This study aims to determine the chemical composition of Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiales: Lamiaceae) and its acaricidal effect on the pest mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). and its predator Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henroit (Acari: Phytoseiidae). The analysis of the chemical composition of the essential oil extracted was carried out on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Three major compounds found in the essential of R. officinalis were α-pinene (32.64%), β-Humulene (8.71%), and Camphene (5.95%). The toxicity of R. officinalis oil was performed using inhalation bioassay on both T. urticae and its predator P. persimilis. The results obtained showed high toxicity on the mite than to its predator with a mortality rate of 80% and 16.11% respectively at the dose of 4%. The fertility of females, the hatching of eggs, and the emergence of adults in T. urticae were also studied using contact bioassay where a total reduction of all three biological parameters was recorded at the dose of 4%. Besides, the application of this oil will also allow the conservation of P. persimilis. Altogether, the combination of toxicity on T. urticae and preservation of its predator gives R. officinalis essential oil a propitious potential for the control of the pest mite T. urticae and maintenance of environmental balance.

Sri Lanka is the third largest tea exporter in the world, but nearly 60% of its total exports are comprised of bulk tea. Bulk tea secures the lowest prices in world tea market. Sri Lanka earned an average value of US$4.83 per kilogram from 2014 to 2018 for its tea exports, compared to US$24.24 per kilogram over the same five-year period in Japan, a highly innovative tea-producing country. The objective of this study is to examine the root causes of product innovation in Sri Lanka, as compared to Japan, by conducting a historical analysis followed by a survey and key informant discussions. Sri Lanka has mainly focused on incremental innovations in blending, flavoring and packaging than radical innovations. About 98% of the tea produced in Sri Lanka is black tea, produced mainly in large scale-processing factories. The focus on economies of scale and heavy dependence on traditional product baskets and market destinations have bottlenecked product innovation capabilities in Sri Lanka. In contrast, Japan produces a large number of innovative beverage and non-non-beverage products. Their main beverage type is sencha (58%), followed by many other beverages including gyokuro, kabusecha, matcha, tamaryokucha, black tea, oolong tea, fermented teas and white tea. The Japanese produce a variety of non-beverage products including confectionaries, snacks and cosmetics made from same tea plant that beverage tea is made from. Having a large number of processing factories (4698), Japan’s product innovation capabilities are mainly attributed to firm-level factors and support services. This study recommends that Sri Lanka should link together farmer organizations, processing factories, research institutes and universities to make its tea industry more innovative and flexible and consequently more profitable and sustainable. Foreign direct investment and partnerships presumably would be instrumental in bringing in much needed funding, expertise and advanced technology to stimulate product innovation.

This study was carried out with the main objective of evaluating the efficiency of the government-funded irrigation project equipped with hand-moved portable sprinkler irrigation system in the Nyagatare district of eastern Rwanda. The study was performed in maize field irrigated by a sprinkler irrigation system during the 2014 agricultural season. Catch cans experiments were used to assess the efficiency of the current field irrigation sprinkler system. Performance indicators such as coefficient of uniformity (CU), distribution uniformity (DU), Potential application efficiency of the low quarter (PAElq), pressure variation along laterals, delivery performance ratio (DPR), evaporation and wind drifts losses were analysed. The Christiansen equation was used to measure the CU. The results of this study revealed that the coefficient of uniformity, uniformity of distribution and efficiency of water application of the method were 84.7%, 88% and 88% respectively. These experimental findings indicated that the performance of existing hand-move sprinkler irrigation system was satisfactory. The study put forward performance guidelines and advices for the designers and managers of sprinkler irrigation systems to achieve optimum performance.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to far-reaching health, social, and economic consequences. In order to secure the safety of students and staff, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has established general guidelines for University campuses including canteens, based on prevention and protective measures. Food wastage is a major global issue impairing food security. The objective of the present study was to evaluate these COVID-19 measures on food wastage in a Tunisian University canteen. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the university canteen has changed their practices by setting up a meal bag service for lunch and dinner. Face to face interviews based on a structured questionnaire, were conducted during one month on 154 on 143 student respondents (mean age 23 years old, 76% women) in June 2020, after COVID-19 lockdown lifting. Interestingly the COVID-19 crisis has positively impacted the students’ awareness about food wastage since 28% of respondents declared not throwing away food and 55% claimed to have reduced their food waste levels. Most of respondents (72.4%) have highly appreciated the new concept based on take-away. About 63.1% declared eating at least every other day at the canteen, and 67.8% going more often. Interestingly 93.1% claimed to have noticed improvements in the quality of food items. These changes were related to better food presentation (72% of respondents), better food safety (64%), better overall sensory quality (36%), whereas only 1% claimed not having observed any changes. Food quality service has been evaluated as very good by 45% of respondents, and quality of prepared foods as good by 43%. However, although the COVID-19 measures allowed a reduction by 21% of self reported food wastage in the canteen, most of respondents (71.3%) affirmed not finishing their plates. The most discarded dishes were soups (62% of respondents), stews (52%), vegetables (48%) and salad (45%) whereas dairy products (65.4% of respondents), fruits (64.4%), rice (51.9%), Tunisian dish tajin (51.9%) and chicken (50%) were not wasted. In conclusion, our study has shown that providing good take-out meals has potential for reducing food wastage among students, strengthening the importance of food safety and convenience as effective tools for food waste prevention.

