Australian and Spanish scientists are collaborating in the domestication of tedera: young Merino sheep grazing a monoculture of tedera in autumn showed preference for certain accessions but no signs of ill health

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 399 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Oldham ◽  
D. Real ◽  
H. J. Bailey ◽  
D. Thomas ◽  
A. Van Burgel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Index ◽  
Blood Analysis ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fibre ◽  
Relative Preference ◽  
Condition Score ◽  
Acid Detergent Fibre

We hypothesised (i) that sheep grazing a monoculture of tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirton var. albomarginata and var. crassiuscula) would not show signs of photosensitisation or ill health, and (ii) that when given free grazing choice they would show a repeatable preference for certain accessions of tedera related to their chemical composition. We tested this by grazing a group of young merino wethers on a monoculture containing seven accessions of tedera for 21 days. General health was assessed via daily visual checks for skin pinkness on the nose and ears, weekly measures of liveweight, condition score, and blood analysis compared with a group of control sheep fed wheaten hay ad libitum. The Chesson–Manly selection index was used to examine the relative preference of sheep for the seven accessions of tedera over the 21 days. Each accession of tedera was sampled weekly to estimate the dry matter on offer, and these samples were also analysed for crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, in vitro digestibility, water soluble carbohydrates, minerals, and concentrations of the furanocoumarins psoralen and angelicin. None of the sheep showed any signs of ill health, with all blood parameters being within the normal reference range. All sheep gained weight and body condition over the 21 days. The difference in the rate of gain in condition score in favour of the sheep grazing tedera over the 21 days (0.014 v. 0.002 unit/sheep.day) was significant (P < 0.001). Sheep showed repeated preference for accessions T31 and T43 (α >0.143). Nutritive value of all accessions of tedera was high. However, only acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre affected the relative preference of the sheep (P < 0.05) and they were only weakly correlated (r2 = 0.208 and 0.165, respectively). We conclude that there are accessions of tedera that are preferred by sheep that could be used to fill the autumn feed gap experienced in the south of Western Australia without any risk to the health of the sheep.

The assessment of herbage legume varieties. II. In vitro digestibility, water soluble carbohydrate, crude protein and mineral content of primary growth of clover and lucerne

1966 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Ellis Davies ◽  
G. ap Griffith ◽  
A. Ellington
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Primary Growth

The primary growth of eight varieties of three species–white clover (3), red clover (4) and lucerne (1)–was sampled at fortnightly intervals and the percentage dry matter, in vitro digestibility, crude protein, water soluble carbohydrates, P, Ca, K, Na and Mg were determined.Differences between species were nearly always significant and the general order of merit was white clover, red clover and lucerne. The exceptions were for dry-matter percentage where this order was reversed, and red clover had the lowest Na and highest Mg content.

Rapid evaluation of pasture quality for a critically endangered mammal, the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Woolnough ◽  
William J. Foley
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
Dry Matter Digestibility ◽  
Acid Detergent Fibre

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to predict the nutritive value of forage species available to the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii). Nutritive attributes of the forage successfully estimated included total nitrogen concentration, fibre (including neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid lignin), organic matter, water soluble carbohydrates and in vitro dry matter digestibility. The reported results demonstrate the seasonal variability of the forage resource available to L. krefftii in its tropical savanna habitat. Multivariate modelling of the spectra enabled the nutritive value of forage samples to be estimated with coefficients of determination (r2) of 0.770–0.995 and standard errors of the cross-validation of 0.070–2.850 using a modified partial least-squares analysis technique. The standard error of the laboratory was 0.02–1.42. This study demonstrates that broad-based NIRS predictive equations can be used to predict the nutritive value of a number of plant types available to a herbivore over time. By using NIRS the analyst can rapidly analyse large numbers of samples with limited reduction of precision, thereby enabling large-scale ecological applications that may have previously been impeded by time and costs.

