Biochar as agricultural soil amendment to improve soil physico-chemical properties, crop productivity and sustainable soil fertility management is a well-known practice. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of biochar on growth and yield components of carrot and selected soil physic-chemical properties. The study was carried by employing a randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement of four level of biochar (0, 4, 8 and 12 tons ha-1) and four level of Nitrogen/Phosphorus (N/P) fertilizer rate (0/0, 60/10, 90/15 and 120/20 kg ha-1) with four replications. Biochar significantly influenced physico-chemical properties of soils, such as bulk density, total porosity, pH, EC, SOC, TN, Av. P and CEC respectively, as compared to control. The results revealed substantial responses to biochar and N/P fertilization on growth and yield components of carrot with increasing level of biochar and N/P fertilizer rate. None of the others yield parameters were significantly affected by the interaction of two factors. From the present study, it can be concluded that dung cake biochar should be applied to enhance and improve soil physical and chemical properties for favourable plant growth.

In this study, pectin was extracted by acid extraction method from pomegranate peel. The temperature, time and particle size which affected pectin yield were optimized using response surface method. As a result of optimization, optimum conditions for pectin extraction from pomegranate peel were determined as 468-568 µm for particle size, 82°C for temperature and 47,5 minutes for extraction time. After the extraction at optimum conditions pectin yield was found to be 25,96%. In addition, pectin that was produced had equivalent weight of 488,01 mg, methoxyl content of 5,74%, the degree of esterification of 47,43%and anhydrogalacturonic acid content of 68,64%. The results showed that the obtained pectin was low methoxyl pectin.

In this study, it is aimed to determine the heavy metal pollution caused by wastewaters of leather factory in Keban Dam Lake (Agın region). For this purpose, water samples were taken monthly during one year from the selected stations (wastewater of leather factory, wastewater discharged region and open water region). The concentrations of some heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, As and Hg) were determined in water samples. The ranges of elements were found as Cu=11.71-19.14; Fe=82.03-169.92; Zn=39.06-70.31; Cr=58.59-82.03; Ni=2.5-10.25; Cd=45-72.5 mg/L; As=43.57-76.0 and Hg=0.42-0.76 µg/L in wastewater; Cu=6.25-9.74; Fe=42.96-87.89; Zn=16,21-42,96; Cr=39,06-58.59; Ni=1.22-7.25; Cd=23.75-45.0 mg/L; As=20.32-37.92 and Hg=0.19-0.38 µg/L in discharged water to dam lake, Cu=0.31-0.52; Fe=0.24-0.54; Zn=0.43-0.67; Cr=0.05-1.12; Ni=0.002-0.004 and Cd=0.009-0.02 mg/L in open water respectively. It has been determined that heavy metal pollution is very high in the wastewater of leather factory and discharged water to Dam Lake. Among these heavy metals, the most accumulated metal was chromium. In all three regions, the lowest concentrations were found in winter and the highest concentrations were found in summer. The results were compared with tolerable values for heavy metals provided from the WHO, EC and USEPA standards for freshwater. Cu, Fe, Zn, Cr and Ni concentrations in the wastewater and discharged water to the Dam Lake were found above the standard values given by WHO, EC and USEPA.

It is very important to develop a new way of treatment for foodstuffs to provide consumers more chances to choose their foods. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of microwave drying conditions on the rehydration process of Algerian truffles. Previously dried truffles, at different microwave power output (350, 500 and 650 Watt) and weights (100 and 150 g) have been utilized to analyses and to model the rehydration kinetics. Among the six used empirical models, Weibull model has been the most fitted model to all the treated samples. Microwave power output and sample weight were found to have an effect on truffles during drying, and consequently on their rehydration capacity. The high samples amount has decreased the effects of microwave drying by decreasing the density of treatment, also, the high-power output has probably reduced the time of evaporation, and thus more preservation to the dried truffles. These results can be taken into consideration for more industrial applications of microwave drying and subsequent rehydration of truffles.

In this study, it was aimed to detect the antimicrobial activity of 312 Enterococcus species against Listeria monocytogenes. Antimicrobial activity was detected by agar spot and well diffusion assay. A total of 201 enterococcal strains inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes strains based on the agar spot test. Only 44 strains showed antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes strains using agar well diffusion assay. Of the 44 enterococcal strains screened, 6 E. faecium (2.99%) strains had a high antimicrobial effect against indicator L. monocytogenes strains. The antilisterial activity of 6 E. faecium strains had lost after treatment of proteinase K, trypsin and pepsin. The antimicrobial compounds of these strains could be a protein or peptides nature. E. faecium strains were more active against L. monocytogenes than E. faecalis strains.

