A field-based experiment was carried out in Rukum (East), Nepal, from February to June 2020, to assess the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on germination of Persian walnut. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with six treatments and four replications. The treatments included hot water treatment, chilling stratification only, cracking + Gibberellic acid (500ppm) followed by chilling stratification, cracking + Gibberellic acid (750ppm) followed by chilling stratification, Gibberellic acid (500ppm) + chilling stratification and Gibberellic acid (750ppm) + chilling stratification. The minimum days for germination (15.75 days) and highest germination (53.25%) were obtained when the combination of cracking with GA3 @ 750 ppm along with chilling stratification was done. The maximum shoot length (34.83 cm) was observed in the combination of cracking with GA3 @ 500 ppm followed by stratification but statistically similar shoot length (34.63 cm) was observed when cracking, application of GA3 @ 750 ppm followed by stratification was done. Cracking, treatment with GA3 @ 500 ppm followed by chilling stratification resulted in the highest shoot fresh weight (11.93 gm) and root fresh weight (10.77 gm) compared to the other treatments used. Thus, cracking along with treatment by GA3 @ 750 ppm followed by chilling stratification could be suggested to the walnut growers for better germination and a better morphological and physiological status of the rootstocks/seedlings.

In this study, an image processing algorithm and classification unit were developed to classify the fruits according to their size and color characteristics. For this purpose, a total of 300 fruits (50 fruit samples from each of the Starkrimson Delicious and Golden Delicious apple varieties, Washington Navel and Valencia Midknight orange varieties, Ekmek and Eşme quince varieties) were used in the experiments. The size and color values measured with a caliper and a spectrophotometer were entered in the developed image processing algorithm to determine the success rates of classifying the fruits. The integration of image processing algorithm with the classification unit classified 88%, 100%, 96%, 82%, 86%, respectively. On the other hand, the size and color values read in fruits with the image processing algorithm were evaluated using predictive techniques used in data mining. For this purpose, K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Decision Tree (DT), Naive Bayes classification and Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP) algorithms were used. Algorithms were run with 10-fold cross validation method. In the training of artificial classifiers, the success was 93.6% for KNN, 90.3% for DT, 88.3% for Naive Bayes, 92.6% for MLP and 94.3% for RF.

Ethiopia’s export earning is heavily dependent on primary agricultural commodities and raw materials. Coffee has been the principal export commodity of Ethiopia for many years and continued to be the leading export commodity. The objective of this paper was, therefore, to identify the determinants of Ethiopia’s coffee export to the major trading partners. Eighteen countries were selected based on the importance of the country as Ethiopia’s coffee export destination and availability of the required data. Annual panel data from 2001 to 2016 was collected from FAO database and other relevant sources. After appropriate econometric tests had been applied, random effect model was selected and used to analyze the data. From the seven variables entered into the model, four variables were found to affect Ethiopia’s coffee export significantly. GDP of the importing countries and population size of Ethiopia affect Ethiopia’s coffee export positively as expected. Weighted distance between Ethiopia and its trading partners was also found to have an expected effect, negative, on Ethiopia’s coffee export. Contrary to the hypothesis, foreign direct investment flows to Ethiopia affected Ethiopia’s coffee export negatively. Based on the results, the study draws conclusion and policy implications. To increase Ethiopia’s coffee export, government and other stakeholders should give prime attention to countries where there is high demand for Ethiopia’s coffee. Moreover, coffee exporters should exploit the existing nearest market opportunities. Finally, favourable conditions should be created for the large unemployed labor of the country to increase coffee production and export.

