Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research
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Clinical course and pathogenicity of a Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolate from scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah) in experimentally infected rabbits
No full textAim of study: To evaluate the infectivity of a MAP type C of a scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah) - included in an international conservation list - that showed clinical signs and granulomatous enteritis associated with paratuberculosis in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) using molecular, bacteriological and pathological methodologies.
Area of study: The study was made in Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, CEIEPAA, FMVZ, UNAM, Mexico.
Material and methods: Three 6-week-old female New Zealand rabbits were orally infected for 3 consecutive days with 109 CFU of the MAP isolate. Blood and fecal samples were collected every 2 weeks for a total period of 28 weeks. IS900 PCR in blood and F57 real-time PCR in the feces were performed every 2 weeks and pathological analysis and bacteriological culture from tissue were made 28 weeks post infection.
Main results: MAP was detected by IS900 PCR in the blood of two of the three animals after 2 weeks of infection and again by F57 real-time PCR in the feces of the three infected rabbits. Infection with the MAP isolates in feces at 22 and 28 weeks post infection in one rabbit and isolate of vermiform appendix resulted in the development of granulomatous lesions in the three rabbits. The lesions were diffuse intermediate in one animal and multifocal in the other two rabbits.
Research highlights: Overall, these results demonstrated the infectivity of a MAP isolate from the scimitar oryx in rabbits
Potencial territorial de Cantabria para la producción de leche en base a pasto
No full textAim of study: To analyse the territorial potential of Cantabria to produce grass-fed milk.
Area of study: Cantabria (N Spain) is a territory associated with livestock, in particular cattle and grasslands. Over the last few decades, the livestock sector has been immersed in a process of structural adjustment, leading to a reduction in the number of farms, an increase in their size and the intensification of production. Moreover, the market is being increasingly supplied with milk labelled “grass fed”, due to growing consumer interest in healthier and more environmentally friendly products.
Material and methods: To do this, 99 livestock farms were classified according to the percentage of fresh grass (FG) in the spring diet of the lactating cows (non-grass-fed: <25% FG; grass-fed: ≥25% FG); these were characterized and, subsequently, a multiple linear regression analysis was carried out to estimate the percentage of FG based on 41 territorial variables.
Main results: The predicted feeding model had an accuracy rate of 70.7%, and discriminated better the non-grass-fed, it had some limitations, suggesting that territorial structure is important but not enough to differentiate grass-fed milk. In addition, 33% of the farms studied produce grass-fed milk, but only half do so under territorial conditions typically associated with this type of production. Meanwhile, 12% of the farms, with similar territorial conditions, do not carry out this type of production (grass fed).
Research highlights: To support grass-fed production, other internal, cultural or economic values must be taken into account
Dynamics of carbon budget and meteorological factors of a typical maize ecosystem in Songnen Plain, China
No full textAim of study: Understanding the carbon budget and meteorological factor impacts of farmland ecosystems is helpful for scientific assessment of carbon budget and low-carbon agricultural production practices.
Area of study: The Songnen Plain, NE China, in 2019.
Material and methods: Based on eddy-related flux and soil heterotrophic respiration observations from a typical maize farmland ecosystem, using mathematical statistics and carbon balance equation methods, were analyzed.
Main results: Soil respiration rate (Rs) and composition were influenced and controlled by the synergistic effect of surface soil temperature (Ts) and water content (Wcs). Ts played a leading role, while Wcs played an important role. Ts and Wcs had the greatest influence on the heterotrophic respiration rate (Rh), followed by Rs and autotrophic respiration rate (Ra). Daily variations of net ecosystem productivity were correlated with daily mean air temperature, latent heat flux, and sensible heat flux. Annual carbon revenue was 1139.67 g C m-2, annual carbon expenditure was 456.14 g C m-2, and annual carbon budget was -683.53 g C m-2 in 2019. While considering that maize grain yield (-353.44 g C m-2) was moved out of the field at harvest, the net ecosystem carbon balance was -330.09 g C m-2; then it was carbon sink in 2019. By fully utilizing climate resources and improving agricultural managements, carbon sink is increased in farmland ecosystems.
