One of the most dangerous diseases of corn is Ustilago maydis DC. Corda, which damages the maize yield every year. It is difficult to protect against the corn smut infection because the efficiency of fungicide treatment is inadequate. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of corn smut infection on some physiological and morphological parameters of maize (Zea mays L. cv. Armagnac). Furthermore, the aim of this research was to examine the possible compensation effects of gibberellin (GA3) and ethylene (as ethrel) separately, and in combination on the corn smut infection. The plants were grown in a greenhouse, they were infected and treated in the five leaf phenological phase with two ml of sporidium suspension (10,000 sporidium/ml), injected into the stem. At the same time, one ml of gibberellin, ethylene and the combination of the two hormones were injected. The relative chlorophyll content, stem diameter and plant height were measured in the fourth and fifth leaves of plants, 7, 11 and 14 days after the infection (DAI). The photosynthetic pigments were determined from the fourth leaf, and the rate of lipid peroxidation was measured from the fifth leaves, 14 DAI.

The corn smut infection significantly reduced the relative-chlorophyll content 14 DAI compared to the control. The gibberellin reduced the harmful effects of the pathogen. No significant difference was recorded in case of stem diameter. The infected plants were shorter than the control plants when treated with ethylene.

The effect of corn smut infection was more pronounced in the terms of photosynthetic pigments and the rate of lipid peroxidation. Ethylene treatment increased while gibberellin treatment reduced the impact of the infection.

In this research, the corn smut infection and hormone treatments had larger impact on measured physiological parameters than on morphological parameters.

This research is aimed to determine the quality, sensory and oxidative stability characters of olive oils of 5 cultivar candidates obtained by cross breeding of Ascolana with Karamürselsu, Tavşanyuregi and Uslu cultivars. All olive trees were cultivated with the same agricultural practices in the same orchard (Yalova, Turkey). Free fatty acid content, peroxide value, specific ultraviolet absorbance, oxidative stability and sensory characters were evaluated. As a result, it has been determined that all of olive oils suitable for entering the class of extra virgin olive oil. AT056 has more favorable free fatty acids content and peroxide value but unfortunately has lower sensory scores. AU016 and AU019 have higher induction time and sensory scores with other favorable free fatty acids and peroxide value. So that AU016 and AU019 were determined as outstanding cultivars for analyzed olive oil characters.

Salt stress is an important type of abiotic stress that limits vegetative production in the world, particularly in arid and semi-arid climatic areas. The aim of this study is to mitigate salt stress damage in the sugar beet plant, which is an important part of crop production, with potassium application. An experiment was designed according to a design of random blocks with 4 different doses (10, 20, 40, 80 mg kg-1 K) of potassium and 3 different salt levels (0, 100, 150 mM NaCl) and 3 replicates. Leaf length, leaf width, fresh weight, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, membrane damage, relative water content was determined after harvest. The data obtained from the experiment were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance (One-Way ANOVA). According to the results of variance analysis, leaf width, leaf length, fresh weight, MDA content, membrane damage, relative water content were found to be statistically significant in salt x potassium interaction. Due to the positive effects of potassium on the parameters known to increase the plants' stress tolerance, it is thought that it may be beneficial in reducing the salt stress in order to make the sugar beet less affected by salt stress.

In the semi-arid high plains of Algeria, water stress is one of the most significant factors restricting wheat production. This study aims at analyzing water stress effect on durum wheat behavior with a particular focus on relationships between some agronomical and physiological traits. Ten genotypes were tested under rain-fed and full-irrigated conditions in semi-arid climate of Eastern Algeria. The experiment was led down in a randomized complete block design at the experimental field of Natural and Life Sciences Faculty of Sétif1 University. Yield and its components, leaf relative water content, leaf specific weight, grain-filling rate and duration and leaf chlorophyll content were measured. Significant genotypic and environmental variations were observed for major measured traits. Water stress significantly decreased the potential yield by 28%. A significant and strong correlation was observed between agronomical and physiological characteristics. In both stress and non stress conditions, grain yield was positively and significantly associated with: Chlorophyll content (r = 0.893), relative water content (r = 0.956) and grain filling duration (r = 0.853). Wheat productivity was highly associated with high photosynthetic activities, good water status and long grain filling duration. This finding suggests using these traits as tools for screening durum wheat tolerance to water stress.

Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute (DAI) is the largest breeding center for cereals in Bulgaria. Among the varieties developed here, 36 genotypes were included in the national list, a large part of them being strong and medium strong wheat cultivars with increased strength. It is a disputable question if a plateau has been reached in the breeding of wheat and what are the further methods for increasing of the production potential. Until recently, the increasing of the spike productivity lay at the basis of the breeding strategy, primarily through a higher number of florets and grains formed per spikelet at the expense of a lower number of productive tillers. The contemporary high level of breeding and the market requirements impose the necessity to search for new approaches to increase productivity.

