Correction: Salazar-Cubillas, K.C.; Dickhoefer, U. Evaluating the Protein Value of Fresh Tropical Forage Grasses and Forage Legumes Using In Vitro and Chemical Fractionation Methods. Animals 2021, 11, 2853

The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper [...]

How Biodiversity-Friendly Is Regenerative Grazing?

Regenerative grazing management (ReGM) seeks to mimic natural grazing dynamics to restore degraded soils and the ecological processes underpinning sustainable livestock production while enhancing biodiversity. Regenerative grazing, including holistic planned grazing and related methods, is an adaptive, rotational stocking approach in which dense livestock herds are rotated rapidly through multiple paddocks in short bouts of grazing to defoliate plants evenly and infrequently, interspersed with long recovery periods to boost regrowth. The concentrated “hoof action” of herds in ReGM is regarded vital for regenerating soils and ecosystem services. Evidence (from 58 studies) that ReGM benefits biodiversity is reviewed. Soils enriched by ReGM have increased microbial bioactivity, higher fungal:bacteria biomass, greater functional diversity, and richer microarthropods and macrofauna communities. Vegetation responds inconsistently, with increased, neutral, or decreased total plant diversity, richness of forage grasses and invasive species under ReGM: grasses tend to be favored but shrubs and forbs can be depleted by the mechanical action of hooves. Trampling also reduces numerous arthropods by altering vegetation structure, but creates favorable habitat and food for a few taxa, such as dung beetles. Similarly, grazing-induced structural changes benefit some birds (for foraging, nest sites) while heavy stocking during winter and droughts reduces food for seedeaters and songbirds. With herding and no fences, wildlife (herbivores and predators) thrives on nutritious regrowth while having access to large undisturbed areas. It is concluded that ReGM does not universally promote biodiversity but can be adapted to provide greater landscape habitat heterogeneity suitable to a wider range of biota.

Influence of alternative substrates on biomass and quality of cedar seedlings

The production of native species seedlings is essential for the establishment of planted forests or for the recovery of degraded areas. In the nursery stage, the quality of the substrate is crucial for plant growth and development. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of alternative substrates, produced from agroforestry residues and decomposed forage grasses, on the biomass input and quality of cedar (Cedrela odorata) seedlings. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, located in Rio Branco, Acre, in a completely randomized design, with three treatments, consisting of substrates: brachiaria organic compost (1:1); organic compost combined with crushed brazil nut husk (2:1) and commercial substrate, with ten repetitions. At 90 days after sowing, total, shoot and root dry matter and Dickson's quality index were evaluated. The organic compost from Brachiaria grass favors the accumulation of biomass, improves the quality of cedar seedlings and can replace the commercial substrate in a viable way.

The Use of Temperate Tannin Containing Forage Legumes to Improve Sustainability in Forage–Livestock Production

Greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant livestock production systems contribute significantly to the environmental footprint of agriculture. Emissions are lower for feedlot systems than for grass-based systems primarily because of the extra time required for grass-finished cattle to reach slaughter weight. In contrast, legume forages are of greater quality than grasses, which enhances intake and food conversion efficiencies, leading to improvements in production and reductions in environmental impacts compared with forage grasses. In addition, the presence of certain bioactives in legumes such as condensed tannins (CT) enhance the efficiency of energy and protein use in ruminants relative to grasses and other feeds and forages. Grazing tannin-containing legumes also reduce the incidence of bloat and improve meat quality. Synergies among nutrients and bioactives when animals graze diverse legume pastures have the potential to enhance these benefits. Thus, a diversity of legumes in feeding systems may lead to more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable beef production than grass monocultures or feedlot rations.