Sütün yağ globül boyutu, süt ürünlerinin kalitesini özellikle duyusal ve reolojik özelliklerini önemli ölçüde etkilemektedir. Bu sebeple pek çok süt ürününün üretiminde yağ globüllerini küçültmek amacıyla homojenizasyon işlemi uygulanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, 4 farklı güçte (90W, 180W, 300W ve 400W) 15 dakika süreyle süte uygulanan ultrasonik homojenizasyon işleminin 150 bar basınçta tek kademeli klasik homojenizasyona ve 150/50 bar basınçta çift kademeli klasik homojenizasyona kıyasla yağ globül boyutuna ve homojenizasyon etkinliği üzerine etkisi incelenmiştir. Farklı metotlarla homojenize edilen süt örneklerinin homojenizasyon etkinlik değeri % olarak, lazer kırınımı prensibiyle çalışan cihazlarla Dv 0,99, Dv 0,90, Dv 0,50 hacimsel çap değerleri mikrometre (µm) olarak ve süt yağ globül boyutları nanometre (nm) olarak belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca tüm süt örneklerinde yağ globüllerinin mikroskobik görüntülenmesi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ultrason işleminin hem tek kademe hem de çift kademe klasik homojenizasyon işlemine göre süt yağ globül çaplarını küçültmede daha etkili olduğu belirlenmiştir. Uygulanan ultrason işleminin gücü arttıkça süt yağ globül çaplarını küçültme etkinliği de artmış ve yağ globül boyutundaki en fazla küçülme 400W 15 dakika ultrason uygulamasında saptanmıştır.

Turkey with diverse ecologies harbours several plant and fruit species. Several species grow naturally are grown commercially. Kayseri and surroundings constitute natural spread zone of some fruit species. This study was conducted to determine genetic diversity and some pomological characteristics of 31 seed-propagated quince (Cydonia oblanga Mill.) genotypes. For pomological characteristics, fruit length, fruit width, water soluble dry matter (WSDM) and total acidity analyses were performed. Molecular analyses were conducted with the aid of 15 SRAP primer combinations. Genetic diversity in investigated genotypes varied between 0.53- 0.92 and genotypes were gathered under two main groups. Primer base lengths varied between 400- 1700 bp. A total of 97 clear bands were obtained and 91 of them were polymorphic (polymorphism ratio = 87.7%). Present findings revealed that existing quince populations of the region should be preserved and be used in further genetic studies.

Bu araştırmada Romanov kuzularının vücut özelliklerinin gelişiminin tanımlanması amacı ile 50 Romanov kuzusunun doğumdan itibaren 180. yaş gününe kadar olan büyüme döneminde her 15 günde bir canlı ağırlık, vücut uzunluğu, cidago yüksekliği özelliklerine ilişkin kayıtlar alınmış ve elde edilen veriler ile doğrusal modellerden Linear, Kuadratik ve Kübik model, doğrusal olmayan modellerden Gompertz ve Lojistik modelleri kullanılarak büyüme eğrilerine ait parametreler hesaplanmıştır. Büyüme eğrileri içinde en iyi uyumu gösteren modelin belirlenmesinde belirtme katsayısı (R2), hata kareler ortalaması (HKO) ve ortalama mutlak sapma (OMS) değerlerinden yararlanılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre en yüksek R2 değeri ile en düşük HKO değerleri sırası ile canlı ağırlıkta 0,992-0,591, cidago yüksekliğinde 0,993-0,441, vücut uzunluğunda 0,986-1,164 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Ele alınan bütün vücut özelliklerinde en yüksek R2 değeri kübik modelden elde edilmiştir. Büyüme eğrisi modellerine ait parametrelerin belirlenebilmesi için SPSS istatistik programı kullanılmıştır. Bu sonuçlara göre Romanov kuzularının vücut özelliklerinin gelişimini en iyi açıklayan ayrıca büyüme eğrilerine en uyumlu modelin Kübik model olduğu tespit edilmiştir.