Use of biostimulants in elephant grass cv. Napier

This study was developed to examine the growth, yield, chemical composition and in situ degradability of elephant grass cv. Napier (Pennisetum purpureum). Five spraying protocols with biostimulants were tested, namely, Control - no application; 1BR - bioregulator at seven days; 2BR - bioregulator at seven days + bioregulator and foliar fertilization at 20 days; 2BR2 - bioregulator at seven days + bioregulator and foliar fertilization at 20 days + ethylene inhibitor at 30 days; and 3BR - bioregulator at seven days + bioregulator and foliar fertilization at 20 days + ethylene inhibitor and bioregulator at 30 days. The grass was cut evenly at a height of 15 cm and harvested at 70 days of regrowth. The experimental area was divided into two blocks according to the slope. Ninety plots were used, totaling an area of 4,608 m2. Each plot was composed of four 4-m rows spaced 80 cm apart. Chemical composition, morphological traits and forage digestibility data were evaluated. The 3BR protocol, with more bioregulator-based applications, resulted in higher canopy (9.78%) and stem (9.58%) compared with control group. The 2BR and 2BR2 treatments provided a 6.5% higher stem than control treatment. The improvement in the nutritional value of Pennisetum purpureum cv. Napier was due to the 17.55% increase in crude protein (CP) content provided by protocol 3BR relative to control group. Treatments 2BR2 and 3BR improved the effective degradability of dry matter (DM). The application of biostimulant protocols increased the potential degradability of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (+4.1%), with the greatest response seen in treatment 2BR2 in comparison with control treatment. Biostimulant protocols increase the canopy and stem heights and CP content. The application of a bioregulator associated with foliar fertilization and ethylene inhibitor improves the effective degradability of DM and NDF and the potential degradability of NDF in Pennisetum purpureum cv. Napier harvested at 70 days of regrowth.

Elephant grass cv. BRS capiaçu silage with inclusion of different proportions of silk cotton

The objective was to evaluate the qualitative and nutritional aspects of elephant grass cv. BRS capiaçu silage with increasing proportions of silk cotton. A completely randomized design was used with five (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60% on natural matter basis) different inclusion proportions of silk cotton to elephant grass silage and four repetitions. Silages were prepared in PVC minisilos and remained ensiled for 42 days. The inclusion of silk cotton resulted in a linear reduction in dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose, and indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) contents at 0.06, 0.30, 0.23, 0.20, and 0.09 percentage points for each 1% inclusion, respectively. There was an increasing linear effect of crude protein (CP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN), with an increase of 39.32 and 20.89% from the lowest to the highest inclusion of silk cotton to elephant grass cv. BRS capiaçu silage. Values of pH, gas losses (GL), effluent losses (EL), dry matter recovery (DMR), hemicellulose, and lignin were not influenced by the evaluated inclusion levels, showing estimated averages of 3.87, 1, 42%, 11.55kg t-1 natural matter, 97.36%, 19.30%, and 7.20%, respectively. An increasing linear effect was found for fraction a, c, effective degradability (ED) (2% and 5%) dry matter, with an increment of 0.05, 0.0005, and 0.11 percent points, respectively. There was a quadratic effect for fraction b, potential degradability (PD), ED (2%), with minimum points of 23.72%, 50.52%, (at 45% inclusion level) 39.69%, (at 15% inclusion level) respectively. The indigestible fraction (IF) had a quadratic effect with a maximum of 49.48% at the 45% inclusion level. The colonization time (CT) linearly reduced by 0.09 percentage points for each 1% inclusion evaluated. According to the parameters evaluated, the inclusion of up to 60% silk cotton improved nutritional aspects and nutritional value of elephant grass cv. BRS capiaçu silage.

Anaerobic co-digestion of swine manure and forage at two harvesting ages

ABSTRACT: The co-digestion of swine manure with vegetable waste is an alternative that can increase the production of biogas and methane generated by the isolated digestion of manure. However, recommendations that are based on the best ratio between manure and forage, as well as the age of harvest, are still scarce in the literature. This study was conducted to evaluate inclusions (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of the total solids (TS) of Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) harvested at two ages medium age (MA) at 45 days of growth and advanced age (AA) at 90 days in co-digestion with swine manure, using an entirely randomized design in a 5x2 factorial scheme. Batch digesters were used and biogas production was monitored for 12 weeks. There was influence of forage age (P <0.05) on the degradation of solids and neutral detergent fiber, with higher values for the substrates containing MA forage. The highest CH4 yields were obtained by the substrates containing MA forage in the inclusion of 27.7 and 31.6%, being 253.7 and 222.2 L of CH4 per Kg of total or volatile solids. The age of the forages influenced the onset and persistence of biogas production, being advantageous only in the inclusion of 25% of MA forage. The AA forage inclusion is not recommended for co-digestion with swine manure.

