Biofertilizers and organic fertilizers are eco-friendly treatments that reduce the consumption and problems associated with chemical fertilizers. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of biofertilizers and organic fertilizers on reducing consumption and improving the effectiveness of chemical fertilizer treatments by comparing the growth parameters, yield, quality criteria, and nutrient concentration in lettuce and broccoli grown under greenhouse conditions. The biofertilizer (BM-MegaFlu^®) comprised Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pantoea agglomerans bacteria. The experiment consisted of six treatments comprising (1) biofertilizer (BF), (2) chemical fertilizer + biofertilizer (CF + BF), (3) chemical fertilizer (CF), (4) CF (1/2 dose) + BF, (5) CF (1/3 dose) + BF, and (6) organic fertilizer (OF + BF). BF did not adversely affect the head height and root collar diameter of lettuce; on the contrary, it showed non-significant differences with CF + BF, BF, CF (1/2) + BF, and CF (1/3) + BF treatments and CF alone. The highest total and marketable yields were obtained from CF + BF, CF, CF (1/2) + BF treatments in lettuce. The total yield was the highest in the CF + BF, CF, CF (1/2) + BF, and CF (1/3) + BF treatments in broccoli. In conclusion, the biofertilizer had a supportive effect on the use of chemical fertilizers in lettuce and broccoli production, especially the CF (1/2) + BF treatment in lettuce. The CF (1/2) + BF and CF (1/3) + BF treatments in broccoli showed similar yields to CF. In both crops, BF could provide 50% chemical fertilizer savings.

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.

Zeolite has been successfully used in growing media for containerized production systems. In this study the effects of zeolite utilization with the mixture of different growing media (GM) on the seedling quality and nutrient contents of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Mostar F1) were determined under the greenhouse conditions. For this purpose, natural zeolite, perlite, turf, and their different mixture forms were used as GM for growing of cucumber seedlings. Effects of these substances on the seed germination, plant height, stem diameter, seedling fresh weight, and macronutrient [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)] and micronutrient [iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu)] contents were studied. As a result of this study, the effects of GM on the seedling quality parameters were found to be significant for seed germination, plant height, stem diameter and fresh weight, and nutrient contents of seedlings. The best results were generally obtained from turf + zeolite mixtures.

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 m2 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.

Irrigation is one of the most important cultural practices in sustainable cabbage cultivation. While most studies on irrigation in cabbage have focused on conventional deficit irrigation (DI) practices, some plants’ water requirements under the partial root drying (PRD) technique are not yet very clear. In this study, the possible responses of cabbage, such as growth, some quality, yield, yield parameters, water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and yield response factor (ky), were investigated at four irrigation water levels (125%, 100%, 75%, and 50%) with DI and PRD techniques for 2 years. Irrigation treatments were carried out by the drip irrigation method, and the amount of irrigation water for the control (I-100) was calculated using the measurements taken from the Class-A evaporation container. A total of eight irrigation treatments—four conventional deficit irrigation (I-125, I-100, I-75, I-50) and four partial root drying (PRD-125, PRD-100, PRD75, PRD-50)—were considered in the study. ET values were determined between 47.69–60.78 mm in the first year and 80.11–101.37 mm in the second year. Total and marketable yield values, WUE and IWUE values, were significantly affected by the irrigation treatments. As a result of the research, the highest total and marketable yields were found in I-125, PRD-125, I-100, and PRD-100 treatments. It was important that WUE and IWUE values reached their highest levels in full irrigation and 25% more irrigation treatments as well as in deficit irrigation treatments. In conditions where irrigation water is scarce and expensive, I-75 and PRD-75 applications are also recommended. While an increase in cabbage head height and diameter was observed with increasing irrigation water level, SSC and L values increased at deficit irrigations. According to the correlation coefficients, a positive relationship was determined between marketable yield and head and stem diameter, head height, WUE, and ET for marketable yield. In addition, it was predicted that I-50 and PRD-50 treatments may also be advantageous if the “kc” plant coefficient cover percentage was increased.

In today’s conditions, it is not possible to eliminate chemical inputs without reducing food production. Therefore, integrated methods that reduce the negative effects of chemical inputs are needed. One of the alternatives is the use of beneficial bacteria, which can both improve the yield and quality of vegetable crops and reduce the use of chemical fertilisers. This research was carried out to test the effects of a microbial fertiliser combined with inorganic fertiliser on the growth, biochemical properties and yield of lettuce and whether the use of chemical fertilisers could be reduced. Caipira curly lettuce variety was used as plant material. The microbial fertilizer used contains 7 different microorganisms and 2 different yeasts. The experiment consisted of eight treatments: Control (T0), 100% Chemical Fertilisation (T1), 50% Chemical Fertilisation + Microbial Fertilisation (T2), 75% Chemical Fertilisation + Microbial Fertilization (T3), 100% Chemical Fertilisation + Microbial Fertilisation (T4), Microbial Fertilisation Alone (T5), 50% Chemical Fertilisation + Microbial Fertilisation + Foliar Microbial Fertilisation (T6), 75% Chemical Fertilisation + Microbial Fertilisation + Foliar Microbial Fertilisation (T7). The results of the research were statistically evaluated using analysis of variance at a significance level of p < 0.05, and the means were compared using the LSD test. It was observed that the microbial fertiliser did not adversely effect on the growth characteristics of lettuce and even had an ameliorative effect. The highest root dry weights were obtained in the T7, T3, T4 and T1 treatments. T7 treatment had 7.8% and 5.5% more dry weight than T1 and T4 respectively. Biochemical properties were significantly affected by treatments and it was significant that T2 and T4 had similar results. Because chemical fertilizer dose was reduced by 50% in the T2 treatment. The chemical fertiliser dose was reduced by 50% in the T2 treatment. Microbial fertiliser treatments had no negative effect on lettuce colour formation and even greener lettuces were harvested from T1, T7, T3 and T6 treatments. The highest total yield was obtained from T3 (30638.89 kg ha− 1) and T7 (30518.52 kg ha− 1). In other words, when the recommended dose of chemical fertiliser was reduced by 25%, higher yields were obtained. The yields in T3 and T7 were 6.71% and 6.29% higher than in T1, respectively. The marketable yield did not differ statistically between treatments except T0 and T5. Although there was no statistical difference, the highest numerical values belonged to the T7 (28907.41 kg ha− 1) and T3 (28814.82 kg ha− 1) treatments. In terms of marketable yield, T7 and T3 treatments gave 5.05% and 4.71% more than T1, respectively. It was determined that the microbial fertiliser used had no negative effect on the lettuce crop and even had an ameliorative effect. With the use of microbial fertiliser, both chemical fertilisation was reduced and higher yield and quality values were obtained from T3 and T7 treatments compared to chemical treatment alone (T1). In addition, the ameliorative effects of the foliar application of microbial fertiliser were also noted in the T7 treatment. As a result, this study showed that the use of microbial fertiliser could increase yield and quality and save at least 25% of fertiliser.