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Using Creature and its Nitrogen Fixation to Enhance the Soil Fertility
No full textProper rotation of crops, combination of great promotion of growing green manure and herbage with development of animal husbandry, and use of creature and its nitrogen fixation to accumulate organic matter and increase nitrogen in the soil prove to be an effective way to improve the physiochemical properties of soil and its structure, and enhance the soil fertility
A Simulation Model of the Seasonal Pattern of Herbage Digestibility and its Interaction with Intensity of Defoliation
No full textDespite the considerable efforts expended in studying the seasonal changes in the digestibility of herbage under different harvesting regimes, there has only been slow progress in the modelling of these processes. In this paper, a quantitative description of the factors underlying seasonal changes in herbage digestibility is developed and applied to sets of data from S24 and S23 perennial ryegrass. A new variable, relative maturity, is used to describe the effect of defoliation in interrupting the process of tiller maturation which leads to the decline in digestibility. For S24, the model explained 95.5% of variation in digestibility decline, allowing accurate prediction of digestibility (RSD 1.39 digestibility units). For S23, 87 .5% of variation was explained. The models are largely independent of nitrogen and its yield effects, and allow the varietal characteristics of herbage to be compared under a constant harvesting schedule. S24 digestibility declined further and more rapidly than in S23 when compared at the same defoliation intensity, presumably due to differences in leaf:stem ratio. Relative maturity appears to be a useful concept in describing the physiological maturity of swards under different harvesting regimes
Vegetative Reproduction from Node and Population Structure of Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) in a Pasture
No full textWe found out the vegetative reproduction from node in timothy. We examined the demography and the intra-population variation of this reproduction in a 17-year-old pasture, and the potential ability to reproduce under the wet and undisturbed greenhouse condition. Also, clone analysis using peroxidase isozyme was carried out to detect the distributional patterns of genets in the above pasture. A number of propagules were found, most had short life-span but a few grew to flower and recruited into the large size class. Most propagules derived from the top-vegetative elongated tillers (Abnormal tillers), which appeared in autumn. This reproduction occured frequently in semi-marsh and lightly grazed flat, but infrequently in marsh and heavily grazed flat, although these areas were located nearly each other. The potential ability of propagule to spread was 120 cm or more. The results obtained suggest that this reproduction occurs frequently in the areas of pasture with suitable grazing pressure, low vegetational cover and high soil moisture, and that the potential propagules are able to spread at long distance and grow tel flower under the undisturbed and wet condition. In the above pasture, genets often dispersed several ramets, and their dispersal patterns were different among the adjacent areas. The results from clone analysis suggest that there is a close relationship between the reproductive methods and the environmental factors such as grazing pressure, community structure and soil condition
Effect of a Lactobacillus Inoculant on Fermentation and Aerobic Stability of Grass Silage
No full textThe objective of the experiment was to optimize the fermentation process and to improve the aerobic stability of silage by the use of a bacterial additive. Prewilted grass was ensiled with and without the inoculant in laboratory silos. These were perfused with different amounts of oxygen to simulate suboptimum 5 ensiling technology. The spray inoculation of a Lactobacillus culture with 10 colony forming units (cfu) per g of the crop enabled the
homofermentative starter to dominate the indigenous flora even in the air treated silages. The lactic acid production was markedly increased and pH-value, gas losses and protein decomposition were generally reduced in the inoculated forage. Any supply of oxygen stimulated the multiplication of yeasts, which are responsible for aerobic instability. The bacterial additive restricted the development of these organisms up to a critical level of daily air infusion in the range between 100 and 200 mg oxygen (Oz)lkg dry matter (DM). These silages remained stable after unloading for at least 2 days. In all silages without inoculant even the lowest oxygen infusion caused yeast counts up to 107/g silage DM and an immediate start of deterioration after exposure to air. The better stability of the inoculated silages with low oxygen supply is attributed to a specific energy requiring detoxification system of the yeasts against too high intracellular concentrations of organic acids. For maintenance this mechanism either demands fermentable sugars which are mostly exhausted in these silages or a sufficient amount of oxygen to assimilate the organic acids available
High Value Productions from Lucerne: A New Zealand Perspective