Nutrient consumption and digestibility in Garut sheep fed with elephant grass and pollard bran

This study aimed to compare the nutrients consumption and digestibility between Garut rams and ewes fed with forage (elephant grass) and concentrate (pollard bran) with a ratio of 60:40 (based on the dry matter). The livestock used were 6 Garut rams and 6 Garut ewes. They were placed in metabolic cages and equipped with feces containers. This research was conducted 14 days for the adaptation period and 5 days for the collection period. During the collection period, feed, feed residue, and feces collection were carried out for analysis. The analysis consisted of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), nitrogen-free extract (NFE), and total digestible nutrients (TDN). The data obtained were used to calculate nutrient consumption and digestibility. Based on the research, it was known that average consumption and digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), crude lipid (CL), crude fiber (CF), nitrogen-free extract (NFE), and total digestible nutrients (TDN) of Garut rams and ewes were not significantly different (P>0.05). All nutrients consumed by rams were higher than ewes, but the nutrients digestibility value in rams was lower than ewes.

Effect of energy and protein level in complete feed used elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum, Schum.) and maize stover (Zea mays. L) silage on nutrient content, total digestible nutrient, and in vitro degradation

The purpose of this research was to determine of ideal ration of energy and protein in complete feed used elephant grass and maize stover silage. The materials were use elephant grass, maize stover silage with 10% molasses and Lactobacillus plantarum 1x106 CFU/g and concentrates. The method used experimental laboratory, the data of nutrient and TDN content using descriptive analysis. In vitro degradation value was analysed by Analysis of Variance from a factorial randomized block design and followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The complete feed was use 12.5% elephant grass + 37.5% maize stover silage + 50% concentrates with consist of energy level (E1 =12.5, E2 =13.5, E3 =14.5 MJ/kg DM) and protein level (P1 =10.5, P2= 13.5, P3= 16.5%). The results showed that in vitro DM and OM degradation respectively energy or protein level showed has significantly (P<0.01), while the interaction did not significant (P>0.05). The best treatment is E3P3 with energy 14.5 MJ/kg and protein 16.5% on nutrient content DM 92,51%., OM 90,33%., CP 16.57%, CF 19.29%, EE 1.77%, NFE 53.70%, TDN content 67.14%, In vitro DM degradation 66.14 % and in vitro OM degradation 70.01%.

Sugar content variation in elephant grass germplasm

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to estimate sugar content variation (°Brix) in 95 accessions from the elephant grass germplasm active bank of Embrapa Dairy Cattle research center, located in Coronel Pacheco, MG, Brazil. The accessions with the highest sugar content were identified, and the effect of plant age on sugar concentration was evaluated. The experiment was conducted in randomized blocks design with two replications. Sugar content analysis occurred twice during the growth-cycle (at 70 and 100 days) along two points of the stem, one 30 cm from the base and the other at the midpoint. The analysis of variance considered the split plot model, with accessions as main plots and plant age as subplots. The means were compared using the Scott Knott test. While there was sugar content variation between accessions, increased plant age had no significant effect on the sugar content. However, some accessions did have a significant increase or decrease in sugar content as they aged. The highest and lowest mean sugar content was 6.96% (in the accession BAG80) and 4.03% (in the accession BAG13) °Brix, respectively.

