The effects of pH, salinity, age of leaves, post-harvest storage duration, and psyllid infestation on nutritional qualities of giant leucaena fodder

Giant leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala subsp. glabrata) can be managed as a profusely branched bushy plant by repeated harvest of its foliage for use as fodder. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of soil pH and salinity, age of the leaves, post-harvest storage duration, and psyllid infection on the nutritional qualities of leucaena fodder. To determine the effects of soil pH and salinity on fodder quality, giant leucaena K636 plants were grown in large pots containing soils adjusted to different pH and salinity levels. The effects of age of the leaves, post-harvest storage duration and psyllid infection on fodder quality were studied using leucaena samples collected from Waimanalo Research Station. Among five pH levels tested, pH 6.0 was found to produce the highest amounts of protein and structural fibers in the foliage. Mimosine contents were highest at pH 6 and 7 and lowest at pH 5.0. The growth of giant leucaena was retarded and the nutritional quality were adversely affected under salinity conditions. Compared to young leaves, old leaves contained 18.5% less protein, 95% less mimosine, 30% less tannin and 40% more structural fibers. Post-harvest storage duration up to 72 h, at room temperature did not seem to affect protein, tannin and structural fiber contents of the foliage; however, mimosine content was reduced by 25%. These results will help to identify ideal soil pH, age of foliage, and post-harvest storage duration for obtaining high forage yield and nutritional quality for giant leucaena.

Effect of variety and cutting interval on yield and proximate composition of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) under irrigation in Central Gondar zone, Ethiopia

Background Understanding the relationship between dry matter yield production and forage quality throughout the growing season will help to optimize the cutting intervals between harvests in different Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) varieties. An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of harvest frequency on forage yield and quality of 2 improved cultivars (ILRI-6984 and var. DzF-552) of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in Western Dembia district over 20 months during 2017 and 2018. Four harvest frequencies (every 30, 40, 50 and 60 days) were compared in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 4 replications. The experiment was laid down in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in factorial arrangement with four replications. To assess their production potential plant height (cm), number of branches per plant, fresh biomass yield (t ha−1) and dry matter yield (t ha−1) of the forge and its nutrient content were recorded. The data collected was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) by using the general linear model (GLM) procedure in Statistical Analysis System (SAS) (2003) version 9.1. Results The results revealed that highest forage dry matter yield was recorded for variety ILRI-6984 harvested every 40 days (26.8 t DM ha−1) and for var. DzF-552 when harvested every 60 days (24.1 t DM ha−1) (P<0.001). While crude protein concentration tended to decline as age at harvest increased, there was little consistency in the pattern. Crude protein yields were also inconsistent across treatments but ILRI-6984 harvested every 40 days produced the highest yields (6.5 t ha−1) (P<0.001). Conclusion These preliminary findings need to be confirmed under field conditions on a large scale along with longer-term studies to examine the longevity of the stands at these harvest frequencies. Irregular harvesting based on stage of maturity should be compared with fixed inter-harvest intervals.

Identification of Candidate Forage Yield Genes in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) Using Integrated Genome-Wide Association Studies and RNA-Seq

Genetic dissection of forage yield traits is critical to the development of sorghum as a forage crop. In the present study, association mapping was performed with 85,585 SNP markers on four forage yield traits, namely plant height (PH), tiller number (TN), stem diameter (SD), and fresh weight per plant (FW) among 245 sorghum accessions evaluated in four environments. A total of 338 SNPs or quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) were associated with the four traits, and 21 of these QTNs were detected in at least two environments, including four QTNs for PH, ten for TN, six for SD, and one for FW. To identify candidate genes, dynamic transcriptome expression profiling was performed at four stages of sorghum development. One hundred and six differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were enriched in hormone signal transduction pathways were found in all stages. Weighted gene correlation network analysis for PH and SD indicated that eight modules were significantly correlated with PH and that three modules were significantly correlated with SD. The blue module had the highest positive correlation with PH and SD, and the turquoise module had the highest negative correlation with PH and SD. Eight candidate genes were identified through the integration of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and RNA sequencing. Sobic.004G143900, an indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase gene that is involved in indoleacetic acid biosynthesis, was down-regulated as sorghum plants grew in height and was identified in the blue module, and Sobic.003G375100, an SD candidate gene, encoded a DNA repair RAD52-like protein 1 that plays a critical role in DNA repair-linked cell cycle progression. These findings demonstrate that the integrative analysis of omics data is a promising approach to identify candidate genes for complex traits.