An innovative technical solution to the issue of conditioning forage grasses

Acceleration of wilting of forage grasses treated during mowing by the working bodies of dynamic conditioners installed on disc mowers is a prerequisite for improving the quality of forage, primarily in terms of the concentration of high-quality protein, vitamins and other biologically active substances, as well as energy. The main working body of modern conditioning devices is a horizontal shaft rotating at a speed of 18-29 m / s with hinged beaters of various configurations placed on its surface, which ensure grass dragging along the surface of corrugated decks, through combs, etc. [1]. Such devices significantly increase the weight of the mowers, which increases their cost by about 1/3, and the use of an additional drive of the conditioner shaft leads to operational difficulties. In this regard, the search for innovative technical solutions aimed at improving this situation is a very urgent task. The article describes the design and principle of operation of a rotary conditioner with a vertical axis of rotation developed in Federal Williams Research Center of Forage Production & Agroecology for the KR-2.1M mower of the “Agramak” company, the articulated beams of which are installed directly on its discs. The mower with an innovative conditioner was tested on a mixture of reed fescue with clover of the first cut and on tetraploid meadow fescue of the second. The yield of green mass, the composition of the herbage, its height and lodging, as well as the phase of development were determined in accordance with the guidelines for conducting field experiments with forage crops. The work of the mower was evaluated according to GOST 28722-90. The article presents data on the degree of damage to treated plants and the dynamics of the rate of their dehydration.

Evaluation of cereal forage grasses and forages from them according to the content of protein insoluble in acid detergent

The nitrogen content was determined in acid-detergent fiber (ADF) isolated from awnless rump, meadow fescue and meadow timothy, depending on the phase of their the same phases are for silage and haylage. Samples for analyzes were dried at a temperature of 60-65 ° C. As the grasses grew, an increase in the content of CDC in them was observed, which was also accompanied by an increase in ADF from the phase of entering the tube to flowering in timothy grass - from 1.18 to 1.36%, in meadow fescue - from 0.96 to 1.58 5%. When preserving grasses, an increase in the content of CDC is observed in all phases of their growth as compared to the original grass, but the mass fraction of ADF in the dry matter of silage and haylage was no more than in the original grass. If the technology of harvesting silage and haylage is observed, the level of thermal damage to these forages does not increase. With the growth of grasses from the vegetative phase to flowering, the content of SP in grasses and forages from them decreases, while the proportion of ADF in it increases. The inverse relationship between these indicators had correlation coefficients of 0.83, 0.88 and 0.92 for grasses, silage and haylage, respectively. The need to harvest them in earlier phases of growth is noted.

First record of Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) in the state of Acre, Brazil

Spittlebugs are among the main insect pests of forage grasses in Brazil. In February 2021, a spittlebug infestation was verified in Xaraés palisadegrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés) in the municipality of Senador Guiomard, Acre state, Brazil. The specimens were captured with an entomological sweep net and identified as Notozulia entreriana (Berg) and Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae). Notozulia entreriana is frequently captured in studies with spittlebugs in Acre state, though this is the first record of M. spectabilis in the state. This new record expands the species known geographical distribution in Brazil and the number of species of Mahanarva occurring in Acre state.

A Semi-Automated SNP-Based Approach for Contaminant Identification in Biparental Polyploid Populations of Tropical Forage Grasses

Artificial hybridization plays a fundamental role in plant breeding programs since it generates new genotypic combinations that can result in desirable phenotypes. Depending on the species and mode of reproduction, controlled crosses may be challenging, and contaminating individuals can be introduced accidentally. In this context, the identification of such contaminants is important to avoid compromising further selection cycles, as well as genetic and genomic studies. The main objective of this work was to propose an automated multivariate methodology for the detection and classification of putative contaminants, including apomictic clones (ACs), self-fertilized individuals, half-siblings (HSs), and full contaminants (FCs), in biparental polyploid progenies of tropical forage grasses. We established a pipeline to identify contaminants in genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) data encoded as allele dosages of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers by integrating principal component analysis (PCA), genotypic analysis (GA) measures based on Mendelian segregation, and clustering analysis (CA). The combination of these methods allowed for the correct identification of all contaminants in all simulated progenies and the detection of putative contaminants in three real progenies of tropical forage grasses, providing an easy and promising methodology for the identification of contaminants in biparental progenies of tetraploid and hexaploid species. The proposed pipeline was made available through the polyCID Shiny app and can be easily coupled with traditional genetic approaches, such as linkage map construction, thereby increasing the efficiency of breeding programs.