Effect of Different Mulching Materials on the Growth and Yield of Green Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Nfonta the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Mulching is a common technique used across the world by farmers to especially conserve soil moisture in vegetable production but farmers in Nfonta and the entire western highlands of Cameroon have not practiced the uses of mulching. In this experiment, a randomized complete block designe with 5 treatments and 3 replications was set up to study the effect of elephant grass, saw dust and white plastic as mulching materials on the growth and yield of green bean (Phaseolusvulgaris L.) in Nfonta. Data was collected on plant height; number of leaves per plants, leaf area index and yield of mature pods per plant. Data was analyzed using one way ANOVA from stat graphics centurion xv and means were separation using the Fischer least significant difference (LSD) test at 95% confidence interval. Results showed white plastic, and elephant grass mulches to have significantly (P&lt;0.05) affected the growth and yield of green bean. White plastic mulched plants exhibited the highest growth parameters and subsequently produced the highest yield of 12.00 mature pods per plant with average pod length of 11.97cm and average mature pod weight of 4.22g compared to the other mulch treatments. There were no significant (P&gt;0.05) differences in yield of green bean grown with no mulch (control), saw dust mulch and corn stalk mulch. Corn stalk mulched bean plants produced the lowest yield of 7.83 mature pods per plant with average pod length of 9.17cm and an average mature pod weight of 2.83 which was not much different from that produced by the control. These results call for more investigations to the potentials of white plastic as best mulch material for achieving optimum green beans yield in Nfonta and the entire western highlands of Cameroon.

PENINGKATAN PRODUKTIVITAS TERNAK SAPI MELALUI INTRODUKSI HIJAUAN PAKAN TERNAK UNGGUL DI PULO NASI ACEH BESAR

ABSTRAKTernak sapi di Pulo Nasi Kabupaten Aceh Besar umumnya dipelihara seadanya, dibiarkan lepas sepanjang hari sehingga dapat menggangu usaha pertanian, jalan umum, dan masalah sosial. Permasalahan utamanya disebabkan keterbatasan tersedianya hijauan pakan ternak (HPT) dan perkandangan yang tidak memadai. Tujuan pengabdian ini adalah meningkatkan pengetahuan dan keterampilan peternak dalam penyediaan HPT berupa rumput unggul (odot dan lampung) dan manajemen pemeliharaan sapi. Metode pelaksanaan berupa: penyuluhan, pelatihan, dan pendampingan. Metode pengumpulan data dengan wawancara (kuesioner). Data dianalisis secara deskriptif kualitatif. Keberhasilan kegiatan pengabdian ini diukur kemampuan anggota kelompok peternak dalam menanam dan merawat HPT dan perbaikan tata laksana pemeliharaan sapi. Sasaran kegiatan adalah Kelompok Peternak Deudap Usaha Mandiri dan Beujaya Gampong di Desa Deudap Pulo Nasi Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Hasil pelaksanaan menunjukkan anggota peternak telah terampil melakukan penanaman dan pemeliharaan rumput odot dan lampung. Nilai ketercapaian materi adalah 86% dari 35 orang anggota kelompok peternak. Pemeliharaan rumput odot lebih mudah dan disukai ternak sapi. Dampak lainnya adalah kelompok peternak sepakat membuat kandang sapi komunal. Kendala yang ditemukan saat awal penanaman rumpot odot dan lampung berupa gangguan kepiting darat yang merusak tunas muda. Simpulan menunjukkan bahwa peternak telah berkomitmen untuk memelihara rumput dan mengandangkan sapinya. Kata kunci: pulo nasi aceh besar; sapi; rumpot odot; rumput lampung. ABSTRACTThe problem of cattle in Pulo Nasi, Kabupaten Aceh Besar, is generally maintained as it is without adequate management. Cows are left loose all day long so they can interfere with agricultural, pollute yard and public roads as well as social problems. This problem can occur due to the limited availability of forages and cow housing. The purpose of this service activity is to increase the knowledge and skills of farmer regarding the provision of forage to introduction (planting) of superior grass (odot and lampung) and cow rearing management. The implementation method was: counseling, training, and mentoring. The method of collecting data by interview (questionnaire). Data were analyzed descriptively qualitatively. The success of this service activity was measured by the ability of the farmer group members to plant and care for HPT and improve the management of cattle raising. The targets of the activity were two groups of farmers Deudap Usaha Mandiri and Beujaya Gampong in Deudap Village. The results showed that the members of the farmer were skilled at planting and maintaining odot and lampung grass. The value of material achievement was 86% of the 35 farmer group members. Maintenance of odot grass is easier and preferred by cattle. Another impact is that farmer groups agree to build a communal cow shed. The obstacle found at the beginning of planting odot and lampung clumps was disturbance of land crabs which damaged the young shoots. The conclusion shows that the farmer has committed to maintain the grass and house his cows. Keywords: pulo aceh; cattle; dwarf elephant grass; lampung grass; cattle farming management.