In this study, the butterfly fauna of Erbil Province (northern region of Iraq) is investigated for the first time. For this purpose, 1240 collected specimens are evaluated and 55 species are recorded belonging to superfamilies Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Valid scientific names, materials, collecting localities and distributions of each species in the region, are given.

In this study, Muscari botryoides (L.) Mill. (Asparagaceae) is recorded for the first time from the East Anatolia region (B9 Van) of Turkey. The description of Muscari botryoides is given and habitus photos of related species are presented. Geographical distribution is mapped, and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) threat categories at the regional scale of the populations are discussed.

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of cutting stages and different locations on fresh herbage yield and related traits of sorghum in Antalya. Field trials were established according to randomized complete block design with three replications in two locations (Aksu and Kampüs) with different soil properties for two growing seasons. Sorghum plants were harvested at five different cutting stages namely, panicle initiation, panicle emergence, milk, dough, and full-maturity stage. Plant height, leaf-stalk-stem ratio, fresh herbage yield, dry matter ratio and yield were determined in conducted study. Results of the study indicated that cutting stage significantly affected all investigated traits, and the effect of location significantly affected all traits except stem ratio. The highest fresh herbage yields were determined at dough maturity stage in both locations. Fresh herbage yield in Aksu location was higher than Kampüs location for all cutting stages. The results in total suggested that, under the conditions this study was carried out, sorghum could be cut at dough maturity stage and Aksu location was more suitable for sorghum production than Kampüs location. The results presented here also demonstrated that land selection was also very important in order to obtain a high yield from sorghum in certain ecology.

The aim of this research was to determine soil moisture and temperature regimes for soils in Samsun province, which has various geographical and ecological properties, using Newhall simulation model. Data from six stations (Atakum, Bafra, Çarsamba, Ladik, Havza, and Vezirköprü) with average rainfall and temperature records for many years participated in the study. Also, Erinç, and Thorwhite climate classification systems were used in order to determine climate classification of the province. According to Erinç climate classification, the eastern parts of Samsun are located in the humid class while the middle and western sections are in semi-humid class. When the Thornthwaite climate classification is taken into account, the eastern sections are found humid and the middle coast sections are fund humid and semi-humid. The high sections of the Bafra district and the Vezirköprü are semi-arid and less humid, while some of the Havza and Kavak districts in the inner part are classified as semi-arid. According to Newhall model, soil temperature regime of all Samsun’ area was classified as Mesic. In terms of humidity regime, Ladik, Basin, and Vezirköprü are classified as Typic Xeric, Atakum and Bafra districts as Wet Tempustic and Çarsamba as Dry Tempudic. It is also suggested that the soil temperature and moisture distribution plots obtained with the Newhall model will provide important support for soil water management and drought studies.

The heavy metals introduced into the environment by anthropogenic activity cause soil pollution and a decrease in soil quality. The phytoremediation method, which is one of the most suitable methods for removing heavy metals from the soil, is an environmentally friendly and economical method. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of Xanthium strumarium L. plants for phytoextraction of copper (Cu) from the artificially contaminated soil. The cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) plant was grown in copper (Cu) contaminated soil (0, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg Cu kg-1) under greenhouse conditions for 45 days. Copper concentration, chlorophyll content, biomass production, reduced glutathione (GSH), some macro [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg)] and micro [iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn)] nutrient concentrations of the plants were measured. The Cu applied plants were compared with the control (0 mg Cu kg-1) plant. Increasing doses of Cu have caused a reduction in other measured parameters, except Cu and GSH concentrations. The results show that the cocklebur plant can be used to clean Cu-contaminated soils and is suitable for the phytoremediation method.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gas known as toxic for years with the colorless formation and rotten egg odor. Hydrogen sulfide becomes phytotoxic for the plant when combined with other environmental stress conditions due to the high concentration of the effect on plant cells. Hydrogen sulfide plays a vital role in regulating various physiological processes such as stoma movements in plants, regulation of senescence in flowers and leaves, photosynthesis and germination. Various abiotic stress conditions such as heavy metal stress, drought, waterlogging, salinity, fungal infection, UV-B stress, cold and heat stress triggers the production of H2S. In response to environmental stresses, plants synthesize hydrogen sulfide via L-cysteine desulfhydrase (LCD), D-cysteine desulfhydrase (DCD), sulfate reductase (SIR), cyanoalanine synthesis (CAS) and cysteine synthesis (CS) and increase plant tolerance against these stress. Hydrogen sulfide produced by plants is also released to the atmosphere. For this reason, it is necessary to consider H2S as a signal molecule as well as a phytotoxin.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of some commercial microbial fertilizers on root-knot nematode Meloidoyne incognita and tomato growth. For this purpose, pot experiments were carried out in the study; Microbial fertilizers consisting of Nematofix® (N), Rootsafer® (R), Phosfert® (P) and Endoryza® (E) were evaluated as individual and combinations (double, triple and quadruple). While none of the applications caused any increase for stem height in the plants without nematode, some applications used by some combinations (N+R+P, N+P+E, R+P+E, and N+R+P+E) of microbial fertilizers caused significant changes compared to control (p<0.05). Plant stem dry weight and root fresh weight were positively affected compared to control (p<0.05) only when all microbial fertilizers were used together (N+R+P+E). This is the only application group where a statistically significant increase was observed in all of the plant criteria relative to the control in nematode-inoculated plants. The lowest gall index (5.6) was detected only in P treatment, while N only treatment had the lowest egg number and the reproductive index. Nematofix, which reduces the reproduction of M. incognita by about 54% compared to the control, has the potential to be used with other control methods where this nematode is a problem.