The aim of the investigation was to characterize the structure of the yield in new common winter wheat accessions included in the gene pool of DAI. The investigation was carried out during 2015 – 2019 and encompassed four growth seasons with different combinations of meteorological factors allowing for good differentiation. The trial was designed in two replicates, the size of the harvest plot being 10 m2. Sixty-six accessions from different ecological and geographic origin and with specific combination of the economically important traits were evaluated. The cultivars from France were with the highest coefficient of tillering, followed by the cultivars from Croatia and Germany. The variability with regard to 1000 kernel weight was considerable. The Bulgarian and Serbian accessions were with the highest absolute weight, and the French ones – with the lowest. The differences with regard to the number of grains in spike were significant at a high level, but in the separate group, Athlon (DE), Moison (F), Fani (BG), Fidelius (AT), Iveta (BG) Korona (BG) and Simonida (RS) were with high values of the trait. Within the period, the Bulgarian cultivars, which realized highest yield, were Rada and Dragana, and among the European ones, these were Andalou, Basmati, NS 407 and Sofru.

Bio-waste which is available in large quantities worldwide is rich in biodegradable organic matter. By utilizing from bio-waste as feedstocks to attain valuable bio-based products, resource and waste problems will be solved as being “double green”. The bio-waste utilization aids decrease pollution while providing renewable energy and bio-based chemicals for the upcoming utilizations. Consequently, bio-waste resource utilization has involved growing attention in scientific and industrial societies.

The characteristic of avocado seed as a bio-waste was analysed using elemental analysis resulted as 39.89% C, 5.43% H, 0.43% N, 45.2% O content. The higher heating value was calculated using Dulong Formula as 13.70 MJ/kg. The raw milled bio-waste was characterized by FT-IR containing the wavenumbers in the range of 4000-400 cm-1. The spectra bands for bio-waste demonstrated characteristic peaks of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The mean moisture and ash contents of the “as-received” avocado seeds employed in this study were 6.54 wt% and 2.42 wt.%, respectively. Pyrolysis of avocado seed was carried out in a Heinze reactor at 500°C with a heating rate of 10°C/min and retention time of 20 min. The pyrolysis experiment yielded the liquid product (32%), solid product “char” (34%) and non-condensable gas (34%) with biomass conversion of 67%. Based on the results, it was confirmed that avocado seed can be utilized as a potential bio-waste according to pyrolysis results but liquid properties as a bio-fuel oil and solid product char properties as an activated carbon should be evaluated in detail.

The main objective of the experiment was determined suitable sunflower candidate genotypes. The experiment was conducted under Konya-Ilgın conditions in 2018 growing seasons in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The experiment materials were the sunflower candidate genotypes which was developed by Associate Professor Rahim Ada and some sunflower varieties. The observations were made hull ratio (%), oil content (%), protein content (%). According to the results of the experiment, significant differences were found in all properties among the varieties and candidate genotypes statistically. The highest hull ratio was obtained from 4CMS X SARM 6, 4CMS X NP, Bosfora, 4CMS X SB ve 4CM X C75 as 28.57  %, 27.53  %, 27.35  %,26.84  %, 26.38  %  respectively. In addition to, the highest oil content was obtained from 4CMS X CO, 4CMS X C21, 4CM X C75 as  48.29 %, 47.65 %, 46.75 % respectively. Finally, the highest protein content has been obtained from 4CMS X YK-YRKKY with 20.84 %.  The increase in sunflower production will be possible by expanding plantation areas, increasing the yield per unit area and producing varieties with high yield. In addition to high yield, improvement of important quality properties is also comprised of the important yield components. The experiment results indicated that in terms of the important quality properties of 4CM X C75 was a promising candidate genotype for sunflower production in Turkey.

The experiment was implemented to evaluate the yield and quality properties of potato varieties and candidate

genotypes were examined in 2019 growing seansons under Yenisehir- Bursa conditions. The experimental design was a “Randomized Complete Block Design” with three replications. Eight potato candidate genotypes (“EA10”, “GAF4”, “MK-2”, “AH-11”, AFK-3”, “AA12”, “HA5”, “LOH3Y”) which were developed by Associate Proffessor Rahim Ada and four potato varieties (Marabel, Florice, Melody, Lady Olympia) were used as plant material in this experiment. The plant height (cm), number of stem per plant, number of tuber per plant, total tuber yield (t ha-1), dry matter content (%), yield of chips (%), yield of french-fries (%) were examined. According to results of this experiment, significant differences were found in all properties among the potato varieties and candidate genotypes statistically. The plant height changed between 48.3-107.3 cm, number of stem per plant was 4.6-10.0, number of tuber per hill was 4.3-16.6, total tuber yield per hectare was 8.9-52.1 t. In addition, dry matter content changed between 16.7- 25.0 %, yield of chips was 36.1-60.3 %, yield of french-fries was 55.0-70.8 %. The highest total tuber yield was obtained from Florice variety (52.1 t ha-1) and “GAF4” potato candidate genotype (49.6 t ha-1) and the lowest total tuber yield was obtained from “AFK-3” potato candidate genotype (8.9 t ha-1, respectively). The experiment results indicated that “GAF4” potato candidate genotype was found promising.

