Ahmet Aksoy

Crop Production for Agricultural Improvement

Crop improvement through different means: Challenges and prospect, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Sajid Aqeel Ahmad, Munir Ozturk and Ahmad Aksoy PART I. Breeding for crop improvement Bridging genomic and classical breeding approaches for improving crop productivity, Mehboob-ur-Rahman, Tayyaba Shaheen, Muhammad Ashraf, Yusuf Zafar Breeding for improved drought tolerance, Abazar Rajabi, Eric Schmieder Ober Breeding for biotic stress resistance/tolerance in plants, Carlotta Balconi, Piergiorgio Stevanato, Mario Motto The American halophyte Prosopis strombulifera, a new potential source to confer salt tolerance to crops, Mariana Reginato, Veronica Sgroy, Analia Llanes, Fabricio Cassan, Virginia Luna Breeding for Biotic Stress Tolerance in Plants, L.F. De Filippis Breeding Wheat for Salt Tolerance and Stem Rust Resistance, Makhdoom Hussain, Aziz ur Rehman, Imran Habib, Mumtaz Hussain, Nadeem Ahmad, Muhammad Arif Khan, Muhammad Hussain and Faqir Muhammad The potential of breeding okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) for water stress tolerance, Abdul Naveed, Asif Ali Khan, Saeed Rauf PART II. Biotechnology , Molecular Biology and Genetics Biotechnology as an aid for crop improvement to overcome food shortage, Khalid ul Rehman Hakeem, Munir Ozturk, Parvaiz Ahmad, Abdul Razaque Memon Plant Genetic Engineering: Problems and Applications, Bushra Rashid, Tayyab Husnain, Sheikh RiazuddinAgrobacterium tumefaciens and its Use in Plant Biotechnology, Ibrahim Ilker Ozyigit Progress and prospects for efficient micropropagation of woody plants, Faheem Aftab Novel Methods in Micropropagation of Pistachio, Engin Tilkat, Yelda Ozden Ciftci, Hulya Akdemir, Ahmet Onay, Emine Ayaz Crop productivity and water use efficiency: The role of carbon isotope discrimination technique, Javed Akhter and Philippe Monneveux Behaviour of Plant Pathogens for Crops under Stress during the Determination of Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Approaches for Salt Stress Tolerance, Murat Dikilitas and Sema Karakas Biochemical and molecular aspects of drought tolerance in wheat Triticum L. Genotypes, Rada Mammad Huseynova, Samira Mahammadrahim Rustamova, Saftar Yusif Suleymanov, Jalal Alirza Aliyev Molecular basis of disease resistance in cereal crops: An overview, Hadi Bux, Muhammad Ashraf, Awais Rasheed, Dipak Sharma Poudyal, Alvina Gul Kazi, Muhammad Afzaal Polyamines: Role in plants under abiotic stress, Parvaiz Ahmad, Ashwani Kumar, Aditi Gupta, Xiangyang Hu, Khalid ul Rehman Hakeem, Satyawati Sharma PART III. Crop Management Practices in Saskatchewan, Canada, Ahmet Ruhi Mermut Invasive weed species: A threat to sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim, Asad Shabbir An overview of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for sustainable agriculture, Rifat Hayat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rizwan Ali Sheirdil Arbuscular mycorrhizae for sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim A site-specific potassium fertilization approach to overcome sporadic response of crops, Abdul Hannan, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Waqas Optimal Supply of Micronutrients Improves Drought Tolerance in Legumes, Muhammad Yasin Ashraf, Khalid Mahmood, Muhammad Ashraf, Javed Akhter, Faqir Hussain Potential of Rhizobia for Sustainable Production of Non-legumes, Ijaz Mehboob, Muhammad Naveed, Zahir Ahmad Zahir and Muhammad Ashraf Effect of Drip and Subsurface Drip Irrigation with Saline Water on Tomato Crop, Besma Kahlaoui, Mohamed Hachicha, Saloua Rejeb, Mohamed Nejib Rejeb Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. walp) cultivars in relation to temperature stress, Shahidul Islam, Carmen Rafaela Carvajal Rebanales, James Otis Garner, Jr. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of root nodules of model legume plants, Abdul Razaque Memon A Review on Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, Syed Jawad Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Bashir, Naheed Manzoor Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its Use in Plant Biotechnology, Ibrahim Ilker Ozyigit Progress and prospects for efficient micropropagation of woody plants, Faheem Aftab Novel Methods in Micropropagation of Pistachio, Engin Tilkat, Yelda Ozden Ciftci, Hulya Akdemir, Ahmet Onay, Emine Ayaz Crop productivity and water use efficiency: The role of carbon isotope discrimination technique, Javed Akhter and Philippe Monneveux Behaviour of Plant Pathogens for Crops under Stress during the Determination of Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Approaches for Salt Stress Tolerance, Murat Dikilitas and Sema Karakas Biochemical and molecular aspects of drought tolerance in wheat Triticum L. Genotypes, Rada Mammad Huseynova, Samira Mahammadrahim Rustamova, Saftar Yusif Suleymanov, Jalal Alirza Aliyev Molecular basis of disease resistance in cereal crops: An overview, Hadi Bux, Muhammad Ashraf, Awais Rasheed, Dipak Sharma Poudyal, Alvina Gul Kazi, Muhammad Afzaal Polyamines: Role in plants under abiotic stress, Parvaiz Ahmad, Ashwani Kumar, Aditi Gupta, Xiangyang Hu, Khalid ul Rehman Hakeem, Satyawati Sharma PART III. Crop Management Practices in Saskatchewan, Canada, Ahmet Ruhi Mermut Invasive weed species: A threat to sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim, Asad Shabbir An overview of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for sustainable agriculture, Rifat Hayat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rizwan Ali Sheirdil Arbuscular mycorrhizae for sustainable agriculture, Ghazala Nasim A site-specific potassium fertilization approach to overcome sporadic response of crops, Abdul Hannan, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Waqas Optimal Supply of Micronutrients Improves Drought Tolerance in Legumes, Muhammad Yasin Ashraf, Khalid Mahmood, Muhammad Ashraf, Javed Akhter, Faqir Hussain Potential of Rhizobia for Sustainable Production of Non-legumes, Ijaz Mehboob, Muhammad Naveed, Zahir Ahmad Zahir and Muhammad Ashraf Effect of Drip and Subsurface Drip Irrigation with Saline Water on Tomato Crop, Besma Kahlaoui, Mohamed Hachicha, Saloua Rejeb, Mohamed Nejib Rejeb Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. walp) cultivars in relation to temperature stress, Shahidul Islam, Carmen Rafaela Carvajal Rebanales, James Otis Garner, Jr. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of root nodules of model legume plants, Abdul Razaque Memon A Review on Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, Syed Jawad Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Bashir, Naheed Manzoor

