Special compound feeds and an immunostimulator to increase the live weight gain of suckling piglets

Sow milk is usually enough to meet the need for nutrients of three weeks age piglets. However from the beginning of life they need supplemental nutrients in the form of creep feeding. The objective of this study was to survey the usefulness of special mixed feeds (super starter, pre-starter, starter feeds) given as creep feeding and feeding to suckling pigs, as well as the use of immunostimulant for their health, better growth and development. The study showed that suckling pig fed with special super starter, pre-starter and starter mixed feed depending on age, as well as young animals additionally treated with intramuscular injected immunostimulant better by growth rate. The highest indicators for the live weight of piglets at the age of 60 days (weaning) and for the milk content of sows were in the experimental group, which was intramuscularly injected with an immunostimulator The highest live weight of (weaning) piglets aged 60 days was in treated groups.

Supplemental Sugar Is Required for Sex Pheromone Biosynthesis in Mythimna separata

Supplemental nutrients of adult moths maximize moth fitness and contribute to the pollination of many plants. Previous reports have revealed that sugar feeding promotes to sex pheromone biosynthesis by increasing the haemolymph trehalose concentration in mating moths. Here, Mythimna separata adults were employed as a model to investigate the effect of sugar feeding on sex pheromone biosynthesis. Results showed that in virgin females, sugar feeding markedly increased the concentrations of trehalose, pyruvic acid, and acyl-CoA in pheromone glands (PGs), which in turn led to an increase in sex pheromone titer, female ability to attract males and successfully mating frequency in sugar-fed females. Consistently, sugar-fed females laid more eggs than water-fed females. Furthermore, the refeeding of starved females also caused significantly increase in the concentrations of trehalose, pyruvic acid, and acyl-CoA in PGs, thus facilitating a significant increase in sex pheromone production. Most importantly, RNAi-mediated knockdown of trehalase (leading to PG starvation) resulted in an increase in trehalose content, and decrease in the concentrations of pyruvic acid, and acyl-CoA in PGs, which in turn led to a decrease of sex pheromone titer, female ability to attract males and successful mating efficacy. Altogether, results revealed a mechanism by which sugar feeding contributed to trehalose utilization in PGs, promoted to significantly increased sex pheromone precursor by increasing the concentrations of pyruvic acid and acyl-CoA, and facilitated to sex pheromone biosynthesis and successful mating.

349 The need for forage intake measurements

We often tell students of nutrition that “animals require quantities, not percentages, of nutrients.” Nonetheless, diets and supplements are typically formulated on a percent basis, which is convenient and works well if feed intake is known. Grazing ruminants require quantities of nutrients, but unlike their pen-fed counterparts, forage intake is unknown. Estimates of intake are essential to make management decisions relative to the quantity and timing of supplemental nutrients, which are often the largest out-of-pocket cost for ruminant production based on grazed forages. Moreover, sustainable management of grazing lands requires estimates of intake relative to available forage to set appropriate stocking rates and to assess environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gases). These management decisions become more critical as the physiological state of grazing animals change over time, resulting in shifts in both feed intake and nutrient requirements that affect the need for supplemental nutrients and can alter grazing management strategies. This dilemma – not knowing feed intake but needing it to make critical management and environmental decisions – necessitates the use of intake estimates as a basis for formulating supplemental nutrition plans and developing grazing management schemes. These estimates range from “thumb rules” for intake at various physiological states to more complex equations based on forage composition (also generally unknown in grazing situations), environmental variables, and various animal factors. The validity of these estimates and equations is often tested against intake values in pen-fed ruminants, as well as estimates derived from indirect methods in grazing animals (e.g. marker-based methods). Developing methods that yield accurate and precise predictions of voluntary intake by grazing ruminants has been a long-standing challenge, but the need for effective methodology and estimates of forage intake remains critical for grazing livestock.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Production in Northern Latitudinal Aquaponic Growing Conditions

Aquaponics, the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture into one growing system, is a controlled environment production system that potentially has increased environmental and consumer benefits over traditional production methods. There are many different ways to configure aquaponics systems that include different fish species, water circulation, lighting, plant species/density, and more. We tested three cultivars of lettuce, a common aquaponically produced crop, for yield in multiple aquaponic systems and conditions over a 13-month period in Minnesota. Four different aquaponic configurations and four types of fish were tested over the course of the experiment. There was no addition of supplemental nutrients to the systems to evaluate the differences between treatments and set a baseline. There was no difference in yield between lettuce produced aquaponically and those grown in soilless medium. However, there was a difference in yield between lettuce grown with different fish treatments. The tilapia treatment produced higher average yield than yellow perch. There was a difference between cultivars, with higher average yield from loose-leaf bunch cultivars (Salanova, Skyphos) than the bibb type (Rex). Average yield for all but one treatment was above that of reported commercial field production, making lettuce a competitive aquaponic crop in most systems.

Is the common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) carnivorous or was Francis Darwin wrong?

