Bitter gourd is one of the important cucurbits and highly liked among both farmers and consumers due to its high net return and nutritional value. However, being monoecious, it exhibits substantial variation in flower bearing pattern. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are known to influence crop phenology while gibberellic acid (GA₃) is one of the most prominent PGRs that influence cucurbits phenology. Therefore, a field trial was conducted at University of Agriculture Faisalabad to evaluate the impact of a commercial product of gibberellic acid (GA₃) on growth, yield and quality attributes of two bitter gourd (Momordica charantiaL.) cultivars. We used five different concentrations (0.4 g, 0.6 g, 0.8 g, 1.0 g, and 1.2 g per litre) of commercial GA₃ product (Gibberex, 10% Gibberellic acid). Results showed that a higher concentration of gibberex (1.0 and 1.20 g L⁻¹ water) enhanced the petiole length, intermodal length, and yield of bitter gourd cultivars over control in Golu hybrid and Faisalabad Long. A significant decrease in the enzyme superoxidase dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activities were observed with an increasing concentration of gibberex (1.0 and 1.20 gL⁻¹ water) as compared to control. These results indicate that the exogenous application of gibberex at a higher concentration (1.2 g L⁻¹) has a dual action in bitter gourd plant: i) it enhances the plant growth and yield, and ii) it also influenced the antioxidant enzyme activities in fruits. These findings may have a meaningful, practical use for farmers involved in agriculture and horticulture.

Essential oils (EOs) and organic acids (OAs) are promising feed additives with crucial roles in promoting animal health and performance. This study aimed to assess the combined effects of phytobiotics with organic acids (EOAs) in broiler diets for 39 days. A total of daily 300 male chicks were assigned to three groups, each containing 100 chicks with 5 replicates. The basal diet was supplemented with 0, 0.1, and 0.2% EOAs, respectively. EOAs supplementation did not significantly affect performance values. The villus height/crypt depth ratio in the jejunum and villus dimensions in the ileum showed improvement with EOAs. Dietary EOAs supplementation led to a reduction in the count of Enterobacteriaceae and an increase in Lactobacillus in the caecum. Serum IgA and IgG levels increased with EOAs. Ultimate load, yield load, and the levels of ash, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and manganese in tibia and femur were higher at high levels of EOAs than in the other groups. In conclusion, the study suggests that 0.1% EOAs usage in diets could be a viable option for enhancing intestinal health, immunity, and bone mineralization as an alternative growth promoter, especially in commercial broiler production.

Zinc deficiency in humans is of worldwide concern. The aim of this study is to enrich grains with Zn through soil application at different doses and foliar application from various sources. For this purpose, two independent field experiments have been conducted. In Experiment I, Zn (ZnSO₄.7H₂O) was applied through soil as basal and top dressing. The treatments were Zn0: control, Zn1: 5 kg Zn ha⁻¹ as basal, Zn2: 2.5 kg Zn ha⁻¹ as basal and 2.5 kg Zn ha⁻¹ as top dressing and Zn3: 5 kg Zn ha⁻¹ as top dressing. In Experiment II, Zn was applied as foliar from different sources (ZnSO₄.7H₂O, Zn-Methionine, Zn-Polyol and Zn-EDTA) at different growth stages with or without urea. In both experiments, Zn concentration in the grain and leaves of wheat and grain yield increased while phytic acid and PA/Zn molar ratio decreased due to soil or foliar Zn application. It was determined that the application of ZnSO₄.7H₂O in the soil at the top dressing period in Experiment I and the application of ZnSO₄.7H₂O and Zn-Methionine forms together with urea in Experiment II were effective methods in increasing grain yield and grain Zn concentration. The application of ZnSO₄.7H₂O from both soil and foliar sources, especially in combination with urea, has proven to be highly effective in the Zn biofortification of wheat grains. It is possible to assert that the use of ZnSO₄.7H₂O, which is cost-effective compared to other sources, could contribute significantly to enhancing zinc nutrition in humans.

The part of the tea plant evaluated nutritionally and economically are the shoots. For the shoots to be nourished, essential nutrients must be present in soil and leaves under the shoots which serve as a kind of storage organs. However, boron is deficient in soil for its high active-acid level and precipitation in the Black Sea Region in Turkey and the plant due to its immobility. A two-year fixed field experiment was designed in the Arhavi district of Artvin/ Turkey to determine the effect of soil and foliar boron application on the concentration, mobilization, accumulation, and storage of boron in the leaves under the harvest base of the tea plant. Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate (DOT, Na₂B₈O₁₃.4H₂O, 20.8 % B) was used as a boron source and, four applications were conducted: S₀L₀, S₀L₁, S₁L₀, S₁L₁ (S: Soil application, 0 kg B ha^-1, and 4 kg B ha^-1; L: Foliar application, 0 mg B L^-1, and 400 mg B L^-1). As a result of the analysis, boron accumulation was determined mainly in the old leaves, and the concentration decreased toward the young leaves. Moreover, the boron concentration in the leaves under the harvest base gradually reduced toward the end of the harvest season. However, tea plants deprived of boron positively reacted to soil and foliar boron fertilization, and the boron concentration of the leaves under the shoots increased significantly and reached above the critical deficiency limit (> 30 mg kg^-1). The most successful application was S₁L₁, followed by S₁L₀ and S₀L₁, respectively.

A two-year fixed field experiment was designed in Artvin, Turkey, with the aim of determining the effect of soil and foliar boron treatment on fresh leaf yield, shoot length, and also the transport and distribution of boron in the shoots of the tea plant. The experiment was conducted in a domestic producer’s tea garden indicating boron deficiency in Arhavi district of Artvin. In the experiment, 400 g B da-1 to the soil and 400 mg B L-1 to the leaves of the tea plant were applied in a liquid form. DOT (Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate, Na2B8O13.4H2O) with 20.8 % B was used as a boron source. At the end of the experiment, it was determined that soil and foliar boron treatment caused a substantial increase in the fresh leaf yield, the shoot length, and also the boron concentration of the shoots of the tea plant. However, the boron concentration of the leaves at the tip of the shoots was still under the critical level.