Heavy Metal Accumulation and Distribution in Narrow-Leaved Cattail (Typha angustifolia) and Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

ABSTRACT The concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd were measured in Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia, and sediment from 11 sites in Karasu Stream, Kayseri, Turkey. Both plants were root accumulators of Zn, Cu, and Cd, having higher concentrations of these elements in their roots than were present in the surrounding sediment. Pb was also accumulated but not against a concentration gradient.

An overview of plant diversity, land use and degradation in the Mediterranean region of Turkey

The Turkish Mediterranean region covers an area of 198.165km2, including ten states and a coastline of about 4,389km. The area has served as a womb for several civilisations. However, its rich plant diversity has been victimized through anthropomorphic pressures. Southwestern shores of Turkey are the main centre of coastal endemism in the Mediterranean basin. The flora in the region on the whole includes more than 700 endemics, out of which about 600 are East‐Mediterranean elements. Out of the endemic taxa distributed in the region more than 40 are facing a threat of extirpation. The region embodies tertiary endemics as well, like Liquidamber orientalis, Eryngium thorifolium and Flueggea anatolica. High mountain zones abound in neoendemics. Although several protected areas have been created lately, demographic pressure, urbanisation, grazing, fires and erosion, are still posing a great threat to the plant diversity. This paper enlightens the impact of the aforementioned land degradation processes on the plant cover of this phytogeographical region in Turkey.