Preference of sheep among annual legumes is more closely related to plant nutritive characteristics as plants mature

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Thomas ◽  
J. T. B. Milton ◽  
C. K. Revell ◽  
M. A. Ewing ◽  
R. A. Dynes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Plant Phenology ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Phenological Stages ◽  
Annual Legumes ◽  
Relative Preference ◽  
Wide Range

We hypothesised that the preference of sheep among a wide range of annual legumes at successive stages of plant phenology would be related to laboratory measurements of the chemical composition of the forage. We tested this by examining the relative preferences of sheep among 20 genotypes of annual plants at three phenological stages of plant growth using the Chesson–Manly selection index. Plant material was collected for laboratory analyses at each phenological stage and samples were analysed for nitrogen, sulfur, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, in vitro digestibility and water soluble carbohydrates. Sheep differed in relative preference among the plant genotypes within and between each of the three phenological stages. Vegetative characteristics that were correlated with relative preference also differed with plant phenology. Measured characteristics of the plant material explained an increasing proportion of the variance in relative preference with successive phenological stages (4.8, 51.1 and 60.9% at the vegetative, reproductive and senesced stages; P < 0.001). The relative preference of the sheep depended on the overall quality of the vegetation. When the quality of the vegetation was high, relative preference did not correlate well with measured nutritive characteristics. However, when the vegetation was of low quality, sheep selected plants with characteristics associated with higher nutritive value. We conclude that sheep adopt different foraging strategies in response to changing vegetation characteristics and increase their preference for plants that increase their intake of digestible dry matter as the sward matures.

Single-cut red clover combined with late timothy may be valuable in short-term rotations

2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. T. Kunelius ◽  
K. B. McRae ◽  
S. A. E. Fillmore ◽  
G. Dürr
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Trifolium Pratense ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Phleum Pratense ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Short Term

Late-maturing cultivars of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and timothy (Phleum pratense L.) may be grown in short-term rotations with other crops and harvested for hay and silage. Harvesting forage in mid-summer is often advantageous for field curing, but the quality of mature forage may be low. We studied how harvests at different developmental stages affected yield, composition of herbage, and species persistence. The late-maturing single-cut red clover cultivar Altaswede and late timothy cultivar Farol were grown alone and in combination with and without applied N. Total forage, and red clover and timothy dry matter yields, increased between the first (27 June) and third (11 July) dates of harvest. Timothy grown alone or combined with red clover and fertilized with N produced greater forage yields than red clover alone or red clover + timothy without applied N. The in vitro digestibility of dry matter declined from 670 to 625 g kg−1 and crude protein from 134 to 109 g kg−1 between 27 June and 11 July. Water soluble carbohydrates in forage were low (36–66 g kg−1) in cuts 1 and 2. Macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations were generally highest at the first date of harvest on 27 June. Nutrient concentrations in cut 2 were similar for the three harvest schedules. We conclude that growing late-maturing single-cut red clover combined with late timothy produced high yields with good nutritional quality even at advanced stages of maturity. Single-cut red clover persisted for the first production year making this combination suited for short-term rotations that involve late harvesting of the primary growth. Key words: Red clover, Trifolium pratense, timothy, Phleum pratense, composition

The effects of feeding grass silage and molassed sugarbeet pulp either separately or as an ensiled mixture to twin-bearing ewes

1998 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. O'DOHERTY ◽  
P. NOWAKOWSKI ◽  
T. F. CROSBY
Keyword(s):  
Crude Protein ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
Condition Score ◽  
Acid Detergent Fibre ◽  
Gross Energy ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Soyabean Meal ◽  
Water Soluble Carbohydrate

