Salih Gucel

A water-distilled essential oil (EO) from the aerial parts of Pimpinella cypria Boiss. (Apiaceae), an endemic species in northern Cyprus, was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Forty-five compounds were identified in the oil, which comprised 81.7% of the total composition. The compound classes in the oil were oxygenated sesquiterpenes (33.9%), sesquiterpenes (22.0%), monoterpenes (11.4%), oxygenated monoterpenes (2.6%), and phenylpropanoids (7.5%). The main components of the oil were ( Z)-β-farnesene (6.0%), spathulenol (5.9%), ar-curcumene (4.3%), and 1,5-epoxy-salvial(4)14-ene (3.8%). The P. cypria EO deterred yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) from biting at a concentration of 10 μg/cm2 in in vitro bioassays. The oil was tested for repellency in assays using human volunteers. The oil had a minimum effective dosage (MED) for repellency of 47 ± 41 μg/cm2 against Ae. aegypti, which was less efficacious than the positive control N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET). In larval bioassa...

ABSTRACT Treated municipal wastewater and sewage sludge are an important source of water for irrigation in arid and semiarid regions. It may also serve as a promising source of plant nutrients and organic material that has a potential to increase soil productivity under arid conditions. Utilization of treated wastewaters for agricultural irrigation, in addition to being a low-cost available water source, also minimizes effluent disposal problems and hence environmental contamination, and reduces the need for the input of chemical fertilizers. Disadvantages of the application of treated effluents for agricultural irrigation involve the potential for human health problems, groundwater contamination, and the need for continued follow up and control. As of now, treated wastewater in Turkey is discharged to streams and seas, and is not reused for agriculture irrigation. Environmental considerations and the predicted increase in water shortage make effluent irrigation a national priority. Recent field and pot studies demonstrate the potential of the local treated effluents for agriculture. In a pot study the effect of application of different ratios of treated waste waters and treated sludge were investigated for a range of crops including Hordeum vulgare, Sorghum bicolor, Brassica campestris, Pisum sativum, Lolium perenne, L. italicum, and Lycopersison esculentum. The data accumulated revealed that for most crops the performance was better with treated wastewater as compared to normal tap water, which can be related to increased availability of nitrogen. Treated effluents, especially of industrial sources, may contain heavy metal contaminents. Rice plants irrigated with industrial wastewater showed high levels of lead, cadmium, and chromium, and 40-45% reduction of productivity, demonstrating the need for monitoring the quality of the effluents to be used for agricultural irrigation. Although most effluents contain higher levels of salts then the water from which they were derived, in several experiments carried out in Turkey, salt damage were not apparent, seemingly due to salt leaching by rainfall.

Interrelations exist in the terrestrial ecosystems between the plant type and characteristics of nutrient uptake. Annual net nitrogen mineralization in soils of different plant communities in the high altitude zone of Spil mountain located in the Mediterranean phytogeographical region of Turkey was investigated throughout one year by field incubation method. Seasonal fluctuations resulting from field incubation were markedly higher in autumn and spring than summer. These are mainly associated with the changes in soil moisture being at minimum in the Mediterranean summer. A significant correlation was developed between the net Nitrate (kg NO3(-)-N ha week(-1)) production and soil water content (p<0.05; r = 0.316 in soil of 0-5 cm; r = 0.312 in soil of 5-15 cm). The results showed that the annual productivity of nitrogen mineralization shows different values depending on communities. Annual net ammonium (NH4(+)-N) production in the soils of each community was negatively estimated. ...

Different stresses include nutrient deficiency, pathogen attack, exposure to toxic chemicals etc. Transcriptomic studies have been mainly applied to only a few plant species including the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. These studies have provided valuable insights into the genetic networks of plant stress responses. Transcriptomics applied to cash crops including barley, rice, sugarcane, wheat and maize have further helped in understanding physiological and molecular responses in terms of genome sequence, gene regulation, gene differentiation, posttranscriptional modifications and gene splicing. On the other hand, comparative transcriptomics has provided more information about plant's response to diverse stresses. Thus, transcriptomics, together with other biotechnological approaches helps in development of stress tolerance in crops against the climate change.

Salvia veneris Hedge is an endemic plant of Cyprus which is reported to occur in a very limited region around Kythrea (Değirmenlik) village. In our field studies we have observed this species in a wide area occurring in small but continuous populations between Taşkent to Buffavento in the sides of the mountain road unlike the previous reports. This plant is confused with Salvia officinalis and used as a herbal tea in the region. Aerial parts (200 g) of the plant was collected from the Taşkent location without disturbing the roots or the population in the region. Water-distilled essential oil with a 1% yield was obtained from aerial parts of Salvia veneris Hedge from Cyprus. The essential oil was investigated for Acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinestearase inhibition and contact toxicity against Spodoptera exigua (Hübner). The essential oil produced 63.03% contact toxicity against the S. exigua (beet armyworm) larvae at 100 μL/mL concentration. The essential oil was also analyzed by...

The floristic study by Meikle (1977, 1985) covered the whole of Cyprus, whereas those by Viney (1994, 1996) covered only Northern Cyprus, where about 1300 species occur. A total of 121 endemic species have been determined for the whole of Cyprus, 19 of which are endemic ...

Interrelations exist in the terrestrial ecosystems between the plant type and characteristics of nutrient uptake. Annual net nitrogen mineralization in soils of different plant communities in the high altitude zone of Spil mountain located in the Mediterranean phytogeographical region of Turkey was investigated throughout one year by field incubation method. Seasonal fluctuations resulting from field incubation were markedly higher in autumn and spring than summer. These are mainly associated with the changes in soil moisture being at minimum in the Mediterranean summer. A significant correlation was developed between the net Nitrate (kg NO3(-)-N ha week(-1)) production and soil water content (p<0.05; r = 0.316 in soil of 0-5 cm; r = 0.312 in soil of 5-15 cm). The results showed that the annual productivity of nitrogen mineralization shows different values depending on communities. Annual net ammonium (NH4(+)-N) production in the soils of each community was negatively estimated. However annual net nitrate (NO3(-)-N) production (0-15 cm) was higher in grassland (27.8 kg ha y(-1)) and shrub (25.0 kg ha y(-1)) than forest (12.4 kg ha y(-1)) community. While annual net N(min) values were close to each other in grassland (14.5 kg ha y(-1)) and shrub (14.1 kg ha y(-1)), but negative in forest community (-3.6 kg ha y(-1)). The reasons for these differences are discussed.