scholarly journals Can Festulolium, Dactylis glomerata and Arrhenatherum elatius be used for extension of the autumn grazing season in Central Europe?

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 488-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Skládanka ◽  
V. Adam ◽  
P. Ryant ◽  
P. Doležal ◽  
Z. Havlíček

The paper compares the quality of Festulolium, Dactylis glomerata and Arrhenatherum elatius at the end of the growing season over three years with the contrasting weather in the Czech Republic. The effect of pre-utilisation dates in June or July on the quality of grass forage in October, November and December (harvest dates) was investigated. In the first two years, Arrhenatherum elatius exhibited higher yields (P < 0.05) than Festulolium and Dactylis glomerata. In all treatments, differences between the species and between the years were inconsistent for organic matter digestibility (OMD) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) but Festulolium showed the lowest crude protein (CP) in all years and crude fibre (CF) in the first 2 years. The longer re-growth time due to earlier final cut in summer increased the yield and decreased the nutritive value in winter. Yields of DM, OMD and CP content generally declined and the CF content increased with the delay of winter harvest. Significant species harvest date interactions in some years were due to the steep increase of CF and NDF in Festulolium. Based on DM yields and nutritive value, all species have some merits as forage for use in possibly extended grazing season. Festulolium and Dactylis glomerata could be used to extend the grazing period in continental conditions. Arrhenatherum elatius had sufficient quality at both dry and warm end of the growing season due to the fact that Arrhenatherum elatius was a representative of drought-resistant species; however, intense grazing could suppress it.

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pokluda

The evaluation of nutritional quality of Chinese cabbage and the effects of cultivar, weed incidence, plant density and growing season were observed in integrated cultivation system. Mean contents of analysed compounds were as follows: 6% of dry matter, 10% of crude fibre, (in mg/kg of f.m.): 2,199 mg K, 289 mg Ca, 146 mg Mg, 111 mg Na, and 316 mg of vitamin C. Mean content of nitrates reached the value of 647 mg/kg. A significant effect of cultivar on the content of all observed substances in cabbage heads excluding magnesium was thus confirmed; however, a decrease of nitrates was found in the treatment with higher plant density. Weed cultivation caused slightly (insignificantly) higher nitrates content in cabbage heads by 100 mg/kg. Growing season showed a significant effect on content of some evaluated compounds. Integrated cultivation of Chinese cabbage could be an adequate approach to ensure nutritionally valuable products with low nitrates content.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 320-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Skládanka ◽  
V. Dohnal ◽  
A. Ježková

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the contents of CF, NDF, ADF and ergosterol in the forage of <I>Fistulolium, Dactylis glomerata</I> and <I>Arrhenatherum elatius</I> from stands harvested at the end of the growing season. The contents of CF, NDF and ADF were analysed using the ANKOM Fibre Analyzer instrument. The ergosterol content was analysed by the HPLC method. The lowest CF content was in the <I>Festulolium</I> forage matter (26.8%). Conversely, the highest content was in the <I>Arrhenatherum elatius</I> forage (30.2%). The CF content gradually increased during autumn from 28.0% to 29.4%. Likewise, the NDF and ADF contents were lowest in <I>Festulolium</I> (58.3% and 32.3%, respectively). The highest NDF content was in <I>Arrhenatherum elatius</I> (60.5%). The ADF contents in <I>Arrhenatherum elatius</I> and <I>Dactylis glomerata</I> were comparable (35.9% and 35.1%, respectively). The NDF content increased during autumn from 56.4% to 62.0% and ADF content from 32.8% to 36.4%. The ergosterol content suggests a lower infestation of the <I>Festulolium</I> forage by fungi. While this content in the <I>Festulolium</I> forage was 94.9 mg/kg of dry matter (DM), in the <I>Dactylis glomerata</I> forage it was 136.7 mg/kg DM and in the <I>Arrhenatherum elatiu</I>s forage 139.9 mg/kg DM. Forage samples taken in December contained ergosterol on a level of 248.6 mg/kg DM. The species under study and the time of use in autumn exhibited a statistically highly significant effect (<I>P</I> < 0.01) on the contents of CF, NDF, ADF and ergosterol in the forage matter.


