Use of phytase and citric acid supplementation on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings fed on canola meal based diet

Fishmeal; being a limited and costly feed ingredient is continuously been substituted with locally available plant proteins. However, the occurrence of anti-nutritional factors in plant meal suppresses its potential to be fully replaced. Therefore, in this study we aimed to study the synergistic effects of dietary additives like citric acid and phytase enzyme supplementation on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings. Canola meal (CM) was used as a test ingredient to replace fishmeal (FM) as; 0%, 25%, 50% and 75%. These four diets were further supplemented by varying levels of phytase (0 and 750 FTU kg-1) and citric acid (0% and 2.5%) to formulate total sixteen test diets as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T11, T12, T13, T14, T15 and T16. Each treatment contained three replicates; applied to fish groups having 15 fingerlings each; following 3×3 factorial arrangement. 1% of chromic oxide was added as an inert marker. Maximum weight gain% (288%) and the lowest value of FCR (1.07) were recorded when fish was fed on diet T12 as compared to fish fed control diet (T1). Similarly, optimum nutrient digestibility values such as crude protein (77%), crude fat (84%) and gross energy (70%) were noted on same level. It was concluded that 50% canola meal can optimally replace fishmeal when supplemented with phytase and citric acid at the levels of 750 FTU kg-1 and 2.5%, respectively.

Use of multi-strain probiotics in linseed meal based diet for Labeo rohita fingerlings

Unavailability of probiotics in fish digestive system fingerlings is unable to digest and absorb their food properly. The current research was conducted to investigate the influence of probiotics added Linseed meal based (LMB) diet on hematology and carcass composition of Labeo rohita juveniles. Hematological parameters are essential diagnostics used to estimate the health status of fish. The usage of probiotics for fish health improvement is becoming common due to the higher demand for environment-friendly culture system in water. Linseed meal was used as a test ingredient to prepare six experimental test diets by adding probiotics (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 g/kg) and 1% indigestible chromic oxide for seventy days. According to their live wet weight, five percent feed was given to fingerlings twice a day. Fish blood and carcass samples (Whole body) were taken for hematological and carcass analysis at the end of the experiment. The highest carcass composition (crude protein; 18.72%, crude fat; 8.80% and gross energy; 2.31 kcal/g) was observed in fish fed with test diet II supplemented with probiotics (2 g/kg). Moreover, maximum RBCs number (2.62× 106mm-3), WBCs (7.84×103mm-3), PCV (24.61), platelets (63.85) and hemoglobin (7.87) had also been reported in the fish fingerlings fed on 2 g/kg of probiotics supplemented diet. Results indicated that probiotics supplementation has a critical role in improvement of fingerlings’ body composition and hematological indices. Present findings showed that probiotics supplementation at 2 g/kg level in linseed by-product-based diet was very useful for enhancing the overall performance of L. rohita fingerlings.

Comparison of Feed Digestibility between Ponies, Standardbreds and Andalusian Horses Fed Three Different Diets

Ponies and some horse breeds such as Andalusians exhibit an ‘easy keeper’ phenotype and tend to become obese more readily than other breeds such as Standardbreds. Various hypotheses have been proposed, including differences in appetite or metabolic efficiency. This study aimed to investigate the effect of breed on nutrient digestibility. Ponies, Standardbreds and Andalusian horses were adapted to consuming either a control fibre-based diet (n = 9), a hypercaloric cereal-rich diet (n = 12) or a hypercaloric fat-rich diet (n = 12) over 20 weeks. Total faecal collection was performed over 24 h to determine apparent total tract digestibility of gross energy, dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), starch, crude protein and crude fat. There was no effect of breed on apparent digestibility for any of the nutrients studied (all p > 0.05). However, there was a significant effect of diet, with animals consuming the cereal-rich or fat-rich diets demonstrating higher digestibility of gross energy, DM, NDF and crude protein compared with those consuming the control diet (all p < 0.05). Animals adapted to the cereal-rich diet demonstrated higher digestibility of starch (p < 0.001) and animals adapted to the fat-rich diet demonstrated higher digestibility of fat (p < 0.001). This study found that horses and ponies had similar nutrient digestibility when adapted to the same diets and management conditions. Limitations included the relatively small number of animals from each breed per diet group and the short period of total faecal collection. The tendency towards increased adiposity in ponies and Andalusian-type horse breeds is more likely to reflect differences in metabolism, rather than differences in feed digestibility.

Chia Seeds (Salvia hispanica L.): Can They Be Used as Ingredients in Making Sports Energy Gel?