Cocoa beans have been existed in Indonesia particularly for smallholder farmers as the cash crop of household in the rural area. Today’s its productivity is going down due to the aging cocoa three, pest and diseases. Introducing technology into the farmers group as the alternative way for income diversification based on the cocoa commodity. This study was conducted in East Kolaka District of Southeast Sulawesi Province. Purposive sampling technique was used to select four sub districts of Aere, Ladongi, Lambandia and Tinondo. In each sub district, we chose two sample villages by purposive sampling based on the number of cocoa growers per village and selected 15 farmers respectively based on the random technique due to the homogeneity of the population. In total, we selected eight villages as our sample villages with a total sample size of 120 households. Five components of technology has been introduced, viz. Introducing utilization of cocoa shell for bio-char, utilization of cow dung as organic fertilizer, making cocoa powder for instant beverage, utilization of cocoa shell as the alternative feed cow, and utilization of cow dung as Bio-Gas. This study results show that most farmers have a good and positive response by following or implementing recommended technology. The results of open interviews with farmers at the study site show that the technology introduced is technically feasible based on indicators of easiness of technology application (uncomplicated), easily access to technology, available of supporting materials and inexpensive, easily labor used, and easily in supporting facilities and infrastructure. A good response of farmers indicated that introduced technology has been implemented and adopted by farmers. Moreover, these technology have been implemented which economically feasible, technically easy, culturally done by farmers and environmental friendly.

The aim of this study is to determine some paddy varieties resistant to iron toxicity. Two different nutrient solutions were applied in the form of iron sulphate (FeSO4.7H2O) (Fe concentrations of I) 45 µM Fe (sufficient Fe), II) 3.50 mM Fe (toxic Fe) to paddy cultivars grown in sand media. Among the paddy cultivars grown at toxic iron level (3.50 mM Fe), the closest paddy cultivars in terms of investigated traits were identified as Hamzadere and Edirne cultivars, while the furthest cultivars were identified as Biga incisi and Ronaldo cultivars. Present findings revealed that Biga incisi and Edirne paddy cultivars were tolerant to toxic iron levels and Ronaldo paddy cultivar was the most susceptible to iron toxicity. Biga incisi and Edirne paddy cultivars formed a group and the best traits of these cultivars designating iron toxicity were identified as iron ratio transported to shoot, tolerance index to toxic iron level, shoot total iron content and leaf relative peroxidase activity. According to biplot analysis, Ronaldo paddy cultivar formed a different group and the best traits of this cultivar at toxic iron level were identified as iron ratio remained in roots and root cold-extractable Fe/Zn ratio.

The present study was conducted to group some paddy cultivars in terms of their zinc nutritional capabilities and to identify the best zinc nutrition traits of these cultivars. Present experiments were conducted with 5 different paddy cultivars (Oryza sativa L. cv Biga İncisi, Osmancık 97, Hamzadere, Ronaldo, Edirne). In the experiment, a complete nutrient solution containing 0 and 2.0 µM Zn in the form of zinc sulphate heptahydrate was applied to lime-free (0 % CaCO3) and lime-added (4 % CaCO3) quartz sand media. Experiments were conducted in 5×2×2 factorial design with 3 replications. At the end of the experiments, zinc nutrition traits of paddy cultivars were determined. Both in lime-free and lime-added sand media, Biga İncisi paddy cultivar was identified as tolerant to zinc deficiency. Ronaldo paddy cultivar was identified as the most sensitive cultivar to zinc deficiency. It was observed that in terms of investigated 15 zinc nutrition traits, 5 different paddy cultivars grown under zinc deficiency (Zn0) conditions were gathered under 2 main groups. Biga İncisi and Edirne cultivars constituted the first group; Osmancık-97 and Hamzadere cultivars constituted the second group. On the other hand, Ronaldo cultivar was found to be closer to the second group including Osmancık-97 and Hamzadere cultivars. The closest paddy cultivars grown under zinc deficiency conditions in terms of investigated traits were identified as Biga İncisi and Edirne cultivars; on the other hand, the furthest cultivars were identified as Biga İncisi and Osmancık-97 cultivars. For Osmancık-97 and Biga İncisi paddy cultivars, SPAD readings in lime-added sand media were identified as the best zinc nutrition traits. For Edirne cultivar, zinc ratio transported to shoot and shoot relative dry matter content in lime-added media were identified as the best zinc nutrition traits. For Hamzadere cultivar, relative chlorophyll content in lime-free media was identified as the best zinc nutrition.