First-harvest, precision-chopped Lolium perenne grass with a dry matter (DM) content of 132·0 g/kg and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein (CP) contents of 24 g/kg and 106 g/kg DM, respectively, was ensiled in farm scale silos following the addition of formic acid (FA) (2·5 l/t) or molassed sugarbeet pulp (MSBP) (50 kg/t). Mature twin-bearing ewes (n=56) were allocated to one of seven treatments and offered either FA-treated silage or MSBP silage ad libitum. The trial commenced on day 91 of pregnancy, when the ewes were offered FA-treated silage (T1), FA-treated silage+soyabean meal (T2), MSBP silage (T3), MSBP silage+soyabean meal (T4), FA-treated silage+MSBP (T5), FA-treated silage+MSBP+soyabean meal (T6) or FA-treated silage+a barley-based supplement (150 g CP per kg DM) (T7, control). Soyabean meal supplementation was only offered in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy, with the objective of achieving a total CP intake of 220 g/ewe per day. Compared with the FA-treated silage, the MSBP silage had a higher nitrogen content (P<0·01) and a lower neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content, but the two silages did not differ in DM, acid detergent fibre (ADF) or gross energy contents. Silage DM intakes (SDMI) were higher on the MSBP silage-based diets (T3, T4) than for any other treatment (P<0·05). The addition of soyabean meal significantly increased SDMI in T2 in the last week of pregnancy (P<0·05), but there was no response in SDMI to soyabean meal supplementation in any of the other treatments. Ewe liveweight changes (kg) of −0·4, 4·1, 7·8, 10·2, 7·1, 9·6 and 10·8 (S.E.±1·2), body condition score changes of −0·96, −0·59, −0·42, −0·33, −0·37, +0·01 and −0·27 (S.E.±0·1) and total lamb birth weights (kg) of 8·0, 8·7, 9·2, 9·9, 8·6, 8·0 and 10·4 (S.E.±0·5) were recorded for ewes in T1 to T7 respectively.

The effects of pre-maturity desiccation with paraquat and leaching on the quality of dry Wimmera ryegrass

1973 ◽  
Vol 13 (63) ◽  
pp. 411
Author(s):  
DW Barrett ◽  
NA Campbell ◽  
GW Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Nutrients ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Lolium Rigidum ◽  
Proportionate Change ◽  
Wimmera Ryegrass ◽  
Nitrogen Phosphorus

The effects of pre-maturity desiccation with paraquat and post-maturity leaching with water on the quality of the dry residues of annual Wimmera ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) were examined under laboratory and field conditions. Paraquat applied at head emergence increased the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur in mature ryegrass and, in some experiments, the levels of magnesium, calcium and water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), and increased the in vitro digestibility. Concentrations of nitrogen were changed little by leaching in either sprayed or naturally matured ryegrass. Concentrations of other mineral nutrients decreased following leaching to similar levels in sprayed and unsprayed tissue. The proportionate change in concentration of nutrients varied between experiments, with the nature of the nutrient, with the part of the plant, and with the period of leaching. Leaching removed WSC and, in one case, more was lost from paraquat-treated herbage. However, decreases in percentage digestibility in vitro were not significant. Changes in potassium and WSC contents were greater following multiple immersions than with a single immersion lasting the same total length of time, and this effect was not changed by spraying paraquat.

scholarly journals Some factors associated with the difference in nutritive value of artificially dried red clover and perennial ryegrass for sheep

1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Moseley ◽  
J. R. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Latin Square ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Voluntary Intake ◽  
The Difference

1. Three sheep fitted with duodenal re-entrant cannulas and three with large rumen fistulas were given red clover, perennial ryegrass and a 2:1 (w/w) mixture of grass and clover in two Latin square arrangements. Measurements were made of voluntary intake, digestibility, flow of nutrients into the duodenum and the flow of Cr-EDTA marker through the reticulo-rumen.2. Organic matter (OM) digestibility was similar for the three feeds but the voluntary intake decreased in the order mixture > red clover > perennial ryegrass. There was an increase in the rate of marker flow from the rumen and a decrease in retention time of the same order. Rumen volume did not change significantly.3. There was a reduction in the mean particle size of rumen contents in the order perennial ryegrass > clover > mixture. The in vitro digestibility of particles decreased with size; the reduction being more rapid for clover than perennial ryegrass.4. The proportion of ingested digestible OM appearing at the duodenum increased from 18.4% to 26.7% to 30.0% for perennial ryegrass, clover and the mixture respectively.5. A higher proportion of digestible cellulose and hemicellulose disappeared over the stomach for the perennial ryegrass feed compared to the clover and the mixture but over 96% of water soluble carbohydrates and starch disappeared over the stomach for all three feeds.6. The apparent digestibility of nitrogen was similar for all three feeds but the proportion of undigested feed N appearing at the duodenum was calculated to be greater by a factor of 1.71 and 2.52 for clover and mixture feeds compared to grass.7. It was concluded that the higher nutritive value of red clover compared to perennial ryegrass was due to an increased rate of flow of nutrients througth the reticulo-rumen and an increase in the proportion of digestible OM digested post ruminally.

