In this study, Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses are used for the microstructure characterisation of Eobania vermiculata samples collected from Iskenderun region. The shells of land snails are discarded as waste; however, they are qualified materials with multiple use areas. To substantiate this proposition, an attempt was made to elucidate the physical and chemical properties of the shells of chocolate band snail, E. vermiculata. SEM observations indicated that nacre crystals are always laminated aragonite, usually presenting sharp edges. Nacre crystallites which pile up into columns vertically abreast aligned observed. The crystals are about 390-155 nm thick, and they form stacks along a fixed spacing, filled with biological matter. The XRD and FTIR observations revealed the dominance of the aragonite form of the calcium carbonate crystal in the microstructures of each snail shell with the occurrence of different shell surface functional groups. Thus, further exploration of the shell inclusive of the organic components is required to promote its possible use as a biocomposite. Nonetheless, the present study provides an overview of physical and chemical characteristics of the land snail shells and inlight their potential use in different areas in the perspective of sustainability.

Herd health and adaptability are of concern in animal production in the tropics because of the persistent exposure to multiple stresses of low quality and quantity feeds, heat stress, high disease, and parasite incidences, poor husbandry, and breeding practices; the combined effects of these factors is high livestock mortality. High health-related mortality has been frequently reported as the major impediment to livestock production and thus the aim of this article is to investigate the vital infectious diseases and non-infectious factors that account for the majority of deaths which is crucial in determining mortality control strategies. The study applies a descriptive, Kaplan-Meier method, and truncated regression analysis using an eight-year retrospective data spanning from 2014 to 2021 was applied for this analysis. The results indicate infectious diseases as the most important cause of Galla goat mortality. The mean monthly and annual mortality rates are higher and the pre-weaning mortality of Galla goat appeared to be one of the major constraints hampering the development of replacement stock. The risk factors considered for high mortality were the age and sex of the kids. Among the infectious diseases analyzed, bacterial, parasitic, and non-specific infectious diseases were identified as the important causes of Galla goat mortality, while the non-infectious conditions included malnutrition and thermal/cold shock. The analysis provided an improved insight into animal-health-related factors which once addressed could reduce mortality and hence optimize animal husbandry performance in Galla goat production systems. Interventions in Galla goat health and husbandry are recommended to control kids' mortality.

Şanlıurfa province has 36% of the agricultural areas in Turkey and 64.1% of the agricultural areas in the GAP Region. With approximately 600 000 tons of chemical fertilizer consumption in 2021, it is the province with the most fertilizer consumption in Turkey. This causes some negative and high environmental risks such as salinization in the soil, heavy metal (HM) accumulation, deterioration of nutrient balance, damage to microorganism activity, and formation of eutrophication in the region. The objective of this study was to determine the HMs (Zn, Ni, Mn, Cu, Mo, Pb, Cd) concentrations of the soils and some commercial fertilizers overused, and evaluate their interactions with soil properties. The average values of HM concentration of the soil are as follows; 32.65 and 46.88 mg kg-1 Zn; 649.03 and 730.58 mg kg-1 Mn; 79.86 and 95.54 mg kg-1 Ni; 0.15 to 0.27 mg kg-1 Cd; 0.26 and 0.97 mg kg-1 Mo; 8.54 and 18.67 mg kg-1 Pb; 19.45-25.37 mg kg-1 Cu. HM contents of some fertilizers were found to be very high in this study. This causes an increase in the HM concentration in the soil. HMs concentrations of several soil samples exceeded the threshold level of Europe standards except for Ni, Mo, and Mn. Study results can help the authorities to develop effective fertilizer management strategies for the Harran Plain, which has once again revealed the necessity of applying agricultural activities such as fertilization with a fertilization program prepared under expert control according to the results of soil analysis.

This study aimed to determine the length-weight relationship and condition factor of Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio, Bloch, 1782) from the Asi River. Samples were collected by 12-18 mm mesh sized fyke-nets between November and December 2021. Totally 88 specimens have been collected from the Turkish part of Asi River, Hatay, Türkiye. Lengths and weights ranged from 10.2 to 29.8 cm and 19.47 to 408.59 g, respectively. The b-values were calculated as 3.08 and the LWR equation was estimated as W = 0.0138*L3.08. The Fulton’s condition factor (K) and the relative condition factor (Kn) values were calculated as 1.76±0.03 and 1.01±0.01, respectively. This study provides the valuable data on the length-weight relationship and condition factors of C. gibelio from the Asi River. The findings of the present paper revealed that C. gibelio showed an isometric growth and this region is relatively suitable for the growth of this species. Therefore, these data will be a valuable background for further biological studies and local fisheries management strategies.

