salvia aramiensis and Thymus syriacus plants were evaluated against A. niger under in vitro conditions by using disc diffusion test. Among the nine essential oils tested, the highest antifungal activities were displayed by O. vulgare essential oil (with an inhibition zone diameter of 49.33 mm) which was followed by T. syriacus, O. onites, O. syriacum and O. minutiflorum essential oils (48.67, 47.00, 46.33 and 43.33 mm, respectively). The essential oils of F. vulgare, L. citriodora, and O. majorana showed relatively lower antifungal effects. The essential oil of S. aramiensis did not show antifungal effect against pathogen. The results indicated that plant essential oils could be valuable in promoting research aimed at developing new antifungal agent(s) for fungal disease management. However, further studies are needed to optimize the in vivo application conditions of essential oils against A. niger.