2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. J. Ru ◽  
J. A. Fortune

With the decline in pasture quality in southern Australia, the development of management strategies to improve nutrient supply for grazing animals is essential and requires a clear understanding of the interaction between animals and plants. The impact of grazing intensity on the morphology of subterranean clover was previously examined. This paper reports the effect of grazing intensity on the nutritive value of subterranean clover, and the variation in quality of cultivars during the growing season. Grazing intensity influenced nutritive value and interacted with cultivar maturity. Heavy grazing depressed dry matter digestibility (DMD) by 5 percentage units in October for early maturity cultivars but increased DMD by 3 percentage units in September for mid maturity cultivars. The influence of grazing intensity on nitrogen content was small. Heavy grazing did not affect acid detergent fibre for the early maturity group, but depressed it for the mid maturity group throughout the season. Acid detergent lignin remained comparable for all cultivars during the season. Mineral content of subterranean clover showed variable response to grazing treatments. Nutritive value varied among cultivars within each maturity group. DMD ranged over 53–64%, 44–62%, and 45–53% for early, mid, and late maturity groups, respectively, at the end of the growing season. The cultivar rank in all nutritional parameters changed with the progress of the season. The large ranges in the decline rate of DMD within each maturity group during the last 8 weeks of growth gave an indication of the potential quality of the cultivars during late spring and early summer. Despite the variation in mineral content there were no cultivars in which the concentration of minerals was below the minimum requirements of sheep. These results indicate that there is a potential for the selection of high quality cultivars within a breeding program, and that indicative targets of grazing intensity need to be further developed with a focus on pasture quality.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 468-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Drobná ◽  
J. Jančovič

A field trial was conducted to determine the nutritive value of eight Slovak and Czech red clover varieties and to quantify the effects of variety, cut and year on red clover forage quality. The differences between forage quality of the evaluated red clover varieties were significant for protein supplied when energy is limited in the rumen (PDIE), intestinal digestibility of rumen non-degraded protein (dsi), net energy values and ash content (P &lt; 0.01). The achieved results show that the surpassing forage quality was given by diploid Viglana variety with high protein and energy values. The forage of tetraploid varieties Javorina and Dolina was outstanding in protein content, but had the lowest energy values. The nutritive value was significantly affected by cut. The first cut provided forage with a significantly lower (P &lt; 0.01) crude protein (CP) content, CP digestibility, degradability of CP (degNL), protein supplied when nitrogen is limited in rumen (PDIN), PDIE and with a significantly higher crude fibre content and energy values (P &lt; 0.01). The differences between varieties were more pronounced in the second and in the third cut. Significantly higher (P &lt; 0.01) PDIE, PDIN, degNL, net energy values and ash contents were found in the first production year.


1980 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-123
Author(s):  
S. S. Zombade ◽  
G. N. Lodhi ◽  
J. S. Ichhponani

SummaryA study was made to evaluate the protein quality of groundnut cake (GN), mustard cake (MS) and cottonseed cake (CS) and to find a suitable laboratory test for predicting the protein quality of these cakes for chicks. Different oilseed cakes varied considerably in their crude protein, true protein and crude fibre content. The nitrogen solubility was higher in GN (87·7%) followed by MS (78·7%) and CS (60·9%). A similar trend was evident with regard to in vitro protein digestibility. The GN protein was, however, lower in available lysine (2·54%) than MS (3·97%) or CS (3·19%). The albumin, globulin, prolamin and glutelin fractions accounted for 74·1, 57·0 and 48·0% in GN, MS and CS, respectively. The nitrogen solubility, globulin content and modified relative nutritive value (RNV) correlated (P < 0·05) with gross protein value (GPV). The accuracy and precision of various regression equations for predicting the quality of protein in GN, MS and CS are discussed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248804
Author(s):  
Klára Pavlů ◽  
Teowdroes Kassahun ◽  
Vilém V. Pavlů ◽  
Lenka Pavlů ◽  
Petr Blažek ◽  
...  

