Türkiye; birbirinden farklı ekolojik özelliklere sahip olup akarsu ve göller bakımından zengin bir ülkedir. Bazı akarsularımız da yer altına sızarak veya sıcaklığın etkisiyle buharlaşarak kaybolur. En büyük gölümüz Doğu Anadolu'da yer alan sodalı Van Gölüdür. 2021 yılında Türkiye’de su ürünleri üretim miktarı yaklaşık 800 bin ton olup bu miktarın %59’u yetiştiricilik yolu ile elde edilirken %41’i avcılık yolu ile elde edilmektedir. Avcılığın %10’u iç sulardan karşılanırken, yetiştiriciliğin yaklaşık %29’unu oluşturmaktadır. Yapılan bu çalışmada, Van ilinin son 22 yıllık (2000-2021) su ürünleri üretim miktarının elde edilmesi hedeflenmektedir. Bu amaçla Türkiye istatistik Kurumu (TUİK, 2000-2021) veriler yardımı altında Van ilinde yapılan avcılık ve yetiştiricilik yoluyla elde edilen türlerin trend analizi ile 2050 yılına kadar üretim miktarının tahmin edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Van ilinin 2000-2021 yılları arasında avcılık yoluyla en çok avlanan iç su balıkları türleri sırasıyla; İnci Kefali (Chalcalburnus tarichi), Sazan (Cyprinus carpio), Siraz (Capoeta Pestai), Alabalık (Salmo spp.). Yetiştiriciliği yapılan tür ise sadece Alabalık’tır. Sonuç olarak, Van ilinde avcılık yoluyla elde edilen tatlı su balıkları üretiminde yıllara bağlı olarak genel bir azalmanın varlığı gözlenmektedir. Hatta bu şartlar devam ederse Siraz balığının 2022 yılında üretim verilerinde, Sazan balığının ise 2024 yılında üretiminin sona ericeği tahmin edilmiştir. Bunun yanında yetiştiricilik yoluyla üretilen tek tür olan Alabalık üretiminin artacağı bulunmuştur.

In search for an efficient means of building up the carbon stock, improving the fertility levels and aggregate stability of tropical soils for optimum crop yield, a field study was carried using different biochars and comparing the effects with inorganic fertilizer. The biochars were palm bunch biochar (PBB), saw dust biochar (SDM) and rice mill husk biochar (RMHB). Treatments consisted of 10 t/ha palm bunch biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T1), 10 t/ha rice mill husk biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T2), 10 t/ha saw dust biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T3), 500kg/ha N.P.K 15:15:15 fertilizer + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T4) and plot without biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T5) (control plot). These were replicated five times on experimental plots of 4m2 in a randomized complete block design. Maize (Zea mays) was used as a test crop and data obtained were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance and correlation. Soils amended with biochars significantly improved soil pH, organic carbon, exchangeable bases and base saturation than non biochar fertilized soils. Saw dust biochar increased soil carbon stock by 95.1% against NPK fertilizer plots and control. There was 19% decrease in soil bulk density and 17% increase in soil pH with application of palm bunch biochar. Amending soils with palm bunch biochar increased soil organic carbon by 51.5%. The biochars increased the values of critical level of soil organic matter, modifies clay ratio and reduced the value of clay flocculation index more than NPK fertilized soils or control. Among the treatments, rice mill husk biochar recorded the highest maize cob weight though not significant with palm bunch biochar. Therefore, applying biochars on eroded soil is an effective measure of improving the stability, soil carbon stock as well as enhancing higher maize yield than inorganic fertilizer.

The utilization of edible insects as food and feed is not a new concept, it is a practice that has been part of the tradition of many communities around the world. They have been primarily used as supplementary food in most African countries. However, there has been a significant decline in the consumption of insects over the years, especially among young people. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge on entomophagy and the utilization of insects among the youth. The study revealed that the majority of youth had limited knowledge about consumption, nutrition, harvesting, preparation and use of edible insects as livestock feed. From the Chi-square analysis it was observed that age and education level have a significant relationship to the familiarity of consumption of edible insects, P=0.014 and P=0.009 respectively. The results also show that there is a significant association between awareness on the nutritional value of insects with age and education level, P=0.001 and P=0.009 respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to find the association between demographic characteristics, knowledge and the utilization of edible insects. The results revealed that education level, age and knowledge have an impact on the utilization of edible insects. Lack of knowledge contribute to the unwillingness of youth to consume insects. It is noticeable that indigenous knowledge on entomophagy is slowly disappearing with the shift in eating habits and changes in the socio-economic environments. As such, it is imperative that indigenous knowledge is preserved and educational interventions are done to raise awareness on the benefits of entomophagy in order to improve the utilization of insects among the youth.