Intercropping Pattern and N Fertilizer Schedule Affect the Performance of Additively Intercropped Maize and Forage Cowpea in the Mediterranean Region

Intercropping maize and forage cowpea is a widely proposed strategy to improve land use efficiency, and maximize the economic value of the farming system, especially in developing countries with restricted resources. The current study was carried out during the successive summers of 2020 and 2021 in Northern Egypt. The main objective was to evaluate the effect of three N schedules (NS1, NS2, NS3), when three different maize–cowpea intercropping patterns (IP1, IP2, IP3) were applied, on the grain yield of maize, forage yield and quality of forage cowpea. In addition, yield gain and land use efficiency were evaluated using the land equivalent ratio (LER) and dry matter equivalent ratio (DMER) indices. Results revealed that the intercropping patterns that provided wider spacings for the component crops and reduced the competition between them, mainly IP3, resulted in the best performances for the two crops. This was clear for maize ear and grain yields, 100-grain weight and harvest index, in addition to cowpea fresh and dry forage yields, crude protein and non-fiber carbohydrates of the three cuts. Regarding the applied N schedules, NS1 which included the application of a N starter dose with sowing proved to be the most efficient schedule that led to the best performance for both crops. Maize produced 9.07 t ha−1 grain yield under IP3 and NS1. In addition, the application of IP3 resulted in the highest significant cowpea dry forage yield (DFY), with the highest crude protein (CP) content. The DFY of cuts 1, 2, and 3 amounted to 1.27, 0.45, and 0.24 t ha−1, while the CP content for the three respective cuts reached 159.49, 157.96, and 148.91 g kg−1. Nonetheless, NS1 produced a reasonable amount of DFY with high CP content. It is recommended to follow the third proposed intercropping pattern (IP3) and to include a nitrogen starter dose (NS1) in the fertilization scheme to ensure highest productivity from the intercropped maize and forage cowpea.

Determining the proper sowing time for the mixture of Hungarian vetch and triticale under continental climate conditions

ABSTRACT: The research was conducted to determine forage yield and some quality characteristics of Hungarian vetch + triticale mixture, sowed in five different times under rainfed conditions of central Anatolia, Turkey. The mixture was sowed in the second, third and fourth week of October, and the first and the second week of November in 2017 and 2018. Depending on the sowing times, plant height (PH) of Hungarian vetch and triticale was between 46.7 and 59.4 cm, and 85.9 and 93.4 cm, respectively. Green forage yield (GFY) was between 1746.2 and 2059.4 kg da-1, dry matter yield (DMY) was between 541.0 and 707.6 kg da-1, crude protein yield (CPY) was between 80.4 and 110.3 kg da-1, digestible dry matter yield (DDMY) was between 340.8 and 453.9 kg da-1, acid detergent fiber (ADF) ratio was between 31.8 and 33.7%, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ratio was between 44.7 and 49.5%, total digestible nutrient (TDN) was between 57.9 and 60.4% and relative feed value (RFV) was between 118.6 and 133.8. Sowing time had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on PH of triticale, while it has a very significant effect (P < 0.01) on GFY, DMY, CPY, DDMY, NDF ratios and RFV. Delaying the sowing time caused a decrease in the GFY, DMY and quality of the mixture. Results revealed that the first week of October is the most appropriate sowing time to obtain high dry matter yield with high quality under continental climate conditions of the central Anatolia.

Maniçoba for sheep and goats - forage yield, conservation strategies, animal performance and quality of products

ABSTRACT: In dry regions worldwide, providing feed for ruminants has been a great challenge, with a need to use plants which contribute to the resilience of production systems. Maniçoba is seen as a potential forage resource in the Brazilian semiarid, being used as hay or silage to feed ruminants. This review summarized results regarding forage production of maniçoba, in addition to dry matter (DM) intake, productive performance, and quality of animal products obtained providing maniçoba based diets, when compared to diets composed by other roughages for goats and sheep. Considering the evaluated studies, the average yield of maniçoba varied from 367 to 1,592 kg DM ha-1, enhancing the forage yield by increasing plant fertilization and planting density. Diets based on maniçoba promoted similar or higher intake of DM and productive performance for goats and sheep, when compared to diets comprising other forage resources. The quality of animal products was also similar to the ones obtained with diets based on traditional roughages, such as Tifton 85 hay or spineless cactus. Therefore, maniçoba allows a forage production that may contribute to ruminant production systems in semiarid environment and promote productive performance and animal product quality compatible to the ones provided by traditional forage plants.