Research highlights: Soil respiration rate and composition were influenced and controlled by the synergistic effect of soil temperature and water content; the maize farmland ecosystem is carbon sink
Crop load management in high density apple plantation
No full textAim of study: To optimize the best thinning method and elucidate its effect on fruit size, quality, yield and return bloom in apple under high density plantation in sub-temperate zone of India.
Area of study: Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Material and methods: The experiment consisted of 30 combinations of 10 thinning (chemical and manual) treatments (T1: 10 mg L-1 NAA; T2: 20 mg L-1 NAA; T3: 100 mg L-1 BA; T4: 200 mg L-1 BA; T5: 100 mg L-1 Metamitron; T6: 200 mg L-1 Metamitron; T7: crop load of 4 fruits cm-2 TCSA; T8: crop load of 6 fruits cm-2 TCSA; T9: crop load of 8 fruits cm-2 TCSA and T10: control - no thinning) and 3 cultivars treatments (‘Jeromine’, ‘Redlum Gala’ and ‘Super Chief’), replicated five times over three growing seasons (2020 to 2022).
Main results: The highest return bloom, fruit size, red skin color (RSC), sugars content, and anthocyanin content were produced due to manual thinning while maintaining a crop load of 4-6 fruits cm-2 TCSA (trunk cross sectional area). ‘Jeromine’ cultivar produced fruits with better yields, productivity, and RSC. ‘Redlum Gala’ had fruits with a better extent of thinning, return bloom, and sugar content. The extent of thinning showed a significant positive correlation with return bloom, fruit quality and physicochemical parameters, and growth in apples under high-density plantations.
Research highlights: A possible threshold for optimal fruit quality and consistent return bloom is around 4-6 fruits cm-2 TCSA in apple under high density plantation in India
Sustainability labels in the Spanish coffee market: A hedonic price approach
No full textAim of study: Focused on the coffee sector, the purpose of this paper was to determine the implicit price paid for the main sustainability certifications (Fairtrade, Organic, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certifications) using the hedonic price approach.
Area of study: Spain.
Material and methods: The total sample included 645 coffees. The characteristics were collected between the months of September and October 2021 from coffee packs sold in the main five supermarkets of retail chains in Spain. A log-log price/attribute function was used to estimate the hedonic price function.
Main results: The attributes UTZ certification, origin, and coffee intensity received significant positive effects leading to higher premium prices of 28.51%, 25.50% and 26.50%, respectively. In contrast, Fairtrade certifications had a negative impact on the average price of coffee.
Research highlights: The proposed model could be considered as a first approximation of a hedonic pricing model estimation for sustainable coffee in Spain. The results provide useful information for the coffee sector in developing effective marketing strategies that support the sustainability of food
Multivariate spatial sample reduction of soil chemical attributes by means of application zones
No full textAim of study: In precision agriculture, the definition of Application Zones (AZs) in agricultural areas consists in delimiting the area in subareas with similar characteristics, using soil chemical attributes. To such end, the use of clustering methods is common. Therefore, the AZs make up a database that can be used to target future soil sampling, thus seeking a possible sample reduction. The objective of this paper is to assess the acquisition of sample configurations, with reduced sample size, contained in application zones generated by spatial multivariate clustering. The sampling protocol proposed in this work evaluated five clustering methods (C-means, Fanny, K-means, Mcquitty, and Ward) for the creation of AZs, and, through these AZs, to obtain reduced sample configurations with 50% and 75% of the initial sampling points.
Area of study: Commercial agricultural area, Cascavel, Brazil.
Material and methods: Data of the soil chemical attributes from a commercial agricultural area were used, referring to three soybean harvest years (2013-2014; 2014-2015; and 2015-2016). The clustering methods considered a dissimilarity matrix that aggregates the information about the Euclidean distance between the sample elements and the spatial dependence structure of the attributes.
Main results: The results indicated division of the agricultural area into two or three AZs for the aforementioned harvest years, considering the K-means method. Comparing all the reduced sample configurations with the initial one, it was observed that the one proportionally reduced by 25% was the most effective to obtain a reduced sample configuration.
Research highlights: The sampling protocol using AZs showed that it is possible to reduce the sample size
A method to optimize the pesticide dose considering the combined influence of plant, pest, pesticide, and spray equipment on bioefficacy
No full textAim of the study: To develop a method to optimize the pesticide dose considering the combined influence of plant, pest, pesticide, and spray equipment on bioefficacy.
