Influence of pasture type and supplement on fertility and liveweight of cows, and progeny growth rate in the dry tropics of northern Queensland

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (120) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
MR Clarke ◽  
ID Loxton

The reproductive performance of cows and growth rate of their calves to weaning was examined over a four-year period (1973-1977). Cows grazed either native pasture stocked at 1cowl4 ha, or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate stocked at 1 cow/2 ha. Animals were supplemented on each pasture type with urea-molasses in the dry season, phosphorus all year round plus urea-molasses in the dry season, or were unsupplemented. Mating was for three months from mid-January. Calving began towards the end of the dry season and cows lactated through the following wet season. Cows grazing fertilized legume pasture had significantly higher conception rates and earlier calving dates in one year only. In all years, foetal and calf losses between pregnancy diagnosis and weaning were lower on native pasture than on fertilized legume pasture. Cows grazing fertilized legume pasture were generally in better body condition and heavier throughout and their calves grew faster to weaning than on native pasture. Fertilized legume pasture produced a 2.4 fold increase over that of native pasture in cow and calf liveweight per unit area (382.7 kg/ha vs 159.8 kg/ha) over the four years. Supplementation did not influence liveweight or reproductive performance of cows or calf growth rate except during the final dry season when non-supplemented cows lost significantly more weight than those supplemented with phosphorus and urea.

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (85) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PJ Allan ◽  
PK O'Rourke

A study was made over a four year period ( 1970-1 973) on the reproductive performance of cows grazing either native pasture stocked at 1 breeder 4.9 ha-1 or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate, stocked at 1 breeder 2.4 ha-1. Animals were supplemented on each pasture type with combinations of molasses, urea and phosphorus at various times of the year. Mating from September 1 to January 31 resulted in animals lactating during the dry season. At double the stocking rate, lactating cows on fertilized pastures had similar conception rates to those on native pasture. During a prolonged dry season, lactating cows on fertilized pasture had twice the conception rate and fewer required survival feeding. Urea compared with non-urea based supplements produced significant increases in conception rates of cows grazing native pasture especially during a dry year. Calves were born earlier, had shorter intercalving intervals and fewer cows had to be fed a survival ration when urea was available. On fertilized pasture, urea based supplements caused only a marginal increase in conception rate except in a dry year, when there was a significant increase. Over the four years, there was a diminishing response in the conception rate of lactating cows grazing native pasture and supplemented with phosphorus during the wet season compared with the control. On fertilized pasture, there was a variable but non-significant response. The addition of phosphorus either as a wet or dry season supplement to urea caused variable responses on each pasture type, but none differed significantly from that of urea.


1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (86) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Winks ◽  
FC Lamberth ◽  
PK O'Rourke

The effect of phosphorus supplementation on the performance of steeres grazing unfertilized native pasture and Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) with andwithout superphosphate fertilizer on the subcoastal spear grass region of the dry tropics of north Queensland was studied over a period of 40 months. Liveweight gains in the absence of supplementation on fertilized Townsville stylo pastures were greater than on unfertilized Townsville stylo, where performance was similar to that recorded on untreated native pasture. Phosphorus supplementation increased weight gains during the wet season on both unfertilized Townsville stylo and native pasture but had no significant effect on dry season performance or performance on fertilized Townsville stylo. Fertilized areas became dominated by annual grasses, Digitaria ciliaris and Brachiaria milliiformis, and legume yields were higher on unfertilized than on fertilized areas. Fertilizer improved the quality of available pastures.