Semi-natural grasslands occupy large parts of the European landscape but little information exists about seasonal variations in their nutritive value during the growing season. This paper presents results of novel data showing the effect of 13 years of previous contrasting management intensities on herbage nutritional value in relation to different dates of first defoliation (by grazing or haymaking). The treatments were: extensive management and intensive management from previous years (1998–2011). Both treatments were cut in June followed by intensive/extensive grazing for the rest of the grazing season (July–October). To evaluate forage quality in the first defoliation date, biomass sampling was performed in the year 2012 for 23 weeks from May to mid-October, and in 2013 for seven weeks from May to mid-June. Sampling was performed from plots that were not under management during the sampling year. Previous extensive management was associated with significantly reduced forage quality for in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and reduced divalent cations (Ca, Mg) and Na during the first seven weeks of the grazing season and the forage was suitable only for beef cattle. Due to low forage IVOMD, the forage is suitable only for cattle maintenance or for low quality hay when the start of grazing was postponed from seven weeks of vegetative growth to 13 weeks, regardless of the previous intensity. Herbage harvested after 13 weeks of the grazing season was of very low quality and was unsuitable as a forage for cattle when it was the only source of feed. Agri-environmental payments are necessary to help agricultural utilisation to maintain semi-natural grasslands by compensating for deterioration of forage quality, not only for the postponement of the first defoliation (either as cutting or grazing) after mid-June, but also when extensive management is required.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (105) ◽  
pp. 18839-18854
Author(s):  
EC Omah ◽  
◽  
EI Nwaudah ◽  
IS Asogwa ◽  
CR Eze

Ogi is a fermented cereal porridge usually made from single cereals such as maize (Zea mays). In traditional production, it is sometimes combined with other cereals such as sorghum or millet. It is usually in semi-solid form after production and has low shelf stability. This study was carried out to produce and evaluate the quality of ogi powder from mixtures of selected cereals (maize and sorghum), with soybean inclusion as advancement for improving the nutritive value of the product. Ogi flour was obtained from grains of maize and sorghum by weighing, sorting, soaking (for 72 hours), wet milling, sieving, dewatering, oven-drying, pulverizing and sieving through muslin cloth with maximum pore size of 20 mm. Optimal blend (70:30) for maize - sorghum ogi cumulating to 100% maize - sorghum mixture was obtained from a preliminary study; and fortified with soybean in the ratios of 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, and 100:0. The samples were analyzed for functional, proximate and micronutrient properties using standard methods. Results of water absorption and swelling capacity showed significant (p<0.05) differences among the samples. Proximate composition results showed significant (p<0.05) differences in all samples and ranged as follows: moisture (5.39 - 7.72%), protein (6.22 - 21. 46%), ash (2.66 - 3.64%), crude fibre (2.22 - 2.65%), crude fat (4.22 - 10.22%) and carbohydrate (51.31 - 79.14%). The micronutrient levels were improved and ranged from 166 - 360 mg/100g calcium, 1.15 - 3.22 mg/100g iron, 24.3 - 47.6 IU ß-carotene and 0.59 - 0.89 mg/100g thiamine. Soybean addition generally improved the quality of the samples. Protein increase was observed from 20% inclusion of soybean. The maximum inclusion level of 50% increased the protein content of the sample to 21.5%. Despite adding value and variety to ogi meal due to its powdered form, fortifying maize-sorghum ogi with soybean would reduce the problem of malnutrition especially among children who are usually fed ogi as infant formulae in developing countries.


