Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences

The Effect of Organic Fertilizer Algae Fertilizer (Spirulina powder) and Fish Fertilizer (Fish Compost) Used as an Alternative to Chemical Fertilizer on the Growth and Mineral Content of Yedikule (Lactuca sativa L. var. Longifolia) Lettuce Plant

Mahitap Duygu Dikbaş — 2026-03-06

Our country's soils are quite poor in organic matter, excessive chemicals are used to enrich the soil; product balance is disrupted, soil productivity decreases. In the study, the amount of chemical fertilizer was reduced and the effects of alternative fertilizers (NPK-50, NPK-100, Fish, Algae Fertilizer) on the growth and mineral contents (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, B, Mo) were investigated. In Yedikule, compared to the control, N, P, K contents were (106.29; 5.36; 38.14) ppm in algae fertilizer and (101.36; 5.99; 31.43) ppm in fish fertilizer. Nitrogen, potassium were found to be high in algae fertilizer and phosphorus were found to be high in fish fertilizer and this was attributed to the fact that algae fertilizer is rich in nitrogen and fish fertilizer is rich in phosphorus. In Yedikule, compared to the control; (Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, B, Mo) in algae fertilizer (11.79; 8.99; 217.5; 16.87; 16.87; 34.73; 0.41) ppm, in fish fertilizer (10.58; 8.80; 201.84; 16.41; 16.41; 30.69; 0.36) ppm. In Yedikule, the highest root-leaf dry matter was determined in algae fertilizer (29.60%, 8.72%) and fish fertilizer (28.35%, 7.85%) compared to control. The highest values (root collar, root length, plant length) in Yedikule were (1.01, 14.01, 25.21) cm in algae fertilizer and (0.95, 10.51, 24.3) cm in fish fertilizer. While growth parameters differed in Yedikule compared to control; statistically significant differences were found in plant length only in fish and algae fertilizer (P<0.05). It was determined that algae-fish fertilizer positively affected plant development.

Evaluating the Effects of Blessing/Biofield Energy Interventions (BEI) on Eggplant’s (Solanum melongena L.) Growth, Development, and Productivity

Alice Branton — 2026-03-11

Objective: Eggplant is the most important fruit vegetable crop in many countries, including India. In spite of this, its production is hindered by low nutrient availability in soil and cost of production. Therefore, the objective of this study was to improve vegetative growth, phenological development, yield, and soil fertility using spiritual blessing energy (biofield) treatment (SBET), known as the Trivedi Effect^®. Methods: Soil physical features were measured using the hand feel method. Mineral components were determined using standard methods. Plant morphological, phenological, and yield-related parameters were measured by experienced scientists. Results: The interaction effect between blessing/biofield energy treatment (BET) with the seeds and lands significantly (p < 0.001) impacted the number of fruits per plant, plant height, leaf area, branch number, leaf number, fruit diameter, fresh fruit yield per plant, and total fresh fruit yield. According to the current investigation, number of fruits per plant was recorded significantly (p ≤ 0.001) higher by 20.75% in the BTEGPG than CONEGPG. The fruit (fresh) yield (ton/ha) was improved by 45.39% in the BTEGPG compared to the CONEGPG. Conclusion: This BET approach effectively supported both the yield and the quality of eggplant fruits.

Antibacterial Effect of Microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus obliquus, and Spirulina platensis) Extracts Against Gram-Negative (Escherichia coli, Yersinia ruckeri and Gram-Positive Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) Bacteria

Hilal Kargın Erörs — 2026-03-11

Algae possess antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anticancer properties, serving as a rich source of various bioactive compounds. In this context, the antibacterial activities of the essential oil components of Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus obliquus, Spirulina platensis were investigated in the study. For this purpose, 10% ethanol-methanol was extracted for 48 hours for antibacterial analyses, the solvents were evaporated in a rotary evaporator at 92°C. 10% stock solutions of the obtained algal extracts were prepared with dimethyl sulfoxide. Antibacterial tests were carried out with 10, 5, 1, 0.1% dilutions of stock solutions. The effects of methanol-ethanol dilutions of algae on Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Yersinia ruckeri), Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) have been investigated. For this purpose, disk diffusion, minimal inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal medium tests were performed. In addition, 25% methanol extracts were prepared for the analysis of oil components found in algae by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. As a result, it was determined that only 10% methanol extract of S. platensis had antibacterial activity against S. aureus (zone 15-16 mm), the minimum inhibitory concentration was 8 mg L^-1, the minimum bactericidal concentration was 16 mg L^-1. It was observed that ethanol-methanol extracts of the other two algae, ethanol extract of S. platensis, did not have antibacterial activity. A total of 22 essential oil components were found in the algae. The highest oleic acid levels were found in S. platensis at 69.31%, while it showed the highest antibacterial activity only against S. aureus bacterium.