1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (99) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
PJ Allan

The milk yields of Brahman cross (Bx) or Shorthorn (Sh) cows and the birth weight and growth rate of their progeny to weaning were recorded over the four years 1970-73. Animals grazed either native pasture stocked at 1 breeder 4.9 ha-1 (NP) or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate and stocked at 1 breeder 2.4 ha-1 (TS). The animals on both pasture types were offered supplements of molasses, urea and phosphorus at various times of the year. Mating from September 1 to January 31 resulted in the cows commencing lactation during the dry season. Bx cows bore heavier calves than the Sh cows and had higher average daily milk yields. Bx calves grew faster from birth to weaning and were heavier at 180 days (P < 0.05 in both cases). Pasture type had a variable effect on milk yield in the two genotypes. Sh cows produced more milk on TS than on NP in all years (P < 0.05 for years 1 and 3). However, milk yields from the Bx were higher on NP than on TS in years 1 and 2 (P < 0.05 for year 1). Pasture type had little effect on birth weight but calves on TS generally grew faster and had higher weaning weights than those on NP. Supplements only increased milk yields in year 1 (P < 0.05 for urea and phosphorus fed during the dry season). Supplements caused no significant increases in birth weight, average daily gain (ADG), or weaning weight. In all years there were significant (P < 0.01) correlations of ADG with milk yield, birth weight and weaning weights. Male calves weighed more at birth and grew faster than female calves (P< 0.05)


1981 ◽  
Vol 21 (112) ◽  
pp. 457 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR McLennan ◽  
PJ Dunster ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
GM Murphy

The effects of feeding dry season supplements of salt and urea (NaU), salt, urea and sulfur (NaUS) and molasses and urea (MU) on the liveweight of steers grazing native pasture in northern Queensland were studied over four years. Liveweight during the feeding period was improved (P < 0.05) by each supplement in three years out of four, with a mean level of response of 49 g/d. The supplements gave similar results in two years while in one year NaU and MU were better than NaUS (P < 0.05) and in another NaUS was better than NaU (P < 0.05). Compensatory growth by unsupplemented animals after the feeding period eroded liveweight responses to supplements in most cases. Blood sulfate level was not affected by treatment, nor was it related to liveweight in either the feeding or post-feeding periods. Mean levels for unsupplemented animals were 15.8 and 21.2 �g/ml for the feeding and post-feeding periods, respectively. Salivary Na:K ratios exceeded 18:1 throughout the year for unsupplemented and NaUS groups, indicating sodium sufficiency.


1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
R Tyler ◽  
HP Stephenson ◽  
GWJ Mason ◽  
...  

Three drafts of Brahman cross calves (phenotypically half to three-quarters Bos indicus) were either early weaned (EW) in April (mean age 5 months) or late weaned (LW) in July (mean age of 8 months). Their postweaning performance on native pastures in the dry tropics of North Queensland was monitored through to 2.5 years of age for females and 3.5 years for males. At late weaning, LW calves of both sexes were significantly (P<0.01) heavier than EW calves. Mean liveweight differences over the 3 drafts were 53.8 kg for males and 54.4 kg for females. From late weaning until final liveweight, EW animals partially compensated in growth and were on average 13.6 kg lighter at 3.5 years for males and 20.3 kg lighter at 2.5 years for females than LW animals. In draft 2, pregnancy rate at 2.5 years favoured LW heifers (P<0.05) by 38% units. Mortalities occurred only in the first dry season postweaning with 0, 5 (11.1%) and 5 (8.9%) deaths from poverty in the EW group in drafts 1 to '3 respectively but none in the LW group. Pooled data across treatment groups showed that older calves at weaning had lower growth rates during the first dry season but still had heavier final liveweights. Age at weaning did not influence subsequent growth rate in the first wet season or males in year 2 or year 3 postweaning.


1984 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 595 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
DJ Hirst ◽  
AW Merrifield ◽  
MA Toleman