No full textResearch at Ruakura has aimed at improving the economics of lucerne protein extraction, by extracting more of the protein (up to 85%) and by searching for ways to get maximum value for each of the components in the lucerne. Presently most lucerne protein concentrate is sold on the basis of its protein and xanthophyll contents, which are valued by poultry growers. Other components, including carotene, chlorophyll and vitamin E, are not valued in poultry feed and consequently could be extracted and sold separately. Carotene and vitamin E have recently been associated with cancer prevention. The paper also discusses the value of the high levels of tryptophan, threonine and isoleucine in lucerne protein; the use of the protein in fish and prawn feed; he value of deproteinised juice concentrate as a medicinal carrier for cattle; the extraction of triacontanol;and potential uses for the high extraction fibre
Effects of Variety and Soil Difference on the Feeding Value of Whole Crop Barley
No full textThe effects of varietal (Azuma Golden, Akagi Nijyo and New Golden) and soil differences (Red Yellow Soils, Grey Lowland Soils, Light Colored Andosols and Thick Humic Andosols) on the feeding value of whole crop barley were investigated to ascertain each proportion of plant portions to the total plant weight and carbohydrate contents and the main results are as follows. 1) The differences in IVDMD (in vitro Dry Matter Digestibility) were independent of variety, but they were influenced considerably by soil differences. The lowest IVDMD value of 56% was in Grey Lowland Soils and the highest of 63% was produced in Thick Humic Andosols. 2) The barley produced on Grey Lowland Soils had a low proportion of ear to total plant weight, a low starch content and a high OCW (Organic Cell Wall) content
Production of Fodder Yeast from Brown Juices of Graminaceous and Leguminous Plants
No full textFractionation of grass (herbage) into leaf protein concentrate (LPC) and crude fiber causes agricultural pollution because brown juice which remained after fractionation contains much minerals and spoilage materials such as sugar and so on. In order to dissolve this problem, for graminaceous plants, green juice was acidified with mineral acid to coagulate LPC. After then, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cultivated using the brown juice and fodder yeast was obtained in good yield. Next, leguminous plants, green juice was directly fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum to decompose saponin and to coagulate LPC with lactic acid produced by Lact. plantarum. After then, the brown juice seperated from coagulated protein, was cultivated by Candida utilis which can utilize lactic acid
Breeding Tropical Grasses for Ease of Vegetative Propagation and for Improved Seed Production
No full textFour case studies are briefly described in which seed production or ease of propagation of tropical grasses has been improved by genetic manipulation, viz:
I. Hybridization of a sterile tussock-forming Digitaria smutsii accession with a stoloniferous accession D. milanjiana produced an F1 hybrid which combined high yield with stolon development
ii., iii. Seed production has been successfully introduced into sterile D. smu tsii and Setaria sphacelata var. splendida iv. Seed production of frost-tolerant Setaria sphacelata var. sericea has been doubled by doubling tiller fertility
A Simulation Study on Effects of Heifer Excreta on Herbage Yields and Potassium Uptake in Grazing Pasture
No full textTwo models (a potassium cycling model and an excreta! spatial dispersion model) were constructed to clarify how biased dispersion of potassium(K) and herbage yields occur in a pasture. 18 cases [ ( unexcreted + (urine, dung) x 4 excreted months) x (grass + legume)] were simulated by the K cycling model to obtain standing crops of K and herbage at the end of a growing season. The standing crops per 1 m2 were calculated on all the quadrats in the pasture by using the excreta! dispersion model. The standing crops in each of 18 cases were assumed to be normally distributed. The frequency distributions of absorbed K and herbage yields on the whole paddock were departed from the normal distributions, but the extreme variations and biases which are observed on pasture were not obtained. This demonstrates that the non-normal distribution of K accumlation is reproduced by the process of its cycling through cattle, especially urine, soil and herbage which is structured in the cycling model. The non-normal dispersion of herbage yields actually observed is contributed by not only fertility effect simulated above, but also unavailable residual herbage derived from grazing behavior of cattle
A Method of Accelerating Generation-Cycles in Orchardgrass
No full textadvance two generations a year was designed and demonstrated by using two cultivars with different maturity. The method consisted of the following five procedures; 1) growing of seedlings under 24 hr day-length at day/night temperature of 25°C/15°C, 2) floral induction treatment under 10 hr day-length at 10°C, 3) promotion of the period from inflorescence differentiation to seed ripening under 24 hr day-length at the temperature which increased gradually from 15°C to 24°C, 4) air-drying of freshly harvested seeds at room temperature, and 5) breaking of seed dormancy by prechilling at 50°C.
Germinable seeds were obtained from more than 90 percent of individuals used in succesive two generations. There were little differences in heading date between cultivars, and the inter-plant variations in heading date within each cultivar were rather small. These results indicated that the present method could be applied to any materials with widely different maturity under natural conditions. Some future problems were discussed