Understanding the fire-prone arid-zone pine species and maquis vegetation's response to fire is very important to reveal the ecology and evolution of these species. During the succession of vegetation, there are complex relationships between allelopathic metabolites and fires. Many plant communities such as pines, maquis, savannas and woodlands are known to play a critical role in the development of succession. However, studies revealing the relationship between succession processes and allelopathic mechanisms in fire-prone ecosystems are quite limited. Most evergreen maquis vegetations are one of the most studied fire ecosystems. In maquis vegetation, fire causes the formation of plant communities that continue with allelochemicals produced by plants, as well as shaping the climate of the region. The event of a living species inhibiting another species by secreting toxic compounds is expressed as allelopathy. These toxic compounds are generally referred to as allelochemicals. Many maquis species that grow in fire-prone ecosystems excrete their allelochemicals, preventing the development of herbaceous species around them and invade their habitats. These chemicals, which accumulate in the soil during the dry season, affect the succession processes in vegetation in the event of a fire and determine which species will follow each other. Considering these relationships, it can be said that allelopathic plants have the potential to change plant diversity in vegetation by changing their functional plant characteristics. The purpose of this review is to determine the relationship between allelochemicals and fire of plant species in fire-prone ecosystems, and to reveal how this affects the succession processes.

Sous vide, Fransızca “vakum altında” anlamına gelmekte olup yöntem; gıdaların vakum ambalajda, tam olarak kontrol edilebilen sıcaklıklarda (≤100°C) su banyosu içinde pastörize edilmesini içermektedir. Sous vide aynı zamanda bir muhafaza yöntemidir. Pişirme işleminin ardından ürün hemen tüketilmekte veya 0-3°C sıcaklık aralığına hızlı bir şekilde soğutularak tekrar ısıtma ve tüketim aşamasına kadar 3-5 hafta süreyle depolanabilmektedir. Sous vide teknolojisi ile ürünün tekstür ve kalite özelliklerine zarar verilmeden, dış yüzeyi aşırı kurumadan, istenen sıcaklıkta ve istenen sürede hazırlanması sağlanmaktadır. Bu yöntemle et, balık, tavuk ve sebzeler pişirilebilmektedir. Sous vide teknolojisi ile hazırlanan et ve et ürünleri hem daha lezzetli, sulu ve gevrek hem de bünyesindeki besin maddelerini minimum düzeyde kaybetmektedir. Sous vide teknolojisi, depolama süresinin uzatılması, duyusal ve mikrobiyolojik kalitenin korunması gibi, birçok avantaj sağlamaktadır. Vakum ambalajla anaerobik ortam sağlanması ve kontrollü sıcaklık uygulaması ile gıdalarda bulunan bakterilerin vejetatif formları inaktive edildiği için Sous vide teknolojisi ile pişirme birçok açıdan güvenilir olmaktadır.

Bu araştırmada, farklı düzeylerde propiyonik asit ilavesinin toplam karışım rasyonu yemin aerobik stabilite özellikleri üzerine etkileri araştırılmıştır. Çalışmada, propiyonik asit temeline dayalı katkı maddesinin dört farklı oranda ilavesinin (%0, 1,5, 3,0 ve 4,5), 26°C ve 30°C depolama koşullarında etkisi araştırılmıştır. Yem örnekleri her muamele grubunda 3’er tekerrür olmak üzere 7 gün süre ile depolanmıştır. Aerobik stabilite süresince yem örneklerinde kimyasal ve mikrobiyolojik parametrelere ilişkin analizler yürütülmüştür. Her muamele grubunda sıcaklık değerleri ve ortam sıcaklığı 7 gün süreyle sıcaklık sensörleri ile ölçülüp kaydedilmiştir. Araştırmada katkı maddesi ilavesi toplam karışım rasyonu yemin pH, kuru madde, nötral çözücülerde çözünmeyen lif ve maya içeriklerini düşürmüş, ham protein, ham yağ, suda çözünebilir, laktik asit ve laktik asit bakteri içeriklerini yükseltmiş, küf gelişimini ise önlemiştir. Araştırma sonucunda %4,5 oranında propiyonik asit ilavesi toplam karışım rasyonunun 26°C 7 gün, 30°C ise 5 gün süre ile stabil kalmasını sağlamıştır.

