A Survey on Basic Business Problems of Pistachio Farmers in Turkey

Turkey is an important country which has pistachio trees in the world. The Southeastern Anatolia Project （GAP） region located in southeastern of Anatolia has all of pistachio trees. In other words, pistachio trees have grown only in GAP region. Provinces of ~anliurfa, Gaziantep and Adiyaman are in the GAP region. In this study, we have investigated problems of pistachio farmers in these cities. So, we applied survey to pistachio farmers. Then we analyzed data which we had from the surveys with SPSS. As a result, the farmers have mainly got input problems, marketing problems, processing problems, keeping problems, financial problems, labor problems and managerial problems. As a solution, pistachio farmers must set up cooperatives which help finding inputs, markets, loan, labor, manager them and come up with their problems. Government has to support pistachio farmers and price of pistachio yield, pistachio farmers must have training programs about theirs works. Finally, pistachio nuts of stock market must be surely founded.     

Farmers' valuation and conservation of crop genetic resources

This paper focuses on the value of landraces (traditional and local crop varieties) to farmers in centers of agricultural diversity. Additional information on the factors contributing to the private value which farmers assign to landraces may help to identify a strategy for ensuring the conservation of the crop genetic resources (CGRs) which are embodied in landraces while at the same time minimizing the costs. Economic and ethnobotanical approaches for examining the value of landraces complement one another. A formal economic approach establishes a framework for quantitative analysis while ethnobotanical methods provide qualitative data for assessing the likelihood that particular farmers or farm sectors will maintain landraces. Our research synthesizes the two approaches in order to examine farmer selection of local wheat landraces in relation to that of modern varieties in three provinces in western Turkey. Multiple farmer concerns (e.g. yield, risk, quality), environmental heterogeneity, and missing markets contribute to the persistence of landraces. Household characteristics informing variety choice will also affect the household's perceptions of the importance and value of landraces.     

How is quality of urban green spaces associated with physical activity and health?

This study investigates the associations between quality of urban green spaces (UGS), self-reported physical activity (PA), and health indicators in Aydın, Turkey. Data was collected through a survey with 420 participants. The associations between quality of UGS, self-reported frequency and duration of PA, and stress, mental health, and physical health were examined with multivariate linear regression while controlling for confounding factors. Results showed that nearest distance to UGS and quality of UGS (i.e. maintenance and cleanliness) were associated with increased frequency of PA. Higher frequency of PA was related to less stress and better mental health and longer duration of PA was associated with better physical health. In addition, large and open/visible UGS were associated with better physical health. The findings also showed that stress mediates the relationship between PA and mental health. Results suggest that providing large, visible as well as clean and well-maintained UGS close to people's homes may be an effective strategy to improve PA and people's health.     

Note: Evaluation of antibacterial activity of essential oil of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosa damascena</Emphasis> on<Emphasis Type="Italic">Erwinia amylovora</Emphasis>

Significant antibacterial activity was observed in the essential oil (E.O.) ofRosa damascena Mill. and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the E.O. was determined as 1386.5 μg ml⁻¹ forErwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight disease. Ooze formation on immature pears and lesion formation in artificially inoculated shoots were completely (100%) prevented by the essential oil ofR. damascena (1500 μg ml⁻¹), essential oil ofThymbra spicata var.spicata (500 μg ml⁻¹) and streptomycin (100 μg ml⁻¹). Copper oxychloride plus maneb significantly reduced ooze formation and lesion formation, but the control was less than that obtained with the essential oils or streptomycin. The essential oil ofR. damascena may be a useful natural bactericide for the control of the fire blight pathogen,E. amylovora. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 14, 2004.     

Note: Life history of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lixus bardanae</Emphasis> on curly dock (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rumex crispus</Emphasis>) in Turkey

The biology ofLixus bardanae (F.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on curly dock (Rumex crispus L.) in northeastern Anatolia (Bayburt, Erzurum and Kars Provinces), Turkey, was studied during the years 2000 and 2001.L. bardanae completes one generation in a year, overwintering as an adult. It feeds on leaves of the host plant. Females lay eggs individually into stems and the young larvae create galleries in stems while feeding. Pupation occurs inside stems in cells fashioned from frass. In late September, adults move into soil and overwinter in an upright position around the roots of the host plant. Infestation levels were found to range between 34% and 84%. Two parasitoids,Exeristes roborator F. andEndromopoda phragmitidis Perve (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), were reared fromL. bardanae. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Dec. 21, 2003.     

Tachinid parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spodoptera exigua</Emphasis> in cotton fields in Diyarbakır,Turkey

Tachinid parasitoidsExorista xanthaspis (Wiedemann),Nemorilla maculosa (Meigen),Palesisa maculosa (Villeneuve) andDrino imberbis (Wiedemann) were obtained fromSpodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Noctuidae) larvae collected from cotton fields in Turkey.S. exigua is a new host record forN. maculosa, andP. maculosa is recorded from Turkey for the first time. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 14, 2004.     