Rice is the most important staple food crop and plays a vital role in ensuring national food security in Nepal. Rice yield is largely determined by nitrogen management strategy and improving the effectiveness of nitrogenous fertilizer for grain production has long been a challenge. A field experiment was conducted in the sandy loam soil of Lumle, Kaski, Nepal in 2019 and 2020 to assess the effect of neem oil-coated urea (NCU) and common urea (CU) with varying levels of nitrogen (N) on rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The experiment with 7 treatments comprising the combinations of two types of nitrogen source (CU and NCU), three N levels (50, 100, and 150 kg/ha) and one control treatment without N, were allocated in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Increased nitrogen rates up to 100 kg/ha supplied through NCU significantly improved grain yield, yield components, and nitrogen use efficiency of rice. Application of NCU reduced nitrogen fertilizer use by up to 33 % while producing maximum yield and significantly increased agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (ANUE) and nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP) compared with CU. This suggests that the use of NCU with an optimum rate can be a viable option for appropriate N management in rice production.

Drought is one of the most prevalent forms of abiotic environmental stress that reduce crop productivity. A pot experiment was performed in two Aman seasons under drought (40% field capacity, FC) and control (100% field capacity, FC) irrigations to study drought tolerance mechanism(s) based on morphological and physiological traits in six aromatic rice genotypes. Twelve treatments (6 genotypes × 2 irrigations) were arranged in Complete Randomized Design and experiment was carried out at Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. In the experiment, drought was imposed at panicle initiation stage where morphological and physiological data were recorded. Important morphological (stem and root dry weight) and physiological (photosynthesis and chlorophyl content) attributes were significantly (P>0.05) decreased at 40% FC in both the years. Compared to control, relative reduction at 40% FC in above parameters, genotypes were classified into tolerant (Binadhan-13 and NERICA mutant) and sensitive (RM-100-16, Ukunimodhu, Kalizira, and BRRI dhan34) categories. Tolerant genotypes had smaller reduction in shoot and root dry mater (av. 7.73 and 5.56 %, respectively) than sensitive ones (av. 19.32 and 21.80%, respectively). Low reduction percentages of the traits under drought stress to that of the control discriminated Binadhan-13 and NERICA mutant genotypes consistently as drought tolerant.

Vegetables grown in mining areas can accumulate significant amounts of heavy metals (HMs), which can cause serious developmental disorders and have long-term negative effects on public health. In the present study, the HMs contamination level in vegetables grown around the Riruwai mining area in Kano State, Nigeria, was investigated. Fifteen (15) vegetable samples were collected, including lettuce (Lacuta sativa L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), as well as their corresponding soils. The levels of As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in all the samples were determined using Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry, and the measured concentrations were used to calculate the bioaccumulation factor (BAF). The results of the study revealed that HMs concentrations in the investigated vegetables were found to be significantly high, with the majority of levels exceeding the WHO/FAO (2007) recommended limit, and the concentration of HMs in the soil decreased in the order of Zn > Mn > Cr > Pb > As > Ni > Cd > Hg, with As, Pb, and Zn exceeding the WHO/FAO (2001) recommended limit. Pollution levels were found to significantly differ between HMs and vegetable types. BAF results revealed that cadmium is an accumulator of all the studied vegetables (BAFs > 1), while mercury was found to be an accumulator of L. sativa. Higher concentrations of these metals in vegetables and soil, particularly arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc, necessitate immediate scientific attention and further research to determine the optimum concentration required for human health. Planting of vegetables for human and animal consumption should be stopped until this is accomplished.