2009 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Skládanka ◽  
Vlastimil Dohnal ◽  
Petr Doležal ◽  
Alena Ježková ◽  
Ladislav Zeman

The objective of the study was to assess the safety of forage prepared from selected grass species by means of the analysis of ergosterol and zearalenone. Graminaceous plants studied at the end of their growing season were Festulolium, Dactylis glomerata and Arrhenatherum elatius. Other indicators assessed were the content of ergosterol and zearalenone during the autumn and the intensity of grassland use in the summer season as related to the studied contents of metabolites. Grasslands were harvested either in October, November or December. The secondary metabolites were analyzed by means of high performance liquid chromatography. At the end of the growing season, the ergosterol content was the lowest in the Festulolium forage (110.04 mg kg-1), the highest contents were observed in the Dactylis glomerata and Arrhenatherum elatius forages (145.73 mg kg-1 and 139.55 mg kg-1, respectively). The safety of Festulolium was also corroborated by the low zearalenone content (0.357 mg kg-1). On the other hand, the high ergosterol content in Arrhenatherum elatius was combined with a high content of zearalenone (1.554 mg kg-1). Although Dactylis glomerata exhibited an ergosterol content comparable with that of Arrhenatherum elatius forage, its zearalenone content was comparable to the Festulolium forage. Among the three species under study we found a significant difference (P < 0.01) in the ergosterol and zearalenone contents. Changes in the ergosterol and zearalenone contents were also apparent from October to December. The highest (P < 0.01) content of ergosterol was found in December (254.26 mg kg-1). The higher (P < 0.01) zearalenone content in this month (1.588 mg kg-1) was caused by the Arrhenatherum elatius forage. Moreover, the contents of ergosterol and zearalenone were affected (P < 0.01) also by the number of cuts in summer. The higher ergosterol content indicated a higher forage infestation by fungi and the inherent risk of the occurrence of mycotoxins. However, the high ergosterol content not always correlated with the high content of zearalenone. When cattle is grazing in winter, a higher occurrence of mycotoxins in the feed may be expected and the related damage to animal metabolism may increase the number of diseased animals with consequent impact on animal production, performance and health and animal husbandry economics.


Author(s):  
J. Küsters ◽  
E. M. Pötsch ◽  
R. Resch ◽  
M. Gierus

Abstract High yielding ruminant livestock require high nutritive value in forage for maintenance, growth and production. Climate change has been documented as impacting on the nutritive value of forage plants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of increased temperature in combination with CO2-enhancement on the nutritive value of orchard grass (cocksfoot; Dactylis glomerata L.), as a C3 model plant, widespread in mountainous permanent grassland plant communities. Functional traits and forage quality of orchard grass were investigated both under ambient (C0T0) and under simulated, future climate conditions (C2T2) with increased temperature (+3°C) and enhanced CO2 concentration (+300 ppm) under field conditions. Plant samples were taken from each of the three growths over a period of three consecutive years and numerous functional properties and forage quality parameters were determined. Special attention was paid to the determination of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), crude protein (CP), non-protein N (NPN) and metabolizable energy (ME) as possible indicators for different climatic conditions. It is hypothesized that (i) functional traits and (ii) forage quality of orchard grass are altered by increased temperature and higher CO2 concentration. The results showed a negative impact of C2T2 compared to C0T0 on tiller height (54.4 v. 70.6 cm) and weight (2.42 v. 3.22 g) as average over cuts and years. The NPN content was lower in C2T2 (312 g/kg CP) compared to C0T0 (339 g/kg CP). In contrast, the WSC content was higher in C2T2 (90.3 g/kg DM) compared to C0T0 (82.5 g/kg DM). Both ME content and digestibility were increased in C2T2 (9.18 ME/kg DM and 68.2%) compared to C0T0 (8.86 ME/kg DM and 65.4%). Concluding, under increased temperature and enhanced CO2, both functional traits and certain nutrients and their fractions appear to change in orchard grass.


Author(s):  
A.V. Konstantinovich ◽  
◽  
A.S. Kuracheva ◽  
E.D. Binkevich

In conditions of climate change, when temperature and precipitation fluctuations occur more and more frequently during the growing season, it is necessary to obtain high quality seedlings with "immunity" to various stress factors, including high weediness, the damage from which is associated with a decrease in yield (by 25 -35%) and with a deterioration in the quality of agricultural products. Due to the imbalance in production technology, seedlings are often weakened, overgrown, with a low yield per unit area and survival rate in the field. One of the solutions to this problem is the use of PP for pre-sowing seed treatment to increase the competitiveness of seedlings in the field.


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