Assessment, evaluation and mapping of the spatial characteristics of soil properties are crucial to ensure the sustainability of plant production and the development of appropriate management practices in the areas of intensive agricultural production. In this study, some physical and chemical soil characteristics of Dicle Basin, where most of the water reserves of our country are located, and large irrigation projects are taking place, were determined and spatial distributions are modeled and mapped. One hundred seventy-five soil samples from Diyarbakir and Siirt provinces were collected from 0-20 cm depth at approximate corners of each 5 x 5 km grids. Coverage of study area was 4.341 km2. In order to make a more accurate estimation of the changes of soil properties at distances shorter than 5 km, 33 soil samples were taken at 250 m, 750 m and 1750 m distances between two consecutive grid points. Soil samples were analyzed for texture (sand, clay and silt contents), organic matter (OM), lime content, soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus and extractable potassium (K). The modeling of spatial variability allowed to predict the soil characteristics of locations that were not sampled and spatial distribution maps was created. The lowest variability in the study area was found for pH (CV=3.9%) and the highest variability was on available phosphorus (CV=137.8%) concentration. The highest range value was obtained for EC (135.4 km) while the smallest range value was obtained for pH (4.74 km). The soil maps where the lowest and highest values of each soil characteristic can be easily detected are extremely useful to determine appropriate management methods, remediate problems and optimize the use of inputs.

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an alkylating cytotoxic drug commonly used clinically for the treatment of cancer and non-malignant diseases. However, high doses of CP causes blood and bone marrow toxicity. This study was conducted to investigate the possible protective effects of carvacrol (CAR), which is the basic component of essential oils and has antioxidant properties, in blood and bone marrow in experimental hematoxicity. In the study, 63 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 9 groups as 7 animals in each group. After receiving intracardiac blood from animals under anesthesia, the bone marrow from the femur of the rats was carefully removed. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) CP administration reduced leukocyte (77%, 86%), thrombocyte (30%, 35%) and bone marrow nucleated cell counts (82%, 94%), respectively, parallel to the dose increase. Leukocyte, thrombocyte and bone marrow nucleated cell counts in CP and 5 and 10 mg kg-1 CAR administered groups was significantly increased (p<0.001) compared to the CP alone. In the prevention of CP-induced myelosuppression and hematoxicity, 10 mg kg-1 CAR was more protective than 5 mg kg-1 CAR. The data suggest that by modifying the CAR dose at certain ratios, a stronger protective effect against the increased CP dose can be achieved.

Among the aphid species, Peachgreen aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Blackbean aphid Aphis fabae (Scop) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are two common pests causing significant damage in fruits, vegetables, and many other cultivated plants. Today, there is a great deal of chemical control against these harmful pests in our country and wide spectrum insecticides are used. Excessive chemicals are used in both pests because they have extreme reproductive ability and develop resistance to insecticides in a short time. For this reason, the negative effects of chemicals become permanent. Organic insecticides of plant origin in combating with aphids have been thought to replace chemical compounds and many studies have been carried out today with different plant extracts against different pests. In this study, the effects of different concentrations of the extract obtained from hemlock (Conium maculatum L.) plant on M. persicae and A. fabae were investigated. Three different concentrations of hemlock extract, 10%, 15% and 20%, were used to determine the biological effect on M. persicae and A. fabae using dipping and spraying methods. In the experiments, 50 adult individuals of M. persicae and A. fabae were used, live and dead individuals were counted at 1, 24, 48 and 72nd hours after the extract was applied. Experiments were established in 5 replications. According to the findings obtained, it was determined that the extract obtained from the hemlock plants had the highest biological effect at 20% extract concentration.

This study was conducted to determine the antifungal activity of Mentha spicata L. essential oils against 5 different isolates of Chickpea Blight (Ascochyta rabiei) under in vitro conditions. The antifungal activity assay was performed in 60 mm Petri dishes containing 10 ml Potato-Dextrose-Agar (PDA) media. 5 mm diameter fungal discs were placed in the middle of Petri dishes. The essential oils was added to the sterile drying papers stuck to the Petri dishes using micropipette at doses of 0 (control), 1, 3, 5 and 10 µl. Petri dishes sealed with parafilm were incubated for 14 days at 25 ° C. Measurements were made after completion of the incubation period and percent inhibition of mycelial growth was determined. In conclusion, different doses of M. spicata essential oil inhibited fungus mycelial growth at different ratios, and 10 uL dose completely (100%) stopped mycelial growth of fungus. As a result of this study, it has been determined that M. spicata essential oils has a strong antifungal activity in vitro conditions.

YABBY gene family is one of the plant transcription factors. The aim of this study was to characterize and define the YABBY gene family members in silico, in Eucalyptus grandis genome. In this study, various in silico methods was used. A total of 6 Egra-YABBYproteins were discovered in Eucalyptus grandis genome. The molecular weight and length of these proteins ranged from 18.39 kDa to 32.38 kDa and based from 168 to 290 amino acids. Isoelectric points (pIs) of YABBY proteins were between 5.54 (Egra-YABBY- 2) and 9.92 (Egra-YABBY- 6). The estimated number of exons found among the Egra-YABBY genes was the lowest of 6 and the highest of 7. The results of the phylogenetic analysis showed that YABBY proteins of Eucalyptus grandis, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Vitis vinifera were clustered into 5 main groups (FIL, INO, CRC, YAB2 ve YAB5). Segmental duplication was detected between the Egra-YABBY-4/Egra-YABBY-5 genes. Expression profiles of Egra-YABBY genes have revealed that these genes are expressed in different tissues and can function in a variety of physiological processes during plant development. The results of this study will provide potential biotechnological resources and additional information for further understanding of the molecular bases of the YABBY gene family in the eucalyptus plant.