Researchers treated seed technology and crop yield as exogenous, thereby generating bias estimates. In practice, seed technology increases yield and it’s stimulated by social capital and other factors. This paper develops a choice model of maize-seed exogenously, then tested and corrected for causality. A multistage sampling procedure was adopted using seven Agricultural Development Programme zones drawn from purposively selected Oyo and Osun states. A block each was randomly selected per zone. Twenty-one cells were randomly selected, then data were collected from 385 respondents using a structured questionnaire: Data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Square and Two-Stage Least Square α 0.05. Durbin score chi2(1) = 6.65 (p= 0.009) and Wu-Haussmann F (1,37) = 6.431 (p = 0.012), showed reverse causality that was resolved by the Two-Stage Least Square model. The Two-Stage Least Square result indicated that education (β=-0.53), seed quantity (β=-0.13), seed price (β=-0.08), negatively affected the choice of seed and yield while farm size (β=2.05), fertilizer (β=0.004), herbicide (β=0.22), output-price (β=0.02), meeting attendance index(β=0.02), and improved seed ((β=2.66), had a positive influence. Social capital spurs the use of improved seed, thereby increase maize yield. Consequently, active participation in social groups and the use of improved seed is recommended to increase yield.

This study investigated how profitable and technically effective rice farming was in Quan’ Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. Using a multistage sample method, 120 respondents were drawn. The study’s findings proved that the farmers were 40 years old on average. The men were higher in numbers constituting 81.0% of the study population. 83% of the people were married and a greater number (81%) of them had at least some form of formal education with a typical household size of 9 persons. Findings from the study also showed that the farmers owned an average of 2.0 hectares of farmland and had acquired an average farming experience of 12 years. For the most of them (78.0%), farming was their primary occupation. The result also demonstrated that 78.0% never accessed credit or bank loans for farming as majority (63%) of the respondents acquired their farmlands through inheritance. The entire cost (total cost) of farming operation/ha incurred by the farmers was 139733 while the average output obtained per hectare was 699kg at a prevailing market/selling price of 285/kg. The total revenue (TR) measured in naira value of 199, 215 was realized. Gross margin (GM) and net farm income (NFI) stood at 70932 and 59482 respectively. The return on investment (ROI) was 0.42 meaning that for every naira spent on rice production, a profit of 0.42 is made. Age, educational level, farm size, farming experience and extension contact all had positive direct relationship with net income from rice production at 1%. The rice growers’ mean technical efficiency score was 0.659. Major constraints to rice production were high fertilizer prices (72%), inadequate capital (53%), lack of improved seeds (47%). The research suggests that government should subsidize farming inputs like recommended fertilizer and herbicides so as to reduce the over bearing cost burden of these inputs on farmers. Financial institutions should make credit facilities available and affordable to the farmers.

The aim of the study is to be determine the effect of lactose hydrolysis and sugar content on physicochemical properties, sensory profile and HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural) content in Dulce de Leche (DL). Lactose free (lactose-hydrolysed) dairy products as well as low sugar products have been developed to supply consumer demand. Two different sucrose concentrations, 16% and 20%, were used in milk jam samples produced by the traditional method. For the formation of desired colour and flavour in the Dulce de Leche, Maillard reaction products are mainly responsible. HMF is Maillard reaction indicator analysed in this work. Fat, protein, solid content, ash, lactic acid and pH analysis were carried out. Sucrose, glucose, fructose and lactose concentrations were determined. Lightness, yellowness and redness as colour parameters of DL samples were evaluated and sensory analyses were also performed. It has been revealed that lactose hydrolysis causes significant changes in the color parameters and sensory profile of the samples. In this study, less or no HMF was detected in the lactose hydrolyzed DL samples compared to the control samples.

Thymelaea hirsuta (L.) Endl. , known as ‘Methnane’ in Algeria, is a widely medicinal plant used in folk medicine. In the present study, In vitro antioxidant activity of T. hirsta extracts and the impact of extraction solvent polarity on the antioxidant potential were investigated. Three types of polar solvents with decreasing polarity were chosen; water for decocted extract, methanol-water at 50% and absolute methanol for macerated extracts. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were evaluated and showed a high amount wihch decreases with increasing polarity. Antioxydant activity was assessed with different methods: ABTS assay for evaluation of scavenge activity, CUPRAC and reducing power for assessement of the reduction potential of T. hirsuta areal parts. The results showed that T. hirsuta areal parts exhibited a strong scavenging activity with significant difference between extracts in terms of their polarity. In the same line, the most polar aqueous decocted extract exhibited a considerable reducing activity followed by hydromethanolic and methanolic extract with increasing potential. These findings suggest the suitability of polar solvents for the extraction of phytochemical compounds from T. hirsuta areal parts and so, their antioxidant activity against several radicals and ions.