HPLC Analysis of Usnic Acid in Some Ramalina. Species from Anatolia and Investigation of their Antimicrobial Activities

Abstract Five species of lichens, Ramalina fastigiata. (Pers.) Ach., Ramalina capitata., (Ach.) Nyl., Ramaliana polymorpha. (Lilj.) Ach., Ramalina pollinaria. (Westr.) Ach., and Ramalina fraxinea. (L.) Ach., belonging to family Ramalinacae. were collected from middle Anatolia, Ankara, Antalya, Karabük, and Kayseri in Turkey. Their usnic acid amounts were determined by HPLC in acetone extracts. Furthermore, antimicrobial activities of these extracts were determined against Escherichia coli. (ATCC 35218), Enterococcus faecalis. (RSKK 508), Proteus mirabilis. (Pasteur Ens. 235), Staphylococcus aureus., Bacillus subtilis., and Bacillus megaterium.. It was observed that, as the usnic acid amount increased, the antimicrobial activities were increased. Results pointed out that usnic acid contents of Ramalina. species varied between 0.13% and 3.23% dry weight.

Growth and bioaccumulation characteristics of watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. BR.) exposed to cadmium, cobalt and chromium

Abstract The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Cd, Co and Cr on the growth of watercress (Nasturtium officinale) and to determine the bioaccumulation properties of these heavy metals by the plant. N. officinale individuals were exposed to different concentrations of Cd, Co and Cr for 72 h. Relative growth rates (RGR) and bioconcentration factor (BCF) ratios were calculated for each metal concentration. RGR values of plants exposed to Co slightly increased in lower concentrations, but then decreased again. In contrast, RGR values of plants exposed to Cd and Cr decreased linearly. Significant positive relationships were observed among the concentrations of Cd, Co and Cr in N. officinale and in the culture solution. BCF ratios were highest for plants exposed to Co, and lowest for plants exposed to Cr. The most efficient uptake of Cd, Co and Cr occurred at the external solution concentrations at 0.5, 0.5 and 10 mM, respectively.

Verbascum bombyciferum Boiss. (Scrophulariaceae) as possible bio-indicator for the assessment of heavy metals in the environment of Bursa, Turkey.

In this study, we determined the heavy metal content (Cd2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+) in the soil surrounding the roots and different organs of Verbascum bombyciferum Boiss. (Scrophulariaceae), which is endemic to Uludağ Mountain, Bursa, Turkey. Plant samples were collected from roadsides, and heavy metal accumulation capabilities were tested. This is one of the pioneer species of ruderal plant communities on roadsides, building sites, rubbish dumps, etc. Different organs of plant samples (roots, stems, leaves, and flowers) and their soils were analyzed by inductively couple plasma optical emission spectroscopy for their heavy metal contents. Some of the analyzed heavy metals (Cd2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, and Zn2+) were usually increased depending on the traffic in the sample sites, and this variation was also reflected in heavy metal content of plant samples. Our results show that this plant can be used as a bio-indicator species in the monitoring of increased Cd2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ in the environment. We also concluded that V. bombyciferum have the capability of Cd2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ accumulation.

Silene ozyurtii (Caryophyllaceae), a New Species from Anatolia, Turkey

A new species, Silene ozyurtii Aksoy & Hamzaoğlu (Caryophyllaceae), is described from the north parts of western Taurus facing central Anatolia, between the Konya and Isparta provinces, in southwest Anatolia, Turkey. The species is compared with morphologically similar taxa in sect. Tunicoideae.