Dehydration during exercise has been shown to limit performance. This study aimed to determine the best hydrocolloid for producing sports energy gel from chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.). This study was a completed random-design study using one factor: the addition of 0.1% w/w hydrocolloids (SEG1: xanthan gum; SEG2: pectin; and SEG3: carboxymethyl cellulose). A sports energy gel was then analyzed for pH, viscosity, total soluble solids, potassium content, and gross energy. The sensory characteristics that were analyzed include color, texture, aroma, and flavor, using hedonic tests on 25 panelists. The addition of different hydrocolloids resulted in significant differences in pH, viscosity, total soluble solids, potassium, and energy contents (p = 0.026; 0.0001; 0.0001; and 0.0001). Differences in hydrocolloid types also led to differences in the panelists’ perceptions of the sports energy gels’ colors and textures (p = 0.008 and 0.0001). The best formulation was the sports energy gel with added xanthan gum, which showed the highest average energy, total soluble solids, potassium, and viscosity values, and the lowest average of pH values (60.24 ± 0.340, 10.6 ± 0.08, 19.6 ± 0.23, 367.4 ± 9.81, and 5.2 ± 0.38, respectively). The conclusion is that chia seeds can be used as the main ingredient for producing a high-energy sports gel. Energy has a huge impact on a person’s physical and mental health.

Herbicide effectiveness — a mean to improve quality of maize grain

Исследования влияния системного применения гербицидов при ресурсосберегающей обработке почвы на качественные показатели зерна кукурузы проведены на землях ОАО «Агросоюз» Рузаевского района Республики Мордовия в 2014–2016 годах. Установлено, что обработка посевов гербицидом «Дублон» (1,2 л/га) и баковой смесью «Дублон Голд» (0,07 кг/га) + «Балерина» (0,25 л/га) способствовала повышению содержания сырого протеина в зерне до 93,67 и 94,97 г/кг соответственно. Анализ содержания жира в зерне кукурузы выявил, что наибольшим оно было в контрольном варианте. Внесение препаратов «Дублон», «Дублон Супер», «Дублон Голд» и их сочетаний с «Балериной» статистически достоверно снижало концентрацию жира. Используемые пестициды достоверного влияния на увеличение содержания крахмала в зерне кукурузы не оказывали. Содержание клетчатки снижалось: при использовании препаратов «Дублон Супер», «Дублон Голд» и «Дублон» + «Балерина» её уровень был ниже контроля на 5–10%. В результате увеличения урожайности зерна кукурузы за счёт высокой эффективности гербицидов во всех вариантах опыта возрастал сбор протеина с 0,51 до 0,75 т/га. В исследованиях также установлено, что в вариантах с применением баковых смесей гербицидов «Дублон + «Балерина» и «Дублон Голд» + «Балерина» по сравнению с контролем валовой сбор крахмала, сахара, сырого жира был наивысшим. Между содержанием в зерне кукурузы сырого протеина, клетчатки, сырого жира, сахара и крахмала наблюдалась достоверная слабая положительная зависимость. Гербициды группы «Дублон» повышали концентрацию сахара до 32,6–33,3 г/кг. В результате повышенного содержания жира в зерне кукурузы уровень валовой энергии был наивысшим в контрольном варианте — 19,37 МДж/кг. При внесении гербицидов она снижалась вследствие повышения доли белка в органическом веществе зерна кукурузы. The investigation was carried out at the OAO “Agrosoyuz” (the Ruzaevskiy district, Republic of Mordovia) in 2014–2016. The effect of herbicide application was tested on maize under minimum tillage. Plant treatment with “Dublon” (1.2 l ha-1) as well as the mixture of “Dublon Gold” (0.07 kg ha-1) and “Balerina” (0.25 l ha-1) increased crude protein in grain up to 93.67 and 94.97 g/kg, respectively. The highest fat content was observed in the control. Application of “Dublon”, “Dublon Super”, “Dublon Gold” and their mixtures with “Balerina” significantly reduced fat accumulation. The preparations had no significant impact on starch formation. “Dublon Super”, “Dublon Gold” and “Dublon” + “Balerina” reduced fiber content by 5–10%. As a result of herbicide use grain productivity increased, and protein yield raised from 0.51 to 0.75 l ha-1. Mixtures of “Dublon” + “Balerina” as well as “Dublon Gold” + “Balerina” provided the highest gross yields of starch, sugar, and crude fat. Significant positive correlation was observed among crude protein, fiber, fat, sugars and starch. The “Dublon” herbicides positively affected sugar concentration up to 32.6–33.3 g/kg. Due to higher fat content gross energy yield was the highest in the control — 19.37 MJ/kg. Herbicide treatment reduced gross energy due to the higher protein content in grain organic matter.

Biochemical evaluation of grain quality parameters of soybean varieties from the world collection of VIR in the conditions of the Lower Volga region

In 2019-2020, biochemical evaluation of grain quality indicators of soybean varieties from the VIR collection by main groups of nutrients under the conditions of the Lower Volga region was conducted. The differences and peculiarities of the gross energy value of grain were revealed according to the results of the research. The samples with high content of protein and fat in the grain were selected for further use in various directions of selection work on this crop. The coefficient of variation of biochemical grain parameters in soybean varieties varied between 2.7-8.7 %, which indicates its low variability. Keywords: SOYBEAN, BREEDING, WORLD COLLECTION VIR, BIOCHEMICAL EVALUATION, GRAIN QUALITY, GROSS ENERGY VALUE

The cost of a meal: factors influencing prey profitability in Australian fur seals

