Blood Meal as a Source of Histidine for Cattle Fed Grass Silage and Barley

Previous research has shown that cattle fed grass silage are responsive to protected amino acids (Veira et al., 1991). Methionine and lysine were suggested as the most limiting amino acids for grass silage diets. Recently, Korhonen et al. (2000) have shown that histidine is the first limiting amino acids for dairy cows fed grass silage and barley-based concentrates. However, histidine is not available in a rumen protected form and needs to be provided through dietary ingredients. Blood meal is rich in histidine. This trial was designed to determine the effect of increasing histidine supply through blood meal on N metabolism of cattle fed a grass silage and barley-based diet

Dry Matter Production, Carbohydrate Reserve Content and Nitrogen Utilization in Some Tropical Grasses as Influenced by Nitrogen Fertilization and Age of Plants

An experiment was conducted at Kyushu University Experimental Field Japan, to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilization and cutting age on dry mater yield, reserve carbohydrate content and nitrogen utilization in alang-alang, bahia grass and Guinea grass. The grasses species were fertilized with 0. 7 and 1.5 g N/pot and cut at 50 and 70 days after nitrogen fertilization. Results of the experiment showed that as nitrogen rates increased, dry matter yield, foliage (stubble + underground parts) ratio, nitrogen concentration and nitrogen uptake of the three species increased. Alang-alang allocated a greater proportion of dry matter to stubble and underground plant parts than to foliage compared to those of bahia grass and Guinea grass. Nitrogen fertilization had no consistent effect on reserve carbohydrate content, apparent nitrogen recovery and nitrogen use efficiency. Cutting at 70 days increased dry matter yield and nitrogen uptake but reduced nitrogen concentration of the three grass species. As plant grew older, foliage (stubble + underground parts) ratio decreased in alang-alang but in bahia grass and Guinea grass it increased. Alang-alang was less responsive to applied nitrogen in term of nitrogen uptake compared with those of bahia grass and Guinea grass, however as the plants grew older, Guinea grass showed the highest nitrogen use efficiency compared with those of alang-alang and bahia grass

Selective deactivation of gibberellins below the shoot apex is critical to flowering but not to stem elongation of Lolium

Gibberellins (GAs) cause dramatic increases in plant height and a genetic block in the synthesis of GA1 explains the dwarfing of Mendel's pea. For flowering, it is GA5 which is important in the long-day (LD) responsive grass, Lolium. As we show here, GA

Sylvopastoral system as a replacement of nitrogen fertilization of Brachiaria brizantha on Brazilian Northeast coastal tablelands.

In coastal tablelands (CT) of the Brazilian Northeast fertilization of pastures is a major factor for expression of their productive potential. Nitrogen is the highest responsive nutrient of such pastures. However, the use of fertilizer in the Northeast is still weak. An economical way to provide nitrogen to pasture and improving animal diet quality is the consortium of grass with tree forage legumes

5-grass pollen tablets achieve disease control in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis unresponsive to drugs : a real-life study

BACKGROUND: An important subpopulation in allergic rhinitis is represented by patients with severe form of disease that is not responsive to drug treatment. It has been reported that grass pollen subcutaneous immunotherapy is effective in drug-resistant patients. In a real-life study, we evaluated the efficacy of 5-grass pollen tablets in patients with grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis not responsive to drug therapy. METHODS: We carried out this multicenter observational study in adults and adolescents with grass-induced allergic rhinitis not responsive to drug therapy who were treated for a year with 5-grass pollen tablets. Clinical data collected before and after sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) included Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) classification of allergic rhinitis, response to therapy, and patient satisfaction. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients entered the study. By ARIA classification, three patients had moderate to severe intermittent allergic rhinitis, ten had mild persistent allergic rhinitis, and 34 had moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis. There were no cases of mild intermittent allergic rhinitis before SLIT. After SLIT, 33 patients had mild intermittent allergic rhinitis, none had moderate to severe intermittent allergic rhinitis, seven had mild persistent allergic rhinitis, and seven had moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis. The mean medication score decreased from 4.2\ub11.3 before to 2.4\ub12.0 after SLIT (P<0.01), representing a reduction of 42%. The response to treatment before SLIT was judged as poor by 70% of patients and very poor by 30%. Patient satisfaction was significantly increased after SLIT (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: In real life, most patients with grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis not responsive to drug treatment can achieve control of the condition with one season of treatment using 5-grass pollen tablets. KEYWORDS: allergen immunotherapy, drug resistance, effectiveness, grass pollen, patient satisfaction, rhiniti

Dry Matter Yield and Competitiveness of Alang-alang (Imperata Cylindrica) and Guinea Grass (Panicum Maximum) in Intercropping

The objectives of this experiment were to determine dry matter yield and competitiveness of alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica) and Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) in intercropping. The experiment was arranged in factorial combinations of four planting proportions, two levels of nitrogen fertilization and three harvesting intervals with three replications. Planting proportions were 0, 33.3, 66.7, and 100% of alang-alang (planting densities of 0, 1, 2 and 3 plants/pot) combined with 100, 66.7, 33.3, and 0% of Guinea grass (planting densities of 3, 2, 1 and 0 plants/pot). The plants fertilized with nitrogen fertilizer at the doses of 0 and 250 kg/ha and harvested at intervals of 30, 45 and 90 days. Results of experiment showed that as planting proportion of alang-alang increased in the mixtures, total dry matter yield of mixed plants decreased. N fertilization increased dry matter yield in both species, but Guinea grass was more responsive than alang-alang. Regardless of planting proportion and nitrogen fertilization, increasing harvest interval decreased dry matter yield of Guinea grass – alang-alang mixture. Intercropping system gave substantially higher yield advantage over sole cropping in terms of land equivalent ratio with the maximum value achieved when Guinea grass – alang-alang mixture planted at the ratio of 2 : 1, fertilized with N and harvest monthly. In intercropping system, Guinea grass appeared to be the dominant crop as indicated by its higher values of relative crowding coefficient and positive sign of aggressivity index. It reflects that Guinea grass grown in association with alang-alang utilized the resources more aggressively than when alang-alang grown alone

Prairie Crop Diversification

The Canadian prairies traditionally have been dominated by spring wheat production. Crop diversification is now being advocated to enhance farm-level risk management, ecological benefits, nutrient cycling, and pest and disease control, and to reduce the farm economy’s reliance on income from a single crop. There has always been interest in diversifying away from wheat, but until recently, economically feasible alternatives have been limited, and government policies may have constrained the shift to other crops. Knowing the impact of prices and policies on crop diversification is essential to understanding producer response and to determining strategies to enhance cropping diversity.Marketing,