Mushroom sciarid fly Lycoriella ingenua (Dufour, 1839) comb. nov., is one of the most common fly pests affecting the cultivation of Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach in Turkey. In this study, eight insect growth regulators (IGRs)--diflubenzuron, flufenoxuron, lufenuron, methoprene, novaluron, pyriproxyfen, teflubenzuron, and triflumuron-were tested for their potential to control L. ingenua populations in two successive growing periods. Treatments were targeted at larvae as soil drenches; treatment efficacy was evaluated by assessing adult emergence and larval damage. These products were compared with a control treated with water (negative control) and a conventional chemical insecticide (chlorpyrifos ethyl) (positive control). Treatments with the IGRs caused significant reductions in emerging adult numbers and sporophore damage rates compared with the water-treated control over the two growing periods. Of the IGRs tested, novaluron, diflubenzuron, and teflubenzuron had significantly lower numbers of emerging adults than the rest of the IGRs and chlorpyrifos ethyl-treated control in both periods. Treatments with teflubenzuron, pyriproxyfen, novaluron, and diflubenzuron resulted in significantly lower sporophore damage rates than all other treatments. Compared with negative control, there were no significant yield reductions due to applications of selected IGRs. The results suggest that all the IGRs tested can be used as alternatives to conventional pesticides in controlling L. ingenua populations on mushroom.

The results suggest that both neem products and hot-water extracts of O. onites and P. anisum may be potential alternatives to conventional pesticides for the control of mushroom phorid fly.

The term 'organically grown food' denotes products that have been produced in accordance with the principles and practices of organic agriculture. The use of alternatives to synthetic fertilizers is an important issue in organic systems. A two-year field experiment to evaluate effects of organic fertilizers on the yield and quality of open field grown tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was carried out in Southern Turkey in 2000 and 2001. Combinations of manure, blood flour and micronutrient preparations were used for fertilization, and conventional mineral fertilization was included as the control. Yield did not differ between the fertilization and the Conventional treatments in the first year of the study, but the highest yield was obtained from conventional in the second year. No differences were found between treatments in terms of fruit soluble sugar content or citric acid. The application of organic fertilizers positively affected the micronutritional element content of tomato fruits compared to the conventional treatment. Organic fertilization results in improved yield and fruit quality compared to conventional fertilization. In addition, organic fertilization should be supported in order to facilitate reuse and disposal of organic wastes and to maintain and/or increase soil fertility. Key words: Lycopersicon esculentum, organic growing, conventional growing Produção e qualidade de tomates cultivados sob sistemas orgânico e convencional na Turquia RESUMO: O termo "alimentos cultivados organicamente" denota produtos que tenham sido produzidos em conformidade com os princípios e práticas da agricultura orgânica. O uso de alternativas para fertilizantes sintéticos é uma questão importante em sistemas orgânicos. Um experimento de campo foi conduzido no sul da Turquia em 2000 e 2001 para avaliar os efeitos da adubação orgânica na produtividade e na qualidade de tomates (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill), cultivados em campo aberto. Combinações de esterco, farinha de sangue e preparações de micronutrientes foram utilizados para a fertilização, e adubações minerais convencionais foram incluídas como controle. A produção não diferiu entre a fertilização e os tratamentos convencionais no primeiro ano do estudo, porém uma maior produtividade foi obtida a partir do sistema convencional, no segundo ano. Não foram encontradas diferenças entre os tratamentos em termos de teor de açúcares solúveis ou ácido cítrico em frutos. A aplicação de fertilizantes orgânicos afetou positivamente o conteúdo dos elementos micronutritionais dos frutos do tomateiro em relação ao tratamento convencional. A adubação orgânica resultou em maior produtividade e qualidade dos frutos, quando comparada à adubação convencional, e deve ser apoiada, a fim de facilitar a reutilização e eliminação de resíduos orgânicos bem como para manter e/ou aumentar a fertilidade do solo.