Knowledge of the factors shaping the foraging behaviour of species is central to understanding their ecosystem role and predicting their response to environmental variability. To maximise survival and reproduction, foraging strategies must balance the costs and benefits related to energy needed to pursue, manipulate, and consume prey with the nutritional reward obtained. While such information is vital for understanding how changes in prey assemblages may affect predators, determining these components is inherently difficult in cryptic predators. The present study used animal-borne video data loggers to investigate the costs and benefits related to different prey types for female Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus), a primarily benthic foraging species in the low productivity Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia. A total of 1,263 prey captures, resulting from 2,027 prey detections, were observed in 84.5 h of video recordings from 23 individuals. Substantial differences in prey pursuit and handling times, gross energy gain and total energy expenditure were observed between prey types. Importantly, the profitability of prey was not significantly different between prey types, with the exception of elasmobranchs. This study highlights the benefit of animal-borne video data loggers for understanding the factors that influence foraging decisions in predators. Further studies incorporating search times for different prey types would further elucidate how profitability differs with prey type.

Effects of dietary spray-dried plasma protein on nutrient digestibility and growth performance in nursery pigs

The objectives were to determine the digestible energy and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids (AA; Exp. 1) and to determine growth performance (Exp. 2) of 2 sources of dietary spray-dried plasma protein (SDPP) in nursery pigs. In Exp. 1, twelve nursery barrows (9.8 ± 0.9 kg) were assigned to a quadruplicated 3 × 2 Latin square design with 3 diets and 2 periods. Each period consisted of 5 days of adaptation, 2 days of fecal sampling, and 2 days of ileal collection. A basal diet was composed of corn, soybean meal, whey, and sucrose as the sole energy and AA sources. Experimental diets were prepared by replacing 15% of the energy and AA sources in the basal diet with SDPP 1 (manufactured in the USA; 78.2% crude protein and 4,862 kcal gross energy/kg as-is) or SDPP 2 (manufactured in Korea; 74.3% crude protein and 4,636 kcal gross energy/kg as-is). Spray-dried plasma protein 1 had greater digestible energy (P &lt; 0.05), but less (P &lt; 0.05) standardized ileal digestibility of Lys, Met, Trp, and Thr compared with SDPP 2. In Exp. 2, eighty-four nursery pigs (7.9 ± 0.7 kg) were allotted to 3 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with 7 replicate pens and 4 pigs per pen. Three corn-soybean meal-whey-based diets contained fish meal (6% and 3.5% for d 0 to 14 and d 14 to 28, respectively), SDPP 1 (4.5% and 2.7%), or SDPP 2 (5.0% and 3.0%) to maintain same energy and nutrient concentrations. During d 0 to 14 and overall period, pigs fed the diets containing SDPP gained more weight (P &lt; 0.05) than those fed the fish meal diet with no difference between 2 SDPP sources. In conclusion, SDPP 1 contains greater digestible energy but less AA digestibility compared with SDPP 2. Growth-promoting effects of both SDPP sources in nursery diets have been clearly demonstrated in this work.

The effect of the substitution of grain components with a high proportion of bakery wastes on the Clarc of energy distribution and the Clarc of protein transformation in the eco-technical chain ‘fodder – layer’s eggs’

The including of 15 and 20% bread wastes in the combined fodders for layers of net utilization of energy and protein has been studied. Two new indexes of net utilization have been introduced: Clarc of energy distribution (CED) – the relation between consumed metabolizable energy and accumulated gross energy in the egg mélange and Clarc of protein transformation - the relation between consumed crude protein and accumulated crude protein in the egg mélange. The following results have been established: CED (fodder – egg mélange): Control group – 0.1820; 15% bread wastes – 0.1851; 20% bread wastes – 0.1887; CPT(fodder – egg mélange) - 0.2358; 0.2405 and 0.2460 respectively. The authors establish a tendency for hens that have consumed more bread wastes to show a higher effectiveness for the net protein transformation.

Enhanced Energy Recovery from Food Waste by Co-Production of Bioethanol and Biomethane Process

The primary objective of this research is to study ways to increase the potential of energy production from food waste by co-production of bioethanol and biomethane. In the first step, the food waste was hydrolysed with an enzyme at different concentrations. By increasing the concentration of enzyme, the amount of reducing sugar produced increased, reaching a maximum amount of 0.49 g/g food waste. After 120 h of fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, nearly all reducing sugars in the hydrolysate were converted to ethanol, yielding 0.43–0.50 g ethanol/g reducing sugar, or 84.3–99.6% of theoretical yield. The solid residue from fermentation was subsequently subjected to anaerobic digestion, allowing the production of biomethane, which reached a maximum yield of 264.53 ± 2.3 mL/g VS. This results in a gross energy output of 9.57 GJ, which is considered a nearly 58% increase in total energy obtained, compared to ethanol production alone. This study shows that food waste is a raw material with high energy production potential that could be further developed into a promising energy source. Not only does this benefit energy production, but it also lowers the cost of food waste disposal, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and is a sustainable energy production approach.