This scale-wide participatory evaluation was designed to assess farmers’ technology preference and stakeholders’ linkage on top of estimating the advantage and efficiency of improved faba bean technology over the local practice. On-farm experiment and assessment were conducted using 100 farmers who allocate 0.25-0.5ha of land in Wag-lasta dryland. Planting and other agronomic standards were applied as per the technological recommendation. Required quantitative and qualitative data collected at farm and farmer level using quadrants and checklist, respectively. Cost-benefit analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyse the quantitative data. Qualitative data such as farmers’ technology preference and stakeholders’ linkage were assessed in simple ranking matrix and SWOT analysis. The improved faba bean technology provided mean grain yields of 1340 and 590 kg ha-1 in Lasta and Sekota districts, respectively. It has thus a 31.4% and 38.9% yield advantage and penalty over the local practice, in that order (p

Fire blight, affecting more than one hundred and thirty species in the Rosaceae, is probably the most destructive disease affecting pear and apple cultivars in many countries. Currently, there are no effective synthetic compounds with systemic properties. Other major problem is the occurrence and spread of strains of Erwinia amylovora with resistance to streptomycin and copper. Taken into consideration the human and environmental health, the use of biocontrol agents either as an alternative or as a supplement within an integrated fire blight management strategy has attracted worldwide attention. In this study, E. amylovora solution of 107 CFU ml-1 was treated with bio-control agents, Bacillus subtilis str. QST 713, B. amyloliquefaciens str. MBI 600 and their mixture (at solution densities of 106, 107 and 108 CFU ml-1 for each one) on Petri dishes, containing King’s B medium and, compared with positive (streptomycin sulphate) and negative (sterile distilled water) controls. In vivo studies were performed on two-year-old apple cv. Gala seedlings grown in 45-cm-diameter pots containing a sterilized mix of soil–sand–peat under controlled greenhouse conditions (85% relative humidity, 25°C temperature and 16h of day light). The plants were irrigated as needed by drip-irrigation and each pot received a mineral solution (NPK: 20–20–20) at 2 g l-1 twice. When plant shoots reached a length of 30-35 cm, bio-control agents, individually and their mixture, were applied to the plants by a hand-sprayer. Obtaining the data, 108 CFU ml-1 of Bacillus spp. suspension mixture showed strongest in vitro antibacterial effect (26mm) among the tested treatments after positive control streptomycin (28.6mm). Parallel to in vitro findings, the mixture was most effective against the pathogen on cv. Gala (66.03%). Findings show that the use of mixture of beneficial microorganisms with individual antagonistic properties against the pathogen can be an effective strategy as a natural alternative to agrochemicals in the scope of good agriculture practices.

This research was carried out to investigate the fattening performance and slaughter and carcass characteristics of Hair goat and Saanen × Hair goat (G1) crossbred kids in different fattening systems. Thirty Hair goats and 30 Saanen × Hair goat (G1) crossbred singleton male kids 2.5-3 months old and weaned were used. The kids were fattened in three different systems: intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive. Marginal value analysis was applied to determine the optimum feeding periods of the kids. In order to determine the slaughter and carcass characteristics, all the kids fattened were taken to slaughter after determining their live weight at the end of the fattening. Live weight gains after the intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive fattening were 17.83 kg, 19.39 kg, and 18.29 kg in the Hair goat kids and 17.88 kg, 18.24 kg, and 17.32 kg in the Saanen × Hair goat (G1) crossbred kids, respectively. In the same order, the average concentrate feed consumed by kids for 1 kg live weight gain was 7.55 kg, 7.28 kg, 7.00 kg and 7.07 kg. Hot carcass weights after the intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive fattening were 13.58, 14.06, and 13.02 kg in the Hair goat kids and 14.21, 15.03, and 14.06 kg in the Saanen × Hair goat (G1) crossbred kids. The Saanen × Hair goat (G1) crossbred goats increased more in live weight than the Hair goat kids and the semi-intensive fattened goats increased more in live weight than the intensive and extensive fed goats. Moreover, the optimum fattening times generally varied between the groups, but not between genotypes within the group.