Potassium has been identified as a vital nutrient for plant growth and functions. Studies have demonstrated its capacity to mitigate the severity of diseases by accelerating seed maturation and promoting robust root system development. In this study, we aimed to determine how increasing potassium doses affect the nutrient content, dry weight, root weight, and resistance to Rhizoctonia rot of the pepper plant. Pepper seedlings were used as plant material, and potassium sulfate was employed as the potassium fertilizer in this study. The experiment involved applying four different potassium doses (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg ha⁻¹) to pepper seedlings, along with RS0 (control) and RS1 (diseased plant) in four replicates. At the end of the study, analyses of the plants’ nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and boron (B) content, dry weights, and root weights were performed, in addition to disease assessments. An increase in N, P, K, Fe, and B content was observed with applied potassium doses, while a decrease in Mg content was noted. No significant change was detected in Cu content in pepper leaves, and the change in Mn content was not found to be statistically significant. An increase in plant dry weights was determined based on the applied treatments. The results indicated that plants subjected to potassium exhibited resistance to disease, an increase in root weights, and overall better conditions compared to samples without potassium. The best results in the experiments were achieved with the application of 150 kg ha⁻¹ K₂SO₄. It was observed that certain rates of potassium had positive effects on disease factors by suppressing Rhizoctonia rot and can be used for biological control.

Increased salinity is a threat to arid and semiarid zone agriculture worldwide. Kale consumption has increased as its nutritional and antioxidant benefits become more widely known. Compared with other vegetables, it is relatively salt tolerant. However, there is limited information on its salt tolerance, nutrient uptake under saline conditions, and physiological response. We examined the yield response, physiological parameters, and mineral nutrient content of kale grown under variable conditions of salt and Se addition in a greenhouse study. The experiment consisted of four salinity levels, four Se levels, and combined salinity treatments for a total of 16 treatments each with four replications. Salinity decreased yield when irrigated at 6 and 9 dS m⁻¹ but not at 3 dS m⁻¹. Selenium addition increased yield at all salinity levels but did not increase salt tolerance. Addition of 0.25 mg Se per kg of soil, corresponding to leaf Se concentrations of 1 mg kg⁻¹, was sufficient to increase yield by an average of 11% relative to control. Kale yield loss began between 3 and 6 dS m⁻¹ irrigation water salinity and 50% yield loss occurred at EC 6.

This experiment was conducted at the Fruit Research Institute, MAREM, Eğirdir-Isparta, Turkey, to detect the effects of different glycine betaine doses in drought stress conditions on young pear trees in 2019. The pear trees used in the study were one-year-old Deveci (Pyrus Comminus L.) variety grafted onto OHxF 333 rootstock. There were three different irrigation treatments in the experiment. Treatments were I₁₀₀ treatment—available soil water reached field capacity for each irrigation, 100% (control); I₅₀ treatment—irrigated with 50% of the water used in the I₁₀₀ treatment (50% water deficit, moderate stress); I₂₅ treatment—irrigated with 25% of the water used in the I₁₀₀ treatment (75% water deficit, severe stress). Four different GB doses were used: GB₀: 0, control; GB₁: 1 mg L⁻¹; GB₅: 5 mg L⁻¹; and GB₁₀: 10 mg L⁻¹. GB was not applied to pear trees in the I₁₀₀ treatment. That is, there were nine different treatments in this study. GB applications provided a 19% increase in Pn of both the I₂₅ and I₅₀ treatments. According to the results of g_sw, g_sw increased between 18.0% and 27.8% for GB₅₀ and GB₂₅ treatments, respectively. In total, 10.9% and 14.8% increasing rates in shoot length were detected in GB₁₀ applications in both the 50% and 75% water deficit treatments. The highest trunk diameter and fresh root weight results were determined in 10 mg L⁻¹ GB dose applications under 50% water deficit conditions (I₅₀GB₁₀).

Dormancy breakers are widely employed in regions with an insufficient chill accumulation to enhance floral bud break in sweet cherry production. Dormex (HC) has not been authorized in Europe and many other countries due to its detrimental effects on human health (carcinogenic) and the environment. This situation has increased the demand for alternative chemicals to HC. The current study was conducted in an orchard of 5-year-old ‘Royal Tioga^®’ sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium L.) grafted on MaxMa 14 rootstocks in the Karayusuflu Village (at an altitude of 50 m), Adana, a Mediterranean city in Türkiye. Levante (LV) and HC were applied approximately 30 days before the anticipated dormancy break of the buds. Chill accumulation was quantified monthly during the 2023–2024 winter season using the chilling hours below 7.2 °C (467 h) and chill units (280 CUs). This study evaluated the effects of dormancy breakers on hormonal changes in floral buds, focusing specifically on gibberellic acid (GA₃) and abscisic acid (ABA). Also, their impact on fruit set and quality parameters was assessed. The findings revealed that the LV and HC applications reduced the ABA content in flower buds during the dormancy period compared to the control. LV significantly improved bud break rates (56.8%) and fruit set (85.2%) while positively influencing the fruit quality parameters and yield. No significant differences between the LV and HC treatments were observed regarding average fruit weight (8.8–8.4 g) and yield values (3.7–3.5 kg tree⁻¹). These results suggest LV as an alternative to HC for early-season cherry production in warm climates.

Bitki, bitki besin elementleri ve hastalık oluşumuna sebep olan patojenler arasındaki ilişki çok karmaşıktır. Bitki besleme ve bitki hastalıkları arasındaki ilişki çoğunlukla gündeme gelmese de bitki besleme, her zaman bitki hastalıklarının kontrolünde birincil bileşen olmuştur. Bitkilerin yetiştirildiği çoğu toprak ve ortam, bol miktarda hastalık patojeni içerir. Besin elementi eksikliği görülen bitkiler daha az dirençlidir ve çeşitli hastalıklara karşı daha duyarlıdır. Bu bakımdan tüm bitki besin elementleri bitki hastalıklarına etki eder. Bazı bitki besin elementlerinin diğer besin elementlerine göre bitki hastalıkları üzerine doğrudan ve daha fazla etkisi vardır. Bu çalışmada bazı bitki besin elementlerinin (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, B) bazı fungal ve bakteriyel hastalıklara karşı gösterdiği direnç ile ilgili çalışmalar derlenmiş, ayrıca bitki hastalıklarına karşı önemli bitki besin maddeleri ve bunların bitki hastalıklarıyla olan ilişkileri incelenmiştir. İyi planlanmış bir gübreleme programı; sağlıklı üretim, optimum verim ve maksimum kazanç için gereklidir. Verim artışı ve hastalıklara direnç göstermede besin elementlerinin varlığı önemlidir. Bitkilerin beslenmesini iyileştirmenin tüm bitki hastalıklarına olmasa da birçok bitki hastalığına karşı yardımcı olacağı söylenebilir. Bunun yanında, çoğu hastalığın şiddeti azaltılabilir ve birçok bitki patojeninin kimyasal, biyolojik veya genetik kontrolü uygun beslenme ile artırılabilir.