Rocket (Eruca vesicaria), a plant from the cruciferous (Brassicaceae) family, whose leaves are eaten as a salad, is also considered a medicinal plant due to its different therapeutic properties. In this study, the effects of silicon dioxide priming (0.5, 1, 1.5 mM SiO2) on the germination and vegetative growth properties of two different rocket cultivars (Geniş Yaprak, Eda) were investigated under increased salt stress conditions (150, 200 mM NaCl). For this purpose, germination percentage (GP), germination index (GI), germination rate coefficient (CVG), mean germination time (MGT) germination rate index (GRI) were calculated as germination parameters. Shoot and root length (mm), leaf width and length (mm), plant fresh weight (g) were measured in seedlings developed from germinated seeds, and seedling vigour index (SVI) was calculated. The effects of SiO2 priming on germination and vegetative growth differed according to the cultivar. In Geniş Yaprak cv., 1 mM SiO2 application had a positive effect on germination parameters both in seeds not applied salt stress and under 150 mM salt stress, and increased the germination rate from 30% to 73%, especially in salty conditions. Under 200 mM salt stress, 1.5 mM SiO2 had a positive effect on germination parameters in same cultivar. Although SiO2 applications in Eda cv. were not effective on germination parameters under stress-free conditions, they had a positive effect on vegetative parameters. Especially, 1.5 mM application dose increased SVI, root and shoot length and plant fresh weight. In both salt concentrations, 1 mM application dose made a slight improvement in germination parameters of Eda cv. The positive effects of SiO2 applications on vegetative growth parameters such as leaves, roots and shoots were determined at different doses for both salt concentrations.

Ceylon Tea is renowned as the finest quality teas in the world. Colombo tea auction, which was functioned as the single origin traditional system is the main marketing platform for Ceylon tea. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the industry was encouraged with the conversion of conventional tea auction into the virtual E- auction. Hence, this study aimed to assess stakeholders' satisfaction with this transformation and its pros and cons effects. A stratified sampling technique was used to collect 75 stakeholders who are directly and indirectly connected with the E-auction. A pretested survey instrument validated by applying a reliability test was administrated to collect data on perceived ease of use, usefulness, usability, socio-economic factors, and industry-related factors. The SWOT analysis was also undertaken on the gathered data to identify how best E-Auctioning process was matched with today’s context of tea market. The ordinal logistic regression test results reveal that the degree of stakeholders’ satisfaction with the transformation process varied in the range of high, moderate, and low, with values of 45.3%, 49.3%, and 5.3%, respectively. The overall model was significant at the 0.05 significant level and its results exhibited that stakeholder satisfaction was positively correlated with experience, age, perceived ease of use, and usefulness, whilst it was negatively correlated with education level, usability, and stakeholder type. The SWOT analysis results revealed that the newly implemented E-auction has many strengths and opportunities such as   the ability to log in at any given time, maintaining high transparency, timesaving, reduction of operational cost, and real-time updating dashboard and some weakness and threats such as poor interaction among buyers and sellers, not fully automated current system, not a good system for people who have low IT literacy compared to conventional tea auction, mental tidiness among system operators etc.. Hence, this study confirms that there are both positive and negative effects of the newly implemented E-auction over a traditional auction and require user friendly simplified and more navigated IT related interventions to elevate more efficient and effective E-auction system with the technological advancement of the ICT sector.

In the present work, the results of a survey of wheat crops in the area of the IASS "Obraztsov chiflik" – Ruse are presented. The study was carried out during the period 2018-2021, at the experimental field of the institute, according to accepted methods for weed infestation, species composition of the entomofauna and economically important wheat diseases.

The aim of the study is to determine the species composition of weeds, diseases and insect pest in wheat crops under the relevant agro-climatic conditions.

Weed species composition differed by year, with a total of 15 weed species from 10 families recorded. Veronica agrestis L., Lamium purpureum L., Anthemis arvensis L., Convolvulus arvensis L. and Cirsium arvense L. are ubiquitous in surveyed crop.

Insects belonging to the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera and Orthoptera were identified. The proportion of the orders to which the species belonged in the three years of the study differed in culture. The total number of insects detected during the three years of the test varied on average (CV=15.63%) – 373 pcs. in 2019, 280 pcs. in 2020 and 372 pcs. in 2021.

During the period, 3 fungal pathogens of the genera Puccinia, Erysiphe and Septoria were identified. The development of Puccinia and Erysiphe pathogens during the study period was within acceptable limits according to the SEV scale (from 10% to 25%). Massive development of the pathogen Septoria sp. was observed, with the affected plant area reaching up to 65%, according to the SEV scale.