The water deficit is considered as one of the main abiotic stresses affecting cereal productivity, especially durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) due to the scarcity of water resources, which is a staple food in our daily diet. The objective of this study is to assess the performance of two systems, root and aerial, under three water situations (100, 60 and 30 % RC) in five genotypes (Waha, Acsad 1361, Mexicali 75, Oued Zenati, Langlois), in order to establish a growth model for both parts under deficient conditions.

Collected data showed variations for each measured characteristics. These variations depended on the water regime and genotype considered. Structural modifications were measured for both adventitious and seminal root types. These changes relate to root elongation, which has been accompanied by a reduction in the rate of adventitious rhizogenesis. Anatomical transformations have also been recorded, such as the reduction in root diameter, which is explained by a decrease in the thickness of the cortical parenchyma. This transformation would favor a better circulation of the sap during its horizontal transport.

In order to identify of salt tolerant sunflower inbred lines a set of 24 inbred lines were evaluated as a randomized block design with three replications in Isfahan and Zabol in 2017. Salt stress was imposed following seedlings establishment 20 days after planting as irrigation with two (fresh water) and 8 ds.m-2 electrical conductivity. According to the results, there were significant differences among locations and also salt treatment for all measured traits except for flowering time and oil content. There were also significant differences among inbred lines for all of the characteristics which could be used a source for improvement of salt tolerance in sunflower. Salt stress had a negative impact on agronomic futures of the inbred lines. Achene and oil yield had suffered more than other traits with 34 and 31% reduction respectively. Phenological traits were affected less than agronomic traits. The inbred lines BGK259 and RGK38 had the highest and lowest achene and oil yield respectively. Three lines BGK259, BGK369 and BGK375 with higher STI expressed as more salt tolerant lines. All 12 maintainer lines had a higher STI than all the 12 restorer lines and were more tolerant. Among the restorers RGK22, RGK15 and RGK2 were more salt tolerant than others. In accordance with STI, TOL and GM indices, principal component analysis differentiated BGK259, BGK369 and BGK375 as the most salt tolerant inbred lines.

Water is an essential resource. Its use for food, body hygiene or recreational requires a high level of physico-chemical, chemical and microbiological quality. The substances they transport are in fact likely to be ingested, inhaled, or to come into contact with the skin. Therefore, the analysis of eight parameters in addition to pH and which are the electrical conductivity, total phosphorus, chloride, Ammonium, Sulfate, Nitrate, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Matter in suspension (MES) as well as the analysis of total coliforms, faecal streptococci and clostridium were carried out on the waters of three lakes, Dayat Morsli, Telamine, and Gharabas, located in Northwestern Algeria in the Oran region. The results show that the three lakes are saline wetlands where total phosphorus is found at lower concentrations while chlorides, Ammonium and Sulfate are found at concentrations above standards. The pH of Lake Dayat Morsli, the Nitrate of Lake Telamine, the COD and the MES of Lakes Dayat Morsli and Telamine exceed international standards. These results could be used as a basis for the rehabilitation project of this wetland.

Obtaining high yields from crops such as triticale is directly related to the interaction of the used genotypes with the conditions of the environment. Therefore, the breeding of the crop is targeted toward reducing the effects, which various stress factors have on productivity. One of the shortcomings of the interaction of the genotype with the environment is that under contrasting growing conditions the different cultivars are ranked in a different way according to their yield value. This considerably hinders their evaluation and the possibility to choose the most suitable cultivars for the respective geographic area and micro region. In order to adequately assess the different triticale genotypes under contrasting conditions of the environment, a model for yield ranking was developed. It is based on the ratio between the reaction of the genotype under specific conditions of the environment with the mean productivity of the same genotype under the rest of the conditions of testing. This allowed increasing the contrast between differing genotypes and their more adequate ranking under certain conditions, or as a whole during the tested contrasting periods. On the other hand, the model allowed grouping of the genotypes with identical reaction to the conditions of the environment. The model was applied to eleven Bulgarian winter triticale cultivars (Kolorit, Atila, Akord, Respekt, Bumerang, Irnik, Dobrudzhanets, Lovchanets, Doni 52, Blagovest and Borislav) and to six contrasting periods of growing (2015 – 2020). The results from the model values showed that the cultivars were grouped in different ways during the individual periods in comparison to their grouping according to yield values. Cultivars with similar productivity having identical ranks contrasted better with each other when applying the model. The genotypes, which possessed high stability, were characterized with lower ranks according to the results from the used model, especially in periods with clearly expressed drought. The ranks of the model values remained significantly high regardless of the conditions of the environments in cultivars Bumerang and Doni 52. The developed model demonstrated considerable similarities to the HARV and Hi models and can be reliably used in practical breeding work under contrasting environments.