Screening for resistance of Turkish olive cultivars and clonal rootstocks to Verticillium wilt

Verticillium wilt resistance of 77 olive cultivars including 71 domestic and six foreign ones, and four clonal rootstocks available in the olive gene bank, were tested using a highly virulent isolate (D pathotype) of Verticillium dahliae. The pathogen was stem-inoculated into the own-rooted saplings. Most cultivars and rootstocks were found to be extremely susceptible to the disease. ‘Sinop No. 1’, ‘E?riburun Nizip’, ‘Erkence’, ‘E?riburun Tatayn’, ‘Girit Zeytini’ and ‘Marantelli’ were highly resistant, as their disease severities did not exceed 10%. Additionally, 11 domestic cultivars (‘Sar? Habe?i’, ‘Ya?l?k Çelebi’, ‘Zoncuk’, ‘Dilmit’, ‘?am’, ‘Hurma Karaca’, ‘Erdek Ya?l?k’, ‘Melkabaz?’, ‘Yün Çelebi’, ‘Kan Çelebi’ and ‘Siyah Salamural?k’), two foreign cultivars (‘Arbequina’ and ‘Frantoio’) and one wild clonal rootstock (‘D36’) were found to be resistant, with disease severities less than 30%. On the other hand, the moderately susceptible group comprised ten domestic cultivars (‘Ak Zeytin’, ‘Ya? Çelebi’, ‘Saurani’, ‘Butko’, ‘Gemlik’, ‘Otur’, ‘Ya? Zeytini’, ‘Belluti’, ‘Sinop No. 2’ and ‘Samanl?’), three foreign cultivars (‘Leccino’, ‘Chemlali’ and ‘Ascolana’) and one wild clonal rootstock (‘D9’). The number of cultivars within highly resistant and resistant groups was 17 out of the 71 domestic cultivars from all regions (four from Aegean, seven from southeastern Anatolia, two from Black Sea and three from Marmara).     

Removal of Remazol Red Rb by using Al (III) as Coagulant-Flocculant: Effect of Some Variables on Settling Velocity

This study addresses the research of the removal of a textile dye from aqueous solutions by using aluminum ions as coagulant-flocculant. A simulated textile wastewater was prepared from Remazol Red RB textile dye. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of temperature, pH, and concentrations of the cationic surfactant and electrolyte concentration on the settling velocity ofthe simulated textile wastewater. While investigating these factors, levels of variables were determined by considering the characteristicsof traditional textile wastewater like pH, temperature, and dye concentration. Although traditional coagulation-flocculation processesmake use of different aluminium salts as coagulant-flocculent, in this study, Al ions dissolved in pH and temperature of traditional textilewastewater were used. Furthermore, sludge volume index values (SVI) were determined and conductivity measurements carried out. The resultsshowed that, in the working range of these variables, the spectroscopic color measurement revealed 100% decolorization yieldof wastewater. In conclusion, researchers found that the optimum settling velocity conditions were as follows: low temperature (273K),surfactant concentration of 0.10 g L^-1, electrolyte concentration of 0.10 g L^-1, dye concentration of 0.025 g L^-1 and a pH of 10.05. Finally, by conducting experiments twice under the obtained optimum values, mean settling velocity was 0.014 m min^-1 and the mean sludge volume index 140 mL g^-1.     

A new approach for neutron moisture meter calibration: artificial neural network

The neutron moisture meter (NMM) is a widely used device for sensing soil water content (SWC). Calibration accuracy and precision of the NMM are critical to obtain reliable results, and linear regression analysis of SWC against NMM count data is the most common method of calibration. In this study, artificial neural network (ANN) calibration models were developed and compared with linear regression. For this purposes, training and validation data were obtained from 2 calibration and 16 testing plots, respectively. Calibration plots consist of wet and dry soil water conditions separately. Data measured in dry beans and red pepper plots that have four different water levels were used to determine validity of regression and ANN-based calibration models. Volumetric SWC and NMM count ratio measurements were taken for depth intervals of 30 cm throughout a 120-cm-deep soil profile. Several neural network architectures were explored in order to determine the optimal network architecture. Data analyses were conducted for each soil layer and for the whole profile, separately, based on both linear regression and ANN. Linear regression calibration equation coefficients of determination (r ²) for the 0–30, 30–60, 60–90 and 90–120 cm depth ranges calculated by regression models were 0.85, 0.84, 0.72 and 0.82, respectively, and r ² values were 0.94, 0.95, 0.87 and 0.88 based on ANN models, respectively. Using the data set from the entire 120-cm soil profile for calibration by ANN, the r ² value was raised to 0.97.     

