To evaluate the effects of foliar-applied kaolin on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of olive oil from different cultivars under the hot climatic conditions of southwestern Iran (Kermanshah Province), a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted. Olive cultivar trees (‘Zard’, ‘Roghani’, ‘Conservalia’, ‘Manzanilla’, and ‘Sevillana’) aged 15 years were sprayed twice with 0
The increasing damage caused by pests and the adverse effects associated with extensive pesticide use have highlighted the need for complementary approaches to strengthen plant defense and stress tolerance. This study evaluated the effects of foliar application of simple sugars, including sucrose, glucose, and fructose, applied alone or in combination with acetamiprid at the recommended and half-recommended doses, on selected physiological and biochemical traits of ‘Zard’ olive (Olea europaea L.) trees under biotic and chemical stress. The experiment included 15 treatments, with four trees per treatment. Foliar applications were performed three times, and leaf traits were evaluated at four sampling times. The measured traits included chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid content, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Foliar treatment significantly affected total phenol, total flavonoid, and carotenoid contents, whereas significant treatment × sampling time interactions were detected for antioxidant activity, chlorophyll a, and total chlorophyll. The sucrose (100 mg L−1) + half-recommended acetamiprid treatment produced the highest mean total phenol (1.23 mg GAE g−1 FW) and carotenoid (1.41 mg g−1 FW) contents. Glucose (100 mg L−1) at stage 1 produced the highest mean antioxidant activity (0.71 mg AAE g−1 FW), chlorophyll a (0.97 mg g−1 FW), and total chlorophyll (1.46 mg g−1 FW). Chlorophyll b was not significantly affected by treatment, while carotenoid content increased progressively over sampling times. Several responses obtained with sugar treatments combined with half-recommended pesticide doses were statistically comparable with those obtained using recommended pesticide doses. Overall, foliar application of simple sugars modulated secondary metabolism, antioxidant capacity, and photoprotective responses in olive leaves. These findings support the potential use of simple sugars as complementary components of integrated pest management, particularly for improving plant physiological responses while potentially enabling more efficient use of reduced pesticide inputs under thrips-associated stress.
The current study was conducted on two date palm cultivars (‘Barhy’ and ‘Sewy’) to examine the effect of plant extract (moringa leaves, licorice roots, and radish flowers) on fruit set, yield, fruit quality, and the production of parthenocarpic fruits. The results showed that the use of plant extracts had an effective impact in improving fruit set, yield, and fruit quality. It was clear that the use of pollen grains had better results than plant extracts in terms of bunch weight, the percentage of fruit set, fruit weight, length, and diameter. The use of plant extracts equalized some fruit characteristics and was superior in the characteristics of fruit quality such as total soluble solids (
This study evaluates the energy use efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of strawberry production in Central Anatolia, Türkiye. Primary data were collected from 41 farms through face-to-face surveys conducted during the 2025 production season. All inputs were converted into energy equivalents to calculate total energy input (EI), total energy output (EO), energy use efficiency (EUE), specific energy (SE), energy productivity (EP), and net energy (NE). Total energy input was calculated as 24,680.40 MJ ha−1, while total energy output reached 32,916.34 MJ ha−1, resulting in an EUE of 1.34 and a net energy gain of 8235.96 MJ ha−1. Specific energy was 1.43 MJ kg−1 and energy productivity was 0.70 kg MJ−1. Pesticides represented the largest share of total energy input (48.20
Guava (Psidium guajava L.), a nutritionally and economically significant tropical fruit crop, faces severe production constraints due to infestation by tephritid fruit flies, particularly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and B. zonata (Saunders). These polyphagous, highly mobile pests inflict direct yield losses ranging from 10 to 100