Screening genotypes have a crucial role to increase the efficiency of selections in plant breeding program. Therefore, this study was emphasized to determine combining ability and the association between traits among themselves and yield. The experiment was conducted at Haramaya University Research Station (Raare) for two years (2018 and 2019) using 4x7 alpha-lattice design with three replications. Pooled analysis of variance revealed highly significant (p≤0.01) variations among crosses for grain yield and related traits. According to the result of combining ability analysis, parental line L3 was identified as a good general combiner for grain yield, ear diameter, 1000-kernel weight, and days to maturity. Similarly; L1, L2, and L8 proved as the best general combiner for number of kernels per row. Crosses L1×L6, L3×L5, L4×L6, L4×L8, and L5×L7 were found good specific combiners for 1000-kernel weight. Furthermore, the cross L5×L6 was the best specific combiner for ear diameter, whereas L4×L7 for both number of kernels per row and 1000-kernel weight. Likewise, the crosses L1×L5, L3×L8, L6×L7, and L7×L8 were identified as the best specific combiner towards earliness. Moreover, thousand kernel weight showed significant positive correlation with grain yield, conversely, days to anthesis, days to silking, ear aspect, and Puccinia sorghi exhibited significant negative correlation with grain yield at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Ear length, 1000-kernel weight, number of kernel rows per ear, and Turcicum leaf blight had positive direct effect on grain yield at genotypic and phenotypic level. In general, the result presented in the study might be useful for further breeding process to improve the productivity of maize.

Heavy metal removal from the water was studied by using fish bones produced in the trout farm of Atatürk University Faculty of Fisheries. Fish bones used as adsorbent were obtained from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Trout bone was used in its natural form. According to the experimental results that maximum Pb (II) adsorption capacity of rainbow trout bones was 188.16 mg/g. The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models were applied to describe the adsorption of Pb (II) on trout bones. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were found more favourable than Temkin with the correlation coefficients of 0.999, 0.999, and 0.857, respectively. Controllable factors used in this study were solution pH, temperature, adsorbent dosage, mixing speed, and initial Pb (II) concentration. The optimum working parameter values for Pb (II) adsorption using trout bones were found to be 5.5, 30 ºC, 3 g/L, 200 rpm, and 10 mg/L for pH, temperature, adsorbent concentration, stirring speed, and initial Pb (II) concentration, respectively. The adsorption kinetics of Pb adsorption by trout bones was modelled using the pseudo-first order and the pseudo-second order kinetics equations. The results indicate that, pseudo-second-order kinetic model gives more favourable results (R2mean = 0.997) than pseudo-first-order (R2mean = 0.971). Fish bones were characterized by some instrumental analyses such as SEM, EDS, FTIR, and zeta potential measurements. In the regeneration phase of the study, maximum desorption efficiency was 95.86% at pH 1.5.

The daily animal protein intake of an average Nigerian is far less than the World Health Organization recommended minimum standard. The egg is the cheapest and most affordable animal protein source in Nigeria, but its production has not been able to match the increasing demand capacity. Premised on the above facts and to identify ways to intensify egg production, the study was specifically designed to examine the trend in egg production and establish the relationship between egg production and selected macroeconomic fundamentals in addition to other variables in Nigeria. The study used time series data from the period 1961 to 2020. The data were sourced from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the World Bank, and the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test and ADF-GLS unit root test were used to confirm the stability of the series. The Engle-Granger two-step technique was used to test for the cointegration of the series. The empirical finding showed that the amount of credit disbursed to the agricultural sector, per capita income, and the quantity of maize and chicken meat produced are positive determinants of egg production in both long and short-run periods. In contrast, the consumer price index (inflation rate) relates negatively in both periods to egg production. To upsurge egg production in the country, it is recommended that more credit facilities be injected into the agricultural sector. At the same time, the inflation rate is maintained at a minimal rate in the country.

This study was carried out to assess the morphological and genetic variability of seven accessions of Abelmoschus L. species using morphometric analysis and ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain (RBCL) molecular markers. Using a completely randomized block design, seeds of the okra accessions were planted with three replicates each. During the developmental stage, the morphological features of the accessions were observed and recorded according to the standard descriptor for the crop. Morphologically, all the accessions exhibited a degree of similarities, albeit, at maturity, the leaf, plant height, leaf colour, and leaf shape became distinct. A cluster of the phenotypic characterization was observed at a 3.74 level of coefficient of similarity with two distinct clusters, which were predicted to be A. esculentus and A. caillei. The percentage variance of the two principal components was 55.12% and 22.69% with corresponding Eigenvalues of 4.11 and 1.69, respectively. Results of the RBCL analysis revealed genetic variability at a 0.80 level of coefficient of similarity. Two distinguishable clusters were observed. Both morphometric and genotyping results suggest that variations exist among and within the seven accessions. In conclusion, there is a need to frequently evaluate plant genetic resources held in gene banks as they may not reflect the whole range of diversity inherent in the species.

This study was carried out in 2018 to examine the yield and yield components of 8 potato genotypes (Kanursu, Aşkar, Çamlı, Akbulut, Yukarıkızı, Incili, Erikdibi, and Nisantası) and 2 potato varieties (Agria and Lady Olympia) procured in the ecological conditions of Bayburt, Turkey. The experimental work was conducted in trial ground at the Experimental Station of the University of Bayburt (Turkey). The research was designed in random blocks with three replications. As a result of the study, the highest number of stems per plant (6.7), tuber yield per hectare (15.19 tons), number of tubers per plant (8.47), and tuber yield per plant (357.01 g) were found to be in the genotype Akbulut; the highest ratio of large tuber (28.27%) in the genotype Konursu; and the highest ratio of medium tuber (85.22%) in the genotype Çamlıkoz. This study; Although the best potato yield was obtained from the Akbulut genotype on a regional basis, these data are a pioneer for other future studies to determine the cultivar candidates needed in the development of domestic potato cultivars.