Rapid shift from denitrification to nitrification in soil after biogas residue application as indicated by nitrous oxide isotopomers

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is one of the major greenhouse gases emitted from soils, where it is mainly produced by nitrification and denitrification. It is well known that rates of N₂O release from soils are mainly determined by the availability of substrates and oxygen, but N₂O source apportioning, highly needed to advance N₂O mitigation strategies, still remains challenging. In this study, using an automated soil incubation system, the N₂O site preference, i.e. the intramolecular ¹⁵N distribution, was analyzed to evaluate the progression in N₂O source processes following organic soil amendment. Biogas fermentation residue (BGR; originating from food waste fermentation) was applied to repacked grassland soil cores and compared to ammonium sulfate (AS) application, both at rates equivalent to 160 kg NH₄⁺-N ha⁻¹, and to unamended soil (control). The soil cores were incubated in a helium-oxygen atmosphere with 20 kPa O₂ for 43 days at 80% water-filled pore space. 43-day cumulative N₂O emissions were highest with BGR treated soil accounting for about 1.68 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹ while application of AS caused much lower fluxes of c. 0.23 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹. Also, after BGR application, carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes showed a pronounced initial peak with steep decline until day 21 whereas with ammonium addition they remained at the background level. N₂O dual isotope and isotopomer analysis of gas samples collected from BGR treated soil indicated bacterial denitrification to be the main N₂O generating process during the first three weeks when high CO₂ fluxes signified high carbon availability. In contrast, in the second half after all added labile carbon substrates had been consumed, nitrification, i.e. the generation of N₂O via oxidation of hydroxylamine, gained in importance reaching roughly the same N₂O production rate compared to bacterial denitrification as indicated by N₂O SP. Overall in this study, bacterial denitrification seemed to be the main N₂O forming process after application of biogas residues and fluxes were mainly driven by available organic carbon.     

Lipid evaluation of cultivated and wild carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) seed oil growing in Turkey

Studies were carried out on the oil content, fatty acids, tocopherols and sterols in the seeds of two carobs (Ceratonia siliqua), cultivated and wild, from Turkey. The oil yields of cultivated and wild carob seeds were established as 1.73 and 1.82% on a dry weight basis, respectively. The main fatty acids in cultivated and wild carob seed oils are linoleic (49.1% and 51.0%), oleic (30.4% and 26.5%), palmitic (10.3% and 12.0%) and stearic (3.5% and 4.6%), respectively. Tocopherols and phytosterols are important constituents of the unsaponifiable fraction of several seed oils. The major tocopherol in both seed oils was γ-tocopherol. The composition (mg/100 g) was as follows α-tocopherol (69.06 and 70.39 mg/100 g), P8 (22.29 and 24.78 mg/100 g), δ-tocopherol (8.70 and 10.66 mg/100 g), β-tocopherol (2.30 and 1.85 mg/100 g). The total tocopherol contents had 208.45 and 223.14 mg/100 g, respectively. The total content of sterols of both oils were determined as 16400.94 and 30191.55 mg/kg, with β-sitosterol as the predominant sterol that accounted for more than 70% of the total amount of sterols other sterols, campesterol (5.33–5.32%), stigmasterol (0.58–11.43%) 7-avenasterol (3.45–3.03%), 7-stigmasterol (2.16–2.4%), and chlerosterol (1.33–1.0%) were detected in both carob oils. As a result, the accurate quantification of these analyses has very important applications for the nutrition sciences.     

Characteristics of some almond kernel and oils

The proximate properties, the fatty acid and mineral contents of different almond kernel varieties were determined. The crude protein contents of kernels ranged between 12.7% (guara) and 16.3% (cristomorto). The oil yields from these kernels were established between 48.8% (cristomorto) and 55.7% (ferragnes). The acidity value of oils were found between 1.389 and 3.559%. In addition, peroxide values were established between 7.586 (nonpareil) and 15.590 mequiv./kg (cristomorto). The major fatty acids of almond kernel oils were oleic (72.5–79.9%), linoleic (13.5–19.8%) and palmitic acids (5.9–6.7%). The predominant mineral in most kernel was potassium (13.1–15.1 mg/100 g). The mineral contents of the kernels were established as 7.94–9.38 mg/100 g potassium, 2.9–4.0 mg/100 g magnesium and 1.84–2.94 mg/100 g calcium. From the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the kernels of almond varieties are being potential sources of valuable oil which might be used for edible and other industrial applications.     

Functional characteristics of the growth factor receptor family and some ligands in the oropharyngeal cavity of the Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar)

1. The aim of the present study is to describe, immunohistochemically, the expression and cell type localisation of growth factor receptors and some of their ligands in the oropharyngeal organs of the Chukar partridge.

2. The tissue samples from 10 healthy adult partridges were dissected under ether anaesthesia and then embedded in paraffin following routine histological procedures. The immunoreaction for receptors and ligands of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/ligand system was localised in the cell membrane, nucleus and cytoplasm of the luminal and glandular epithelial cells, stromal and striated muscle cells, and vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells.

3. Variations were observed in the avian oropharyngeal organs. The immunostaining for the erbB1/HER1 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 1) and the EGF (epidermal growth factor) and AREG (Amphiregulin) ligands in the luminal epithelial cells was higher than in the glandular epithelial, stromal and striated muscle cells. However, the immunostaining for erbB3/HER3 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 3) and erbB4/HER4 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 4) were similar in the luminal epithelium, stromal and striated muscle cells.

4. Growth factor receptors and some of their ligands were localised in different cell types in the oropharyngeal organs. We suggest that erbB/HERs (human epidermal growth factor receptors) and their ligands play an important role in proliferation, differentiation, growth, survival and migration of the cells.