Mustafa Harmankaya

Boron Content of Cultivated Soils in Central-Southern Anatolia and its Relationship with Soil Properties and Irrigation Water Quality

Boron toxicity may occur in semi-arid regions due to high levels of B in soils, in the ground water, in fertilisers or in irrigation water (U.S. Salinity Lab. Staff, 1954; Nable et al., 1997).

Response of Chickpea Cultivars to Application of Boron in Boron‐Deficient Calcareous Soils

Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the effects of four boron (B) doses (control, 0 kg B ha−1; B1, 1 kg B ha−1; B2, 3 kg B ha−1; and B3, 6 kg B ha−1) in soils deficient in available B (0.19 mg B kg−1) and lime (CaCO3) content (20.7%) on yield and some yield components of five chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes, namely Akçin‐91, Population, Gökçe, İzmir‐92, and Menemen‐92 in central Anatolian Turkey in the 2002 and 2003 growing seasons. Plant height, pods per plant, grain yield, protein content, protein yield, thousand seed weight, and leaf B concentration were measured. Grain yields in all genotypes (except for Gökçe) were significantly increased by 1 kg ha−1 B application. Application of 1 kg ha−1 B increased the yield by an average of 5%. Genotypes studied showed significant variations with respect to their responses to additional B. Akçin‐91 gave the highest grain yield (1704.8 kg ha−1) at 3 kg B ha−1, whereas Population, İzmir‐92, and Menemen‐92 yielded best (1468.2 kg ha−1, 1483.0 kg ha−1, and 1484.7 kg ha−1, respectively) at 1 kg B ha−1. Interestingly, Gökçe reached to the highest level of grain yield (1827.1 kg ha−1) at the control. Gökçe was a B deficiency B tolerance genotype. The other genotypes appeared to have high sensitivity to B deficiency. This study showed that B deficiency could result in significant yield losses in chickpea under the experimental conditions tested. Thus, B contents of soils for the cultivation of chickpea should be analyzed in advance to avoid yield losses.

Mineral Contents of Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) Growing Wild in Turkey

Macro- and micro-elements of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) tubers growing in Konya (Karapınar and Çumra locations) provinces in Turkey were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium contents of Jerusalem artichoke were found at high levels, whereas K content was found as 21615 mg/kg and 26251 mg/kg for Jerusalem artichoke; P contents of Jerusalem artichoke were found between 2585 and 4791 mg/kg; and Ca was determined between 1573 and 2073 mg/kg for Jerusalem artichoke. In addition, Zn content was found in a range from 11.0 mg/kg for Yaylapınar to 15.6 mg/kg for Saracoğlu artichoke. While Fe content of Jerusalem artichoke was found between 23.32 mg/kg to 54.46 mg/kg, Cu content of Jerusalem artichoke was determined between 4.50 mg/kg to 8.98 mg/kg. The Cr contents of Jerusalem artichoke were found between 0.396 mg/kg to 0.642 mg/kg. Ash contents of Jerusalem artichoke tubers were found between 5.70% to 7.63%. Protein contents of Jerusalem artichoke samples were found between 6.23% to 10.71%.

Micronutrient contents in leaves of sunflower cultivars grown with different boron doses.

SUMMARY Although boron is essential for crop growth, the amount required differs among plant species. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) requires greater quantities of boron to satisfy its metabolic needs than other cultivated species. The present work was undertaken to evaluate what effects five boron doses of 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg B ha-1 (applied as a spray of boric acid, H3BO3) would have on micronutrient contents in leaves of four sunflower cultivars grown in B-deficient calcareous soils (0.19 B mg kg-1) during the 2001 growing season. Boron (B), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) concentrations were measured in sunflower leaves at the flowering stage. According to the results, the B concentration in the leaves was highly correlated with boron doses, that is, the leaf B content increased in accordance with increasing B doses applied to the soil. Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn concentrations in the leaves were not changed by the different B levels. However, leaf Mn, B and Cu concentrations varied with the cultivars. Among the cultivars, TR-4098 had the highest Mn (90.74 mg kg-1) and Cu contents (45.95 mg kg-1), while AS-615 had the highest B (83.52 mg kg-1) and Fe (202.55 mg kg-1) concentrations.

Some chemical properties, mineral content and amino acid composition of cowpeas (Vigna sinensis (L.) Savi)

Chemical properties, mineral content and amino acid composition of three cowpea genotypes (Karagoz, Samandag and Sarikiz) were determined. Almost all investigated characteristics (except for potassium, sulphur, copper, proline, and sarcosine) were revealed to be statistically important. Chemical properties of cowpeas showed that protein ranged from 27.6 to 30.1%, carbohydrate 56.3-60.0%, ash 3.8-4.2%, fat 2.0-2.3% and moisture 5.9-7.2%. The amounts of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulphur, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese and copper were adequate to meet macronutrient and micronutrient demand in human diets. The ratios of 22 amino acids showed that methionine, tryptophan and tyrosine amino acids were limiting components. According to the results, the cowpea genotypes were rich in the essential amino acids and chemical composition.

Determination of metal, non-metal and heavy metal contents of some tropical fruits growing in Indonesia

The importance of the current study was to determine the mineral and heavy metal contents of several tropical fruits provided from Indonesia. Mineral contents of some tropical fruits were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. As macro element, Ca contents of fruits were found between 167 mg/kg (Pir) and 1,051 mg/kg (Jambu). In addition, K contents of fruits ranged from 5,803 mg/kg (Manggis) to 17,659 mg/kg (Dragori). P contents ranged from 491 mg/kg (Sukun) to 3158 mg/kg (Dragori) (P<0.05). As micro element, Fe content varied between 24.7 mg/kg (Pir) and 54.1 mg/kg (Dragori). In addition, while Mn contents of fruits change between 2.3 mg/kg (Sukun) and 33.2 mg/kg (Starfruit), Zn content varied from 2.9 mg/kg (Sukun) to 37.5 mg/kg (Dragori) (P<0.05). As heavy metal, Cd, Cr, Mo and Ni contents of fruits were found at low levels.