The effect of spraying for buffalo fly (Haematobia irritans exigua) on infestations, growth rate and lesion development on Bos indicus x B. taurus steers (18 months old) and bullocks (30 months old) were studied in the dry tropics of North Queensland. There were four consecutive drafts commencing between July and September and terminating the following June-July. Half of the animals were sprayed with 200 g/l fenvalerate to control buffalo flies. Treated animals carried, at most, a few flies. The size of the fly populations on the untreated animals varied with the seasons, with the most flies being recorded during the wet season. Light coloured animals carried fewer flies than those with darker colours and bullocks carried more flies than steers. Except for steers in one dry season, repeatabilities of fly counts were significant (P < 0.01). In steers, treatment had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on growth over the four treatment periods, although there were significant effects of treatment on growth in some intermediate periods. Treatment significantly (P < 0.05) affected bullock growth in two of the four years. Significant (P < 0.05) positive correlations were found between fly counts and growth rate in two years. Few lesions were recorded on treated animals. Lesion prevalence and size on untreated animals were generally not associated with fly counts, coat colour or growth rate.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 788 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. Pettit ◽  
T. D. Jardine ◽  
S. K. Hamilton ◽  
V. Sinnamon ◽  
D. Valdez ◽  
...  

The present study indicates the critical role of hydrologic connectivity in floodplain waterholes in the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia. These waterbodies provide dry-season refugia for plants and animals, are a hotspot of productivity, and are a critical part in the subsistence economy of many remote Aboriginal communities. We examined seasonal changes in water quality and aquatic plant cover of floodplain waterholes, and related changes to variation of waterhole depth and visitation by livestock. The waterholes showed declining water quality through the dry season, which was exacerbated by more frequent cattle usage as conditions became progressively drier, which also increased turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Aquatic macrophyte biomass was highest in the early dry season, and declined as the dry season progressed. Remaining macrophytes were flushed out by the first wet-season flows, although they quickly re-establish later during the wet season. Waterholes of greater depth were more resistant to the effects of cattle disturbance, and seasonal flushing of the waterholes with wet-season flooding homogenised the water quality and increased plant cover of previously disparate waterholes. Therefore, maintaining high levels of connectivity between the river and its floodplain is vital for the persistence of these waterholes.


Hoehnea ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davi Rodrigo Rossatto

Here is a communicating about time differences between branch and diameter growth in a tree community of ten species in Neotropical savanna ("cerrado") of Central Brazil. This work was conducted to study branch expansion and diameter growth in a period of one year between 2006 and 2007. Branch growth had begin in middle dry season and had the peak occurrence during the dry period in September, while diameter growth had begin in late dry season and peaked in the middle of wet season in December. The majority of species followed the same pattern. Branch growth did not have relation with rainfall, while diameter growth had a clear and positive relation with rainfall records. These results suggested that branch growth was not depend on rainfall but only on water status recover, while diameter growth probably depends strongly on water and to carbon assimilation that occurs after branch and leaf expansion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 17517-17520
Author(s):  
Naziya Khurshid ◽  
Hidayatullah Tak ◽  
Ruqeya Nazir ◽  
Kulsum Ahmad Bhat ◽  
Muniza Manzoor

A one-year study conducted to ascertain the prevalence and risk factors associated with helminth infection in Hangul Deer Cervus hanglu hanglu at Dachigam National Park revealed that 40.45% (89 of 220 samples) were infected with four helminth species including Heamonchus contortus, Trichuris ovis, Dictyocaulus viviparus, and Moneizia expansa.  The study signified that the infection was more prevalent during the dry season (summer and autumn) as compared to the wet season (winter and spring).  The overall prevalence of Heamonchus contortus was the highest (23.18%) followed by Trichuris ovis (8.18%), followed by Dictyocaulus viviparus (5.45%), and Moneizia expansa (3.63%).  The present study should be of importance in conserving the erstwhile state animal, listed as Critically Engendered in 2017 by IUCN.


1999 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
R.H. Watson ◽  
R.G. Keogh ◽  
M.F. Mcdonald

Two groups (n=39) of Romney breeding ewes were maintained under the same grazing management on either endophyte-infected (E+) or endophytefree (E-) perennial ryegrass pasture for two years (1997-1998) following a one-year equilibration period. The ewes were naturally mated in March each year and ovulation rate at 1st mating was measured, and conception and the number of lambs born and weaned were recorded. All ewes were weighed monthly and lamb growth rates were determined between birth and weaning. Mean mating date was delayed by 1.8 days (P


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