In vitro biodegradation of wheat straw and wheat straw based total mixed ration using zoospores of different elite ruminal fungi.

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
SANJAY KUMAR ◽  
JP SEHGAL ◽  
AK PUNIYA ◽  
RAJNI KUMARI
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Straw ◽  
Stress Conditions ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Complex Media ◽  
Total Mixed Ration ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fibre ◽  
Acid Detergent Fibre

The elite anaerobic fungal cultures Neocallimastix sp GR-1, Piromyces sp WNG-12 andOrpinomyces sp C-14 were isolated from wild blue bull and cattle respectively of grazing and browsing goat. Attempts were made to grow thesecultures in normal media or using stress conditions by keeping them at lower or highertemperature than39oc or using a complex media; Normal media produced maximum number of fungal zoospores after 120hrs of incubation. The in- vitrodry matter, acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre digestibilitywere studied using fresh zoospores; or those being kept at normal; lower orhigher temperature than 39oC. Based on in vitro digestibility of DM, NDF and ADF of wheat straw and wheat straw based totalmixed rations.The Neocallimastix sp GR-1was found better as compared to Piromyces sp WNG-12 andOrpinomyces sp C-14as this anaerobic fungiproduced maximum numbers of zoospores and also proved to be best performing for its abilityto degrade lignified feed material.With the addition of zoospores of Neocallimastix GR1 kept at different temperature for 45 days in treatments T2, T3, T4 and T5, NDF digestibility increased significantly (P≤0.05) and values were recorded as 42.54±0.54, 41.52±0.58, 41.00±0.56 and 42.27±0.55.respectively.With addition of zoospores of Piromyces sp.WNG-12, the NDF digestibility also increased significantly (P≤0.01) as compared to control both for WS and WS based rations.Addition of zoospores of Neocallimastix GR-1 to different treatments increased total number of zoospores significantly in all treatments compared to that of control.

scholarly journals Spraying opened sugar beet pulp silage with oregano essential oil helps to sustain quality and stability

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Çayıroğlu ◽  
G Filik ◽  
İ Coşkun ◽  
A Gül Filik ◽  
H Çayan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Protein ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
Ether Extract ◽  
Oregano Essential Oil ◽  
Acid Detergent Lignin ◽  
Aerobic Stability ◽  
Nitrogen Free Extract ◽  
Acid Detergent Fibre ◽  
Beet Pulp

This study was conducted to determine the effects of spraying oregano essential oil (OEO) onto sugar beet pulp silage (SBPS) on silage quality and aerobic stability after opening. A factorial experiment with three replicates of three treatments and four time periods was conducted using laboratory-type plastic silos. The treatments were an untreated control, silage sprayed with 10 ml/75 cm2 OEO, and silage sprayed with 20 ml/75 cm2 OEO. The silages were sampled at 0, 72, 120, and 168 hours after spraying. Temperature, L*, a*, and b* colour values, pH, water-soluble carbohydrates, crude nutrient contents, Fleig score, metabolizable energy (ME) value, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total live bacteria (TLB), yeast, and mould formation were assessed. Spraying OEO onto SBPS did not affect L*, a*, and b* values, pH, water-soluble carbohydrates, and Fleig score values, but decreased temperature. Spraying OEO onto the silage increased organic matter, ether extract, acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin contents without affecting crude protein, crude fibre, nitrogen free extract, and ME contents. Irrespective of treatment, crude protein, ether extract, acid detergent fibre, acid detergent lignin, nitrogen free extract, Fleig score, and ME contents of silages increased with time after spraying. The OEO spraying reduced LAB, TLB, and yeast contents in silages. In conclusion, OEO spraying onto opened SBPS reduced LAB, TLB, and yeast formation and stopped mould growth up to 72 hours without affecting their nutritional properties, suggesting that OEO could be used to ensure the stability of SBPS. Keywords: aerobic stability, mould growth, silage microbiology, nutrients, feeding management

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