The development of barley (Hordeum vulgare) genotypes over its life cycle depend on a number of environmental abiotic stress factors. Grain losses are often caused by high or low temperatures, drought, and such soil structure. The research was carried out to investigate the yield, stability, some quality, and physiological characteristics of some advanced barley genotypes under rainfed conditions. This research was established with 25 genotypes, in randomized complete blocks design with four replications at 3 locations in 2012-2013 growing years. Grain yield, plant height, days of heading, biomass, canopy temperature, 1000-kernels weight, and test weight was investigated. There were significant differences among the genotypes. Based on location, the highest yield was determined in Tekirdağ location. Cultivar Harman had higher yield potential. The highest biomass was measured for cultivars Harman and Lord and the lowest canopy temperature was measured for the G21 line. Earliness in terms of growing forage crops in the same growing year and short plant height for lodging resistance are very important characters in the Trakya region. G11 and G16 were early, and G6, G7, and G16 were the shortest genotypes. The highest 1000 kernels weight was measured in G3, and test weight in G19 lines. It was determined that cultivar Harman and 5 lines G7, G9, G22, G24, and G25 were well adapted to all environmental conditions. Genotypes Sladoran, G18, G3, and G8 were well adapted to fertile environmental conditions. Canopy temperature negatively affected and reduced grain yield, biomass, test weight, 1000-kernel weight, and protein ratio under rainfed conditions. The result of the study suggested that canopy temperature could be used in a barley breeding program for physiological parameters under rainfed conditions.

This study was conducted to obtain biological material regenerated from Passiflora caerulea and Passiflora quadrangularis by direct and indirect organogenesis, in order to enrich the assortment of flowering plants in Romania. The endogenous latent contamination of the plant material used for in vitro culture initiation is one of the biggest problems, demanding a special approach. The explants disinfection steps was organized as a trifactorial experience which included two variants of NaOCl concentrations (0, 5%, 10%), three immersion times in the sterilizing solution (10, 15 and 20 minutes) and the four types of explants (apical buds, fragments of young and mature leaves, and flower explants represented by pedicel, receptacle and sepals) taken from mature plants, in the stage of active growth. The explants were pretreated with 70% EtOH solution with a few drops of Tween 20, for 1 minute, and rinsed with distilled water, then disinfected according to the experimental variants. The explants were initiated on Murashige and Skoog, (1962) medium in order to stabilize the culture. The leaves explants reacted best to the treatment with 5% hypochlorite for 15 minutes. P. caerulea registered an average contamination rate of 52.78%, lower than P. quadrangularis in which case the explants obtained an average contamination rate of 58.24%.

Sustainable agriculture means meeting current food needs without compromising the ability of current or future generations to meet their own needs. Energy is the most important tool for sustainable agricultural development and growth. The agri-food chain accounts for around 30 % of the global energy demand. The agricultural sector is currently heavily dependent on the use of fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels in agriculture leads to an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the sector. The total GHG emissions from the agri-food chain account for more than 30 % of global GHG emissions per year.  Emissions from energy used in agricultural activities consist primarily of CO2, CH4, and N2O. Current fossil fuel-based energy generation needs to be shifted to renewable energy such as solar, biomass, wind, and geothermal to mitigate climate change and reduce GHG emissions. There are a variety of energy-related mitigation and adaptation opportunities in agriculture. Improvements will be made by enhancing access to electricity, making more efficient use of resources, and increasing the use of renewable energy sources in agriculture. This would have the dual advantage of providing renewable energy inputs to agriculture, thereby increasing productivity, economic and social sustainability, and reducing climate change commitments. This paper details the role of renewable energy in agriculture by linking sustainability aspects.

Passiflora genus includes over 600 species native to tropical and subtropical areas of America, appreciated for the production of fruit and medicinal value. Their ornamental potential is especially appreciated in North America and in Europe. With the expansion of the flower trade and the use of secondary metabolites in the pharmaceutical industry, a need for the constant monopolization of new technologies and alternative in vitro techniques that allow to obtain a uniform, high quality material free of pests and diseases occurs. Passiflora’s tissue cultures began to be studied in 1966, raising more and more interest of researchers worldwide. Depending on the source and type of the explant, plant growth regulators, and the used genotype, direct and indirect organogenesis are the main regeneration pathways for Passiflora. The latest approaches regarding the choice of explant and its source, the plant material surface sterilization and the specific requirements of each micropropagation stage are presented within our review. To this genus, the reduced gas exchange of in vitro growing of seedlings has been shown as the main cause of lack of success. In this regard, for regeneration and obtained improvements in morphogenesis, different protocols have been developed by using inhibitors of ethylene. In recent years, studies suggest that via somatic embryogenesis, starting from mature and immature zygotic embryos, regenerated plants that have maintained their mother plant ploidy can be successfully obtained. This confirms the callus cultures as main path to obtain in vitro regenerated Passiflora plants.