Note: New records of flea beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Turkey

Five species of flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) were recorded for the first time in Turkey:Dibolia numidica Doguet,Longitarsus corynthius corynthius (Reiche et Saulcy),L. onosomae (Peyerimhoff),L. pulmonariae Weise andPhyllotreta ganglbaueri Heikertinger. The zoogeographical distribution of the species was reviewed. Among the species,L. onosmae andD. numidica have a limited distribution area in North Africa, and therefore their presence in Turkey is interesting. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 14, 2004.     

Effect of dietary manipulation and vaccination of turkey breeder hens on immunoglobulin levels of yolk,yolk sac and neonate poults

Two hundred turkey breeder hens and 24 viable toms of 30–35 weeks age of small white variety were distributed into two treatment groups having four replicates of 25 hens and three toms in each treatment. First four replicates were offered a turkey breeder diet (Diet A) (Nutrient requirements of poultry, 1994, National Academic Press, Washington, DC) and the rest four replicates were maintained on a higher plane of nutrition (Diet B) for 8‐week duration. After 6 weeks of experimental feeding, two replicates from each treatment groups were vaccinated with ND (R₂B) vaccine. Yolk sac of embryo from birds fed Diet B had a significantly higher (p < .05) IgG, IgM level and HI titre (log 2) than those fed Diet A. HI titre values of embryonic yolk sac from the vaccinated birds fed Diet B were significantly higher (p < .05) than that of the control groups. In addition, HI titre values were significantly higher (p < .05) in the day‐old poults of the birds fed Diet B than that of those fed Diet A. There was significantly (p < .01) positive correlation between serum IgG and IgM of the breeder birds and day‐old chicks. Similarly, there was significantly (p < .05) positive correlation between yolk IgG and IgM after 1‐month experimental feeding and yolk sac IgG and IgM. Positive correlation (p < .05) also existed between yolk sac IgM and day‐old chick serum IgM. Furthermore, the HI titres of breeder birds' serum at 14 days post‐vaccination were positively correlated with their egg yolk after 10 and 15 days post‐vaccination, yolk sac and day‐old chicks. Thus, the study envisaged that a higher immunity in neonate poults from turkey breeders maintained on a higher plane of nutrition may be elicited as there was maternal transfer of antibodies from the serum of breeder birds to their offsprings through their yolk sac.     

Long‐term site productivity effects of different Rhododendron control methods in eastern beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) ecosystems in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey

The study area is located in an eastern beech stand on a fertile and mesic upland site in the western Black Sea region of Turkey. During natural regeneration of the beech stand, rhododendron was differentially controlled. The experiment used a randomized block design with four replicates and two different site preparation practices. The manual treatment was hand grubbing. The whole plant was uprooted and left on the site. The mechanical treatment scarified the surface soil to 5–10 cm depth with a bulldozer equipped with a brush rake. After 17 years following site preparation, the number of trees on the grubbing site (GS) was 60% more than that of mechanical treatment sites (MTS). Total tree biomass per hectare was 39% greater on GS than that of MTS. Beech trees on the grubbing sites had 18, 115, 29, 17 and 78% more N, P, K, Ca and Mg than MTS, respectively. Forest floor N content on GS was 50% more than that of MTS. On the GS, Ca content also was three times more than that of MTS. At 0–20 cm depth, cation exchange capacity on GS was 48% higher than that of MTS. At the same depth, GS had 50, 100, 78, 23, 8, 10 and 49% more C, N, P, Ca, K, Mg and S concentrations than those of MTS, respectively. Removing of organic layer and upper soil with mechanical site preparation depletes ecosystem nutrient pools compared with manual grubbing. This difference is sustained in the long‐term. Grubbing is both effective and by leaving organic layer on the sites, grubbing preserves the long‐term productivity of the ecosystem.     

Phytoremediation Possibilities of Boron-Contaminated Environments by Wild Plants Growing on Boron Reserve Areas in Turkey

Turkey has almost 70% of the total boron (B) in the world, and B-reserve areas form a special habitat in terms of plant–environment relationships. In this study, these relationships were used to investigate phytoremediation possibilities for B-contaminated environments. Field studies were carried out in seven different open B mine sites and their environments in four different provinces of Turkey. At the end of chemical analyses of soil and plant samples, 11 wild and potential phytoremediator plant species were determined; two of them were aquatic whereas nine were terrestrial. Some of the species were halophytes. Puccinella distans subsp. distans (Poaceae) and Gypsophila perfoliata subsp. perfoliata (Caryophyllaceae) showed both the greatest tolerance and greatest B accumulation ratios. The results of the present study could be used as a tool to improve effective and environmentally friendly management strategies for both aquatic and terrestrial environments contaminated with high B concentrations.