DETERMINATION OF HERBAGE YIELD AND QUALITY OF DIFFERENT SOYBEAN VARIETIES

Objectives of the present study are to determine the variations in forage yield and quality of soybean cultivars. Experiments were conducted in randomized complete blocks design with 3 replications during the growing season of 2016. A total of 10 cultivars were used as the plant material of the experiments (Bravo, A3127, Traksoy, İlksoy, Mersoy, Nova, SA-88, Arısoy, Safir, Atakişi). Cultivars had a significant effect on yield and chemical composition. Results revealed that green herbage yields varied between 826.39 - 1199.17 kg/da, dry hay yields between 247.71 - 357.90 kg/da, crude protein yields between 16.91 - 39.86 kg/da, acid detergent fiber (ADF) ratios between 26.56 - 34.61%, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ratios between 38.43 - 44.85%, crude ash contents between 7.20 - 11.22%, crude protein contents between 6.66 - 13.53%, dry matter digestibility (DDM) values between 61.94 - 68.21%, dry matter intake (DMI) values between 2.68 - 3.12% and relative feed values (RFV) between 2.68 - 3.12. The results of the study showed that A3127 cultivar was found to be prominent with green herbage yield (1199.17 kg/da) and dry hay yield (357.90 kg/da) and Safir cultivar was found to be prominent with crude protein yield (39.86 kg/da). It was concluded that the soybean cultivars A3127 and Safir could be recommended for hay production.

Effect of cassava-legume intercropping systems on productivity and cassava insect pests population dynamics across three major agro-climatic zones of Sierra Leone

Field trials were conducted in 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 cropping seasons in three agro-climatic zones of the country to evaluate the productivity and insect pests population dynamics of cassava as a response to spatial arrangement, plant architecture and cropping systems. The treatments consisted of seven cropping associations, two cassava architectures and two spatial arrangements. The study reveals that yield parameters of cassava were higher in cassava-soybean system at all locations. The number of marketable roots and forage yield were on average higher when the erect cassava variety was intercropped with the legumes using the 1 m x 1m spatial arrangement. On the other hand, root yield and canopy width were higher when the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement and the branched cassava architecture was used respectively. In general, yield parameters were higher at Segbwema expect for forage yield that was higher at Makeni. With respect to cassava insect pests, higher percentage incidences and severity scores were recorded on sole cassava and when the branched cassava variety was intercropped with legumes using the 2 m x 0.5 m spatial arrangement of cassava. In addition, cassava insect pests incidences were only observed at 6 MAP and 9MAP and were higher in Segbwema compared to the other locations. Thus, in order to improve productivity of cassava with low insect pest infestation, the erect cassava variety should be intercropped with soybean at a spatial arrangement of 1 m x 1 m.

Genetic Parameters and Selection in Full-Sib Families of Tall Fescue Using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) Analysis of Animal Breeding and Genetic

Background: Better understanding of genetic structure of economic traits is crucial for identification and selection of superior genotypes in specific breeding programs. Best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) is the most efficient method in this regards, which is poorly used in forage plant breeding. The present study aimed to assess genetic variation, estimate genetic parameters, and predict breeding values of five essential traits in full sib families (recognized by EST-SSR markers) of tall fescue using REML/BLUP procedure. Method: Forty-two full-sib families of tall fescue (included of 120 individual genotypes), recognized by EST-SSR markers’ along with twenty-one their corresponding parental genotypes were assessed for biomass production and agro-morphological traits at three harvests (spring, summer, and autumn) in the field during 4 years (2017-2020). Results: Considerable genotypic variability was observed for all traits. Low narrow-sense heritability (h2n) for dry forage yield (DFY) at three harvest indicates that non-additive gene actions may play an important role in the inheritance of this trait. Higher h2n of yield related traits and flowering time and also significant genetic correlation of these traits with forage yield, suggests that selection based on these traits via developing an index may lead to indirect genetic improvement of DFY. Conclusion: Our results showed the adequacy of REML/BLUP procedure for identification and selection of preferable parental genotypes and progenies with higher breeding values for future breeding programs such as variety development in tall fescue. Parental genotypes 21M, 1M, and 20L were identified as superior and stable genotypes and could also produce the best hybrid combinations when they were mostly used as maternal parent.