The study was carried out during the period of 2019-2021 in the experimental field of the IASS "Obraztsov chiflik" - Ruse in a long-term stationary fertilizer trial with a 4-pole crop rotation, including interchange of corn, barley, beans and wheat, according to the scheme of Georges Ville in three replications located according Rümker. Fertilization options are the individual and combined application of the three macroelements – nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and the non-fertilized control is used for comparison. The yields of the wintering malting barley variety "Ahat" grown in the conditions of permanent fertilizer experiment are affected by the weather conditions, and during the research period 2020 appears to be the most favorable for the development of the crop, due to the sufficient amount of evenly distributed precipitation and its combination with optimal average monthly temperatures during the growing season. In all years of testing, the variants with individual and combined application of nitrogen showed proven higher yields compared to the control. The long-term accumulation of phosphorus and potassium in the variants with their individual and combined applications has a depressing effect on the plants, and hence a negative impact on the yield. The quantitative and qualitative indicators of the grain are changed under the influence of fertilization, analogously to yields. The parameters mass per 1000 grains, germination and crude protein content were higher in the variants with nitrogen fertilization and decreased or close to the control in the other variants. Differences in hectoliter weight and grain uniformity are not statistically proven.

An essential neurotransmitter used to treat nervous system dysfunction like Parkinson's disease is L-dopa. The amount of L-dopa in plant materials has been measured in this study using chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods that are user-friendly, straightforward, quick, and affordable. Utilizing conventional instrumental parameters, high-performance liquid chromatography and spectrophotometry methods were established. In accordance with ICH guidelines, these analytical methods were validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness. The chromatographic procedure made use of an Agilent Extend C18 (250×4.6 mm, 5 µm) column. 0.1% trifloroacetic acid solution and acetonitrile (92/8, v/v) were used as mobile phase. It was run in isocrotic mode and the flow rate was 1 mL min-1. The retention time of L-dopa was determined as 3.85 minutes. L-dopa was identified using the spectrophotometric method, which involved measuring the solutions' absorbance at a wavelength of 280 nm. In spectrophotometric analysis, ultra-pure water as a solvent gave sufficient molar absorptivity at a λmax of 280 nm. The results showed that spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods were linear, accurate, precise, robust, and the percent recovery was within standard limits. No statistically significant distinction existed between the methods within the 95% confidence interval (p<0.05). The developed methods can be used to quantify L-dopa in plant materials for routine analysis and have been found to be very efficient.

The salt tolerance level of the radish (Raphanus sativus L.), which has a rich nutritional content, varies depending on the cultivar (cv). In this study, which was carried out using two radish cv. (big red, little red), it was aimed to determine the effect of exogenous silicon dioxide (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mM SiO2) applications on germination and vegetative growth parameters under salt stress conditions (150 mM NaCl). After determining the germination percentage (GP), germination index (GI), germination rate coefficient (CVG), mean germination time (MGT) and germination rate index (GRI) for germinating seeds, shoot and root length (mm), leaf width and length (mm), root and shoot fresh weights (g) were measured and seedling vigour index (SVI) was calculated. SiO2 applications had a positive effects on germination parameters in both cultivars under both non-stress and salt stress conditions. While 1.5 mM SiO2 application caused an increase in germination rate in little red cultivar, it was determined that 1 mM application was more effective under salt stress conditions and increased the germination rate by 2 fold (from 24% to 48%). In the big red cv., 2 mM SiO2 application had a positive effect on germination parameters both in salinty and unsalinity conditions. Exogenous SiO2 pre-treatment had also the positive effects on vegetative growth in both cultivars under stressed and unstressed conditions. According to the results of variance analysis, interaction was determined (***p<0.001) between cultivars and applications and all other parameters except root fresh weight. 1.5 mM application dose significantly increased all vegetative growth parameters in little red cultivar under non-stress and salt stress conditions. In the big red cv., a similar effects were obtained as a result of 1 mM SiO2  application.

Carrot (Daucus carota), which can be orange, yellow, purple, white and red in color due to the difference in the pigments it contains, is a very rich food in terms of carotene and ascorbic acid. In this study, the effects of exogenous Glutamine (Gln) pre-treatments ( 1, 2, 3, 4 mM)  on the some germination parameters of carrot seeds (orange, yellow, purple), which are known to be sensitive to salt stress according to the cultivar, were investigated under salt stress conditions (150 mM NaCl). For this purpose, germination percentage (GP), mean germination time (MGT), germination rate coefficient (CVG), germination rate index (GRI), germination index (GI), which are some of the important germination parameters, were determined. According to the results of analysis of variance, it was determined that there was an interaction between cultivars and applications and all germination parameters under salt stress conditions (***p<0.001). The effect of Gln pre-treatments on germination under salt stress and unstressed conditions differed according to the application dose and cultivar. Glutamine application under salt stress had no effect on germination except for the orange carrot cv. In this cultivar, 1 mM pre-treatment had a positive effect on germination parameters under salt stress conditions. In unstressed conditions, although 3 mM Gln pretreatment in orange carrot cv. and 4 mM Gln in yellow carrot cv. had a positive effect on germination parameters compared to control, the highest germination in purple carrot cv. was obtained in control seeds.

External applications of strigolactones affect plant growth positively owing to the potential of adapting plants to the tolerance system under stress conditions. In this study, the effect of synthetic analogue strigolactone (GR24) pre-treatment to the seeds of salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties on growth parameters, antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) activity under salt stress were investigated. Salt stress has inhibited shoot development. Root development of the tolerant one was better than sensitive one under salt stress conditions. Salt application to sensitive variety caused the inhibition of APX and GR activities, and pre-treatment increased these activities. In conclusion, GR24 pre-treatment has an encouraging role in the growth of wheat plants by stimulating these antioxidant enzymes against salinity.