Production and Resource Use of Winter Feed Crops in New Zealand

In the South Island of New Zealand (NZ), dairy cow numbers have increased from 1.4 to 2.1 million since 2005 (Statistics, New Zealand, 2014). This has led to a strong demand for winter feed crops in place of pasture, and also for supplementing pasture during lactation. Yields of 19–35 t DM/ha are reported for fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in NZ (Chakwizira et al., 2014) compared with 14–25 t DM/ha for forage kale (Brassica oleracea L.) (Chakwizira et al., 2009) and 18–25 t DM/ha for maize (Zea mays L.). Fodder beet has only recently been widely adopted for its ease of feeding and provision a high energy feed (Matthew et al., 2011). Choice of crop is based on yield potential, feed value and suitability for winter feed management. Nitrogen fertiliser and irrigation practices affect the productivity, profitability, and dynamics of resource use during crop growth; and losses of N during winter in situ feeding. Optimized systems with high water and N use efficiency are sought to reduce potential adverse environmental effects. The objectives were to compare efficiency of water and N use of fodder beet, kale and maize and assess their value to growers

Effect of rate and method of phosphorus application on the growth and development of 'Pasja' crops

‘Pasja’ (Brassica campestris x napus) was grown at Lincoln in 2008, with banded or broadcast phosphorus (P) fertiliser applied at 0, 20, 40 or 60 kg/ha at establishment on a Templeton silt loam soil of moderate fertility (Olsen P of 9-17 mg/ kg range for individual plots). Total dry matter (DM) production, leaf to stem ratios and leaf area development were measured over time and related to the biophysical environment. Final DM yield increased with P rate from 3,730 kg DM/ha for the control to ~5,000 kg DM/ha at 60 kg P/ha. The leaf to stem ratio declined from between 22 and 31 at 17 days after emergence to 10.3 at the final harvest. Leaf area index (LAI) for the control crops was lower than for those that received P fertiliser, but there were no differences among the P fertilised crops. Total accumulated intercepted solar radiation (RIcum) was 8% greater when P was applied compared with the control. This difference was the main contributor to differences in total dry matter yield and was independent of the application method. Keywords: BrassicaPastoral 21’ program and New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Limited

Irrigation Management Strategies for Fodder Beet (\u3ci\u3eBeta vulgaris\u3c/i\u3e L.) Crops

The production of fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in New Zealand is concentrated in the South Island, and often requires irrigation to achieve high yields. Development of efficient irrigation management strategies requires information on the effect of timing and rate of irrigation on crop growth. A field study was conducted on a moderately deep soil at Chertsey, Canterbury, New Zealand, to evaluate crop growth responses to five irrigation managements: Rain-fed (control), weekly replacement of full evapotranspiration (FullET-weekly), and 50% of evapotranspiration replaced weekly (HalfET-weekly), fortnightly (HalfET-2weekly) or 3-weekly (HalfET-3weekly). Irrigation to replace ET was adjusted to account for rainfall received between irrigation events. The crop was sown on 11 October 2015. Dry matter (DM) and green leaf area index (LAI) were quantified at 4-weekly intervals from 21 December 2015 until 16 May 2016. Water use efficiency (WUE) was calculated from weekly time domain reflectometry and neutron probe measurements of volumetric soil water content (to 0.8 m depth) and crop biomass. Final yield was lowest for Rain-fed (17.1 t DM/ha) and highest for FullET-weekly (28.9 t DM/ha) treatments. The remaining treatments did not differ in yield, producing 22.4±1.6 t DM/ha, but differed significantly from the Rain-fed and FullET-weekly treatments. Yield differences were associated with the rate of leaf area expansion and duration of critical LAI values (≥ 3.0 m2/m2), which were greater for FullET-weekly than for other treatments. Rain-fed and FullET-weekly treatments resulted in the highest and lowest WUE (81 versus 47 kg DM/ha/mm). The remaining treatments did not differ in WUE, averaging 67±3.6 kg DM/ha/mm. Our results show yield benefits from irrigation, with the best outcome from FullET-weekly given the soil type and weather conditions. However, under water restriction conditions, the HalfET-3weekly management is recommended over more frequent partial ET replacements because it would reduce irrigation costs without penalising yield

Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on child stunting and anaemia in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Child stunting reduces survival and impairs neurodevelopment. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on stunting and anaemia in in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We did a cluster-randomised, community-based, 2 × 2 factorial trial in two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Clusters were defined as the catchment area of between one and four village health workers employed by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care. Women were eligible for inclusion if they permanently lived in clusters and were confirmed pregnant. Clusters were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to standard of care (52 clusters), IYCF (20 g of a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement per day from age 6 to 18 months plus complementary feeding counselling; 53 clusters), WASH (construction of a ventilated improved pit latrine, provision of two handwashing stations, liquid soap, chlorine, and play space plus hygiene counselling; 53 clusters), or IYCF plus WASH (53 clusters). A constrained randomisation technique was used to achieve balance across the groups for 14 variables related to geography, demography, water access, and community-level sanitation coverage. Masking of participants and fieldworkers was not possible. The primary outcomes were infant length-for-age Z score and haemoglobin concentrations at 18 months of age among children born to mothers who were HIV negative during pregnancy. These outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. We estimated the effects of the interventions by comparing the two IYCF groups with the two non-IYCF groups and the two WASH groups with the two non-WASH groups, except for outcomes that had an important statistical interaction between the interventions. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01824940. FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2012, and March 27, 2015, 5280 pregnant women were enrolled from 211 clusters. 3686 children born to HIV-negative mothers were assessed at age 18 months (884 in the standard of care group from 52 clusters, 893 in the IYCF group from 53 clusters, 918 in the WASH group from 53 clusters, and 991 in the IYCF plus WASH group from 51 clusters). In the IYCF intervention groups, the mean length-for-age Z score was 0·16 (95% CI 0·08-0·23) higher and the mean haemoglobin concentration was 2·03 g/L (1·28-2·79) higher than those in the non-IYCF intervention groups. The IYCF intervention reduced the number of stunted children from 620 (35%) of 1792 to 514 (27%) of 1879, and the number of children with anaemia from 245 (13·9%) of 1759 to 193 (10·5%) of 1845. The WASH intervention had no effect on either primary outcome. Neither intervention reduced the prevalence of diarrhoea at 12 or 18 months. No trial-related serious adverse events, and only three trial-related adverse events, were reported. INTERPRETATION: Household-level elementary WASH interventions implemented in rural areas in low-income countries are unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia and might not reduce diarrhoea. Implementation of these WASH interventions in combination with IYCF interventions is unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia more than implementation of IYCF alone. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, Wellcome Trust, Swiss Development Cooperation, UNICEF, and US National Institutes of Health.The SHINE trial is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1021542 and OPP113707); UK Department for International Development; Wellcome Trust, UK (093768/Z/10/Z, 108065/Z/15/Z and 203905/Z/16/Z); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; US National Institutes of Health (2R01HD060338-06); and UNICEF (PCA-2017-0002)

Quantifying morpho-physiological traits that describe canopy and biomass formation and partitioning processes for spring wheat genotypes grown under contrasting nitrogen supply

Radiation interception, radiation use efficiency (RUE) and harvest index (HI) are the key determinants of grain yield in cereal species. However, little is known about how these traits affect grain yield among spring wheat genotypes grown under low and optimum nitrogen (N) fertiliser supply. We used two experiments, in a field (Experiment 1; 2017–2018) and glasshouse (Experiment 2; 2018–2019) to investigate the effects of these traits on grain yield. Grain yield increased by 35% with increasing N fertiliser supply to 8.80 t/ha in Experiment 1 and 151% to 8.33 t/ha in Experiment 2. Grain yield was lowest for ‘Reliance’ and highest for ‘Discovery’ in both experiments. Differences in grain yield were not associated with HI. As the RUE did not differ among genotypes, the yield differences were attributed to the different amounts of radiation intercepted; a result of the faster leaf area expansion rate (LAER) and subsequent higher maximum green leaf area index (GLAI), and a longer leaf area duration (LAD). The differences in LAER and maximum GLAI among the genotypes were associated with a differences in specific leaf area (cm²/g). Our results suggest that improved grain yields in spring wheat can be achieved by focusing breeding efforts on canopy characteristics to increase radiation interception