Area of study: Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
Material and methods: A controlled droplet applicator generated droplets from 200 to 50 μm. The target leaf's deposition density of a preset droplet size can be controlled by timing the spray. A sequence of bioassays was performed at various droplet densities at each pesticide (imidachloprid 17.8% SL) dose and droplet size to determine the mortality of cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii) and jassids (Amrasca biguttula) feeding on immature cotton plants. Calculating the number of droplets per target area needed to cause 50% and 90% mortality (LN50 and LN90) yielded a series of model curves. Field tests were done on the computed optimal doses of the pesticide for a spray apparatus (electrostatically charged spray) to assess the spray's bioefficacy against A. gossypii and A. biguttula.
Main results: In comparison to uncharged mist blower spray, which had a bioefficacy of 91% for an LN90 dose of 110 g a.i. L-1, the spray had an 89% bioefficacy on A. gossypii. Using the electrostatic spray, it was 91% effective against A. biguttula and 98% effective against an uncharged mist blower at a dose of 110 g a.i. L-1 of LN90.
Research highlights: This generalized method of modelling could effectively compute the optimal pesticide dose for any plant, pest, pesticide, and spray equipment combination
Effect of male pig immunocastration on physical and chemical characteristics of Teruel dry-cured hams
No full text Aim of study: To evaluate the effect of the type of male castration (surgical vs. immunological) on the characteristics of Teruel dry-cured hams.
Area of study: Teruel and Zaragoza (Spain).
Material and methods: A total of 14 dry-cured hams from Duroc × (Landrace × Large White) male pigs intended for the Spanish Protected Designation of Origin ˈTeruel hamˈ were used. Half of them belonged to surgical castrated males (SCM) and the other half to immunocastrated males (IM). Ham weight losses during processing, physical and chemical characteristics were analyzed.
Main results: There were no differences (p>0.05) due to the type of castration in ham weight losses throughout processing, thickness of subcutaneous fat, marbling, maximum stress and intramuscular fatty acid profile. However, hams from IM presented lower (p<0.05) chroma than those from SCM. The type of castration had limited influence on chemical composition; only potassium nitrate and retinol contents were affected (p<0.05), being lower in IM than in SCM. For volatile compounds, IM showed lower (p<0.05) percentages of total alcohols and sulfur compounds and higher (p=0.012) proportion of total acids than SCM. All the hams had negligible androstenone content but IM presented higher (p<0.05) skatole and indole concentrations than SCM, being these levels low.
Research highlights: The type of castration in male pigs seems to have scarce influence on the quality of Teruel dry-cured hams, and therefore, immunocastration could be considered as a possible alternative to surgical castration
Effects of dietary mannan oligosaccharides and coated calcium butyrate on performance, carcass parameters, blood biochemistry and meat quality of growing Japanese quails
No full textAim of study: Despite previous research into mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) and calcium butyrate coated with palm oil (CCB) in poultry, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the effects of these feed additives, either individually or in combination, on the growth performance, carcass values, blood biochemistry, immune response, and meat quality of growing Japanese quails.
Area of study: Türkiye
Material and methods: A total of 168 mixed-sex one-day-old quails were randomly allocated to one of four treatment groups, with each group containing 7 birds per cage. The control group was fed a basal diet, while the treatment groups received the following additives: 1 g/kg of CCB, 2 g/kg of MOS, and a combination of MOS+CCB added to the basal diet, respectively.
Main results: None of the treatments had a significant impact on performance, relative organ weights, total protein, albumin, globulin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and lipoprotein lipase concentrations in blood serum, or humoral immunity on day 28. However, the inclusion of MOS and CCB in the diet, either individually or in combination, increased carcass yield and reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood serum. Additionally, these additives helped maintain optimal pH levels and lower malondialdehyde concentrations in the breast meat. Moreover, the combination of MOS + CCB significantly improved water holding capacity and antibody titers against the Newcastle Disease vaccine on day 42 in Japanese quails.
Research highlights: The natural feed additives CCB and MOS contribute to enhanced carcass yield, improved meat quality, and strengthened humoral immunity, while simultaneously lowering lipid values in the bloodstream