Over the last decade, mushroom production has become one of the most actively developing fields of agriculture in Turkey. About 45% of the total mushroom production and >50% of the total compost production occurs in the Antalya-Korkuteli district (southwestern Turkey). Major insect pests of mushroom production are cecidomyiid, sciarid and phorid flies with Megaselia halterata (Wood) (Diptera: Phoridae) being the most common species in the district. In the present study, two commercial microbial products [a bacterial larvicide, Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis Berliner (Bti) commercially available as Gnatrol® (Valent USA Corp., Walnut Creek, CA), and an entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema feltiae (Filipjev) Wouts, Mracek, Gerdin & Bedding commercially available as Entonem® (Koppert Biological Systems, The Netherlands)] and spinosad, a biologically-derived insecticide that is commercially available as Laser® (Dow AgroSciences, Zionsville Road, IN), were evaluated for control of M. halterata in 3 successive mushroom-growing periods. These products were compared with a control treated with water and a conventional chemical insecticide control (chlorpyrifos-ethyl). Treatments were targeted at larvae as soil drenches; treatment efficacy was evaluated by assessing adult emergence and larval damage. Treatments with the microbial products had significantly lower numbers of emerging adults than those observed in water-treated control. There were no significant differences in adult emergence among the 3 microbial products and the chlorpyrifos-ethyl control over the 3 growing periods. Each of the microbial products reduced the incidence of fruit damage by the larvae and resulted in significantly lower damage rates when compared with the watertreated control. These results suggest that these microbial products can be used as alternatives to conventional chemicals in controlling M. halterata on mushroom.

Agricultural wastes have increased with the intensive production in recent years. These wastes that affect the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils should be composted and added to soil. In this study, composts were consisted of different agricultural wastes such as greenhouse wastes-GPW, used cocopeat wastes-UCW, spent mushroom composts-SMC and at different ratios. Used cocopeat wastes were especially chosen in this experiment because it was not preferred in compost mixtures up to the present. Five different compost mixtures were added to the soil and their effects on growth and nutrient contents of lettuce plants were determined. The experiment was carried out during two successive seasons (autumn and spring). The results showed that plant growth and yield were found higher in the compost applications than in control. Generally the highest values were obtained from M1 application (80% GPW + 10% UCW + 10% SMC) for many parameters.

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Bu araştırma katı solucan ve tavuk gübrelerinin kıvırcık salatada verim, bazı kalite özellikleri ve bitki besin elementi içeriklerine etkilerini belirlemek amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Cam sera koşullarında yapılan araştırmada parsel büyüklüğü 1.2 m 2 olup, her parselde 10 bitkiye yer verilmiş ve bitkisel materyal olarak Caipira kıvırcık marul (Lactuca sativa L. var crispa) çeşidi kullanılmıştır. Denemede katı solucan gübresi (SG:80 kg da-1), katı tavuk gübresi (TG:250 kg da-1), kimyasal gübreler (KG:12.5 N-4 P2O5-11 K2O kg da-1), SG (80 kg da-1) + KG (12.5 N-4 P2O5-11 K2O kg da-1), TG (250 kg da-1) + KG (12.5 N-4 P2O5-11 K2O kg da-1) ve Kontrol (K) uygulamaları yer almıştır. Hasat edilen bitkilerde kök boğazı çapı (mm), baş boyu (cm), yaprak sayısı (adet bitki-1), yaprak rengi (L, Hue ve Chroma), klorofil miktarı, toplam ve pazarlanabilir verim (kg da-1), ortalama baş ağırlığı (g bitki-1) ve makro bitki besin elementi içerikleri incelenmiştir. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlara göre en yüksek toplam ve pazarlanabilir verim ile ortalama baş ağırlıkları TG + KG uygulamasından elde edilmiştir. En yüksek kök boğazı çapı SG + KG uygulamasında belirlenirken, en yüksek baş uzunluğu TG'de tespit edilmiştir. Klorofil miktarı bakımından uygulamalar arasında farklılıklar oluşmazken, renk açısından en yüksek L değeri SG, Hue değeri, KG uygulamasında ve en yüksek Chroma değeri de SG ve K uygulamalarında saptanmıştır. Analiz edilen makro elementler açısından en yüksek azot TG + KG, SG + KG ve KG uygulamalarında, en yüksek fosfor Kontrol uygulamasında, en yüksek potasyum, kalsiyum ve magnezyum değerleri ise TG uygulamalarında tespit edilmiştir.