Plant Diversity in the Turkish Black Sea Region and Strategies for its Conservation

“Biological Diversity”; a common heritage of our planet earth; is facing a threat mainly in the industrialised regions, one of which is the Black Sea. Turkey has a coastline of over 1,500 km in this region.It is geographically known as North Anatolia and is divided into the western (from Edirne to Sinop), central (from Sinop to Unye) and eastern (from Unye to Georgian border) parts. Phytogeographically we include this part in the Euro-Siberian region. From the point view of plant diversity it is considered a treasure. The area is dominated by Euro-Siberian elements and some Mediterranean enclaves. The Alpine and sub-alpine zones abound in Rhododendron spp., Vaccinium myrtillus, Festuca spp., and others. The forest zone is dominated by Picea orientalis, Abies spp., Fagus orientalis, Castanea satvia and Alnus glutinosa. In the coastal zone we come across many halophytes and psammophytes. The lakes in this region are rich in vegetation and serve as a stopover for migratory birds. Endemics, too are well represented in the Euro-Siberian flora. There number is said to be higher as compared to the neighbouring Black Sea countries. However, landslides, forest clearing, grazing by cattle herds, fire, pesticides, industrial activities and seasonal settlements all result in the loss of genetic pools. Nomadic activities are steadily increasing, but in the meantime three national parks, three nature protection areas and 15 species- protection sites have been created in an on-going in-situ conservation programme. There is a greater need for protection in order to achieve sustainable development. For this purpose consideration should be given to quantity, quality and time factors in the conservation strategy. Interrelationships between anthropo-zoogenic factors and vegetation dynamics need to be closely followed to protect the primary producers in the chain. All these factors will be elucidated here in detail with examples from the western, central and eastern parts of Turkish Black Sea region.

RAPD and ISSR markers indicate high genetic variation within Lobathallia radiosa in Turkey

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) methods were used for investigating genetic variation within L. radiosa and for delimiting species within the genus Lobothallia. Ten RAPD and 11 ISSR primers produced a total of 261 and 260 reproducible bands, respectively, and all of which were polymorphic for the two markers, suggesting high genetic variability within L. radiosa. Genetic distances between the samples of L. radiosa for the RAPD and ISSR analyses ranged from 51 to 93% and from 56 to 92%, respectively. The average was 71.2% for the RAPD markers while it was 80.4% for the ISSR markers. Although a high number of sample-specific bands (31 for RAPD and 16 for ISSR) were seen in L. radiosa, no species-specific band was observed. The RAPD-based dendrogram clustered the samples of L. alphoplaca into one group except for the samples from Kayseri and Nigde, whereas it divided the samples of L. radiosa into two main groups. On the other hand, the ISSR-based dendrogram resulted in four main groups. While the first main group included the three samples of L. alphoplaca, the other three main groups consisted of the samples of L. radiosa. Both RAPD- and ISSR-based dendrograms partially grouped the samples of L. radiosa and L. alphoplaca based on their geographical origins.

Scorzonera Coriacea A. Duran & Aksoy (Asteraceae, Cichorieae), a New Species from South Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract Duran, A., B. Dogan, E. Hamzaoğlu & A. Aksoy (2011). Scorzonera coriacea A. Duran & Aksoy (Asteraceae, Cichorieae), a new species from South Anatolia, Turkey. Candollea 66: 353–359. In English, English and French abstracts. A new species, Scorzonera coriacea A. Duran & Aksoy (Asteraceae) from Anatolia, Turkey, is described and illustrated. The species grows in open Pinus nigra forest and on the serpentine stony slopes of the Kızıldağ Mountain in the district of Derebucak (Konya province) and in the Kızıldağ National Park in the district of Şarkikaraağaç (Isparta province). Scorzonera coriacea is a very distinct species, and with no obvious allies among other Scorzonera species in Turkey in terms of morphological features. The new species is an endemic confined to the Southern Anatolia. Notes on its ecology, biogeography and its conservation status are also presented. The geographical distribution of the new species is mapped.