Francis Darwin first suggested that the common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum L.), a biennial species, might be a carnivorous plant. He suggested that this species acquires nutrients from insects that drown in water-holding cups formed at the base of leaves that surround the stems. Since then, other biologists have made the same claim. To test this we addressed the question: does adding invertebrates as supplemental nutrients to water-filled cups of D. fullonum influence reproduction or are nutrients only obtained from the soil? We performed two factorial designed experiments (high-nutrient soil vs. low-nutrient soil) × (fed vs. control) to test this. Fed treatments involved either crickets or liquefied animal solution. We performed a third experiment where teasel plants were grown in nutrient deficient standard carnivorous plant soil mix to determine whether prey supplement influenced growth and reproduction. These experiments revealed that soil nutrients alone influence growth and reproduction. More seeds were produced by plants grown in high-nutrient soil; while curiously, a higher percentage of seeds germinated from plants grown in low-nutrient soil. When teasel rosettes were grown in carnivorous plant soil, plants did not grow, produce stems, or flower, even with animal solution. Thus we found no evidence suggesting common teasel is carnivorous.

UAV color images for determination of citrus plant parameters

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are being studied for many agricultural applications. One application is plant phenotyping to reduce the time and effort required in collecting field data. This study aims to explore the use of a UAV, 4K-color camera and a commercial image analysis service to measure citrus plant parameters that are important to a crop scientist or grower with limited technical background and resources. Citrus spp. are important crops in Puerto Rico and the United States. Currently, the citrus industry is struggling to contain the devastating effects of citrus greening or Huanglongbing disease. The disease is associated with a phloem-limited bacteria, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLAs), vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. The use of insecticides for vector control is the primary strategy used in nurseries and orchards. However, once the citrus plant is infected, there is no effective control available for the disease. In Puerto Rico this disease has reduced Citrus spp. yields by more than 50%; studies are underway to find effective control measures such as supplemental nutrients, vector management practices, planting disease-free vegetative material and protective screen structures. An experiment at the Fortuna Agricultural Experiment Substation, in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, was conducted to address the challenges posed by citrus greening. The experiment was established in a four-year-old grove of Tahiti lime (Citrus latifolia Tan.) on Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reshni hort. ex Tanaka), naturally infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates and three treatments: supplemental nutrients, supplemental nutrients + salicylic acid, and granular fertilization. Tree growth parameters were measured, and laboratory analyses were carried out to determine nutrient levels and disease severity levels from the leaf samples. The color camera, on board the UAV, was employed to acquire images of the experimental plot. Drone Deploy application was used for planning the UAV flights and image analysis. Field-measured plant height and canopy diameter compared well with the parameters determined from the color images. The average errors in measuring canopy diameter (14.5%) and plant height (22.4%) could be considered within an acceptable range, especially for comparing different treatments or crop varieties. However, the average errors in measuring canopy volume (47.5%) were high and can be considered unacceptable. It appears that the assumed conical shape of the trees could be one of the main reasons, besides the algorithms used in calculating plant volume, and built-in inaccuracies of the single frequency GPS (global positioning system) used in estimating altitude. Further studies could help in reducing errors and exploring other applications. The method used can be of importance in evaluating fruit trees.

Impact of sleep restriction on local immune response and skin barrier restoration with and without “multinutrient” nutrition intervention

Systemic immune function is impaired by sleep restriction. However, the impact of sleep restriction on local immune responses and to what extent any impairment can be mitigated by nutritional supplementation is unknown. We assessed the effect of 72-h sleep restriction (2-h nightly sleep) on local immune function and skin barrier restoration of an experimental wound, and determined the influence of habitual protein intake (1.5 g·kg−1·day−1) supplemented with arginine, glutamine, zinc sulfate, vitamin C, vitamin D3, and omega-3 fatty acids compared with lower protein intake (0.8 g·kg−1·day−1) without supplemental nutrients on these outcomes. Wounds were created in healthy adults by removing the top layer of less than or equal to eight forearm blisters induced via suction, after adequate sleep (AS) or 48 h of a 72-h sleep restriction period (SR; 2-h nightly sleep). A subset of participants undergoing sleep restriction received supplemental nutrients during and after sleep restriction (SR+). Wound fluid was serially sampled 48 h postblistering to assess local cytokine responses. The IL-8 response of wound fluid was higher for AS compared with SR [area-under-the-curve (log10), 5.1 ± 0.2 and 4.9 ± 0.2 pg/ml, respectively; P = 0.03]; and both IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations were higher for SR+ compared with SR ( P < 0.0001), suggestive of a potentially enhanced early wound healing response. Skin barrier recovery was shorter for AS (4.2 ± 0.9 days) compared with SR (5.0 ± 0.9 days) ( P = 0.02) but did not differ between SR and SR+ ( P = 0.18). Relatively modest sleep disruption delays wound healing. Supplemental nutrition may mitigate some decrements in local immune responses, without detectable effects on wound healing rate. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The data herein characterizes immune function in response to sleep restriction in healthy volunteers with and without nutrition supplementation. We used a unique skin wound model to show that sleep restriction delays skin barrier recovery, and nutrition supplementation attenuates decrements in local immune responses produced by sleep restriction. These findings support the beneficial effects of adequate sleep on immune function. Additional studies are necessary to characterize practical implications for populations where sleep restriction is unavoidable.