Suitable Seed Harvesting Time for Six Grass Species

Determination of the best period of seed harvesting was considered. Six grass species were selected. The research was conducted in three stations of Alborz, Sirachal and Homand Absard. According to maturing stages, seed collection for measuring seed water content (moisture content), weight of 1000 seeds and germination percentage has been done. The result showed that there were significant differences between harvesting time on seed germination for all species in all regions. Moisture content, germination rate, weight of 1000 seeds and seed shedding were important characteristics for determination of suitable seed harvesting time

Can Livestock Alone Be the Main Source of Income from Rangelands in Poor Countries?

In many countries due to the high population of land holders, there is insufficient range area for each land holder to cover all life expenses. In such places, the income of only livestock in rangelands is not enough to cover living expenses of landholders. The ideas in this paper suggest that researchers should create and explore economic models that incorporate the multiple use concept in rangelands and show how multiple uses are compatible with livestock grazing and to sustain the livelihood of rangeland families

Potential of Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) to Predict Nutrient Composition of \u3cem\u3eBromus tomentellus\u3c/em\u3e

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to analyse the nitrogen (N), acid detergent fiber (ADF), dry matter digestibility (DMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) content of three phenological stages (vegetative, flowering and seeding) of Bromus tomentellus samples in grazing pastures of Iran. The sample set consisted of 40 samples for calibration and 23 samples for validation was used to predict N, ADF, DMD and ME, separately. The samples were measured by reflectance NIR in a 950-1650 nm range. Calibration models between chemical data and NIR spectra were produced using the method of partial least squares (PLS). The coefficients of determination (R2) and standard error of cross validation (SECV) were 0.94 (SECV: 0.208%), 0.98 (SECV: 1.76%), 0.98 (SECV: 1.97%), and 0.97 (SECV: 0.34) for N, ADF, DMD and ME, respectively. The results obtained from this study indicate that NIRS have a potential to be used to predict the N, ADF, and the estimated DMD and ME content of forage samples

Variation in the Quality of Forage of Six Rangeland Species in Different Phenological Stages

An understanding of forage quality is fundamental to the measurement of grazing capacity. In addition, knowledge of forage quality is necessary for planning grazing and developing range improvement and development programmes, such as planting and seeding of rangelands. Among the different factors that affect forage quality, phenological stage is particularly important (Cook, 1972; Caballero et al.,2001). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of plant species, phenological stages and life form on forage quality indices