Composting Characteristics of Bovine Manure Produced by Conventional Stacked Processing and an Experimental Small-Scale Apparatus

Southern Kyushu is an important center of beef production in Japan and the large amounts of bovine waste that are produced in the region need to be utilized in a way that is not harmful to the environment. One such method is to use the manure to produce organic fertilizer, which can then be used to replace the chemical fertilizer that is used for forage production (Hasyim et al., 2014). The composting of bovine manure involves co-digestion of cow manure with substrates such as sawdust and hay. The composting characteristics of these mixtures are influenced by the relative amounts of manure and the substrate used, and by external and internal composting conditions (Guo et al., 2012). Conventional stacked composting requires large volumes of materials, and repeating the composting procedure to produce compost with uniform characteristics is difficult (Kajiya et al., 2013). However, optimization of bovine manure composting has been established using a small-scale apparatus that can be operated by hand (Kajiya et al., 2014). However, the composting characteristics of the apparatus have not yet been compared with those associated with conventional stacked processing. The present study therefore compared the composting characteristics of these two methods in terms of the temperature profile during the composting process, physicochemical properties of composted manure, and percentage germination of plants; all of these methods have been advocated for use as safety indices for compost intended for application to cultivated crops (Cobo et al., 2002)

Development of mechanical methods for cell-tray propagation and field transplanting of dwarf napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.)

Since dwarf napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) must be propagated vegetatively due to lack of viable seeds, root splitting and stem cuttings are generally used to obtain true-to-type plant populations. These ordinary methods are laborious and costly, and are the greatest barriers for expanding the cultivation area of this crop. The objectives of this research were to develop nursery production of dwarf napiergrass in cell trays and to compare the efficiency of mechanical versus manual methods for cell-tray propagation and field transplanting. After defoliation of herbage either by a sickle (manually) or hand-mowing machine, every potential aerial tiller bud was cut to a single one for transplanting into cell trays as stem cuttings and placed in a glasshouse over winter. The following June, nursery plants were trimmed to a 25–cm length and transplanted in an experimental field (sandy soil) with 20,000 plants ha^(−1) either by shovel (manually) or Welsh onion planter. Labour time was recorded for each process. The manual defoliation of plants required 44% more labour time for preparing the stem cuttings (0.73 person-min. stemcutting^(−1)) compared to using hand-mowing machinery (0.51 person-min. stem-cutting^(−1)). In contrast, labour time for transplanting required an extra 0.30 person-min. m^(−2) (14%) using the machinery compared to manual transplanting, possibly due to the limited plot size for machinery operation. The transplanting method had no significant effect on plant establishment or plant growth, except for herbage yield 110 days after planting. Defoliation of herbage by machinery, production using a cell-tray nursery and mechanical transplanting reduced the labour intensity of dwarf napiergrass propagation

Adaptability and Extension Activity of Dwarf Napiergrass in Southern Kyushu and Elsewhere since Its Introduction to Japan 15 Years Ago

Southern Kyushu is well suited to the cultivation of tropical grasses due to its warm climate, history of herbage production, and extensive areas of abandoned arable land. In 1996, a C4-tropical dwarf variety of a late-heading (DL) napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) was introduced from the USA into southern Kyushu via Thailand. Since 2004, DL napiergrass has been evaluated for its production potential, overwintering ability, and suitability for grazing. In Miyazaki, napiergrass exhibits superior sustainability, persisting for more than 5 years without annual renovation. The species shows excellent overwintering ability in coastal areas and is resilient to pathogens and insects. Evaluation at several sites in southern Kyushu revealed that DL napiergrass required minimum winter temperatures to be above –6.2°C to persist over winter. Cultivation of this grass has been successfully extended to more than 10 sites, including isolated islands around Kyushu and at several of these sites livestock farms are now using DL napiergrass. Temperate Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) can be successfully established in the inter-row to increase biomass in spring and is well utilized by grazing beef cattle. However, the transplantation of DL napiergrass requires the use of nursery plants for vegetative propagation, and this has been efficiently developed using multi-celled tray beds. DL napiergrass cannot survive the winters of central and northern Japan, however as the species produces 5–18 T DM/ha/yr of highly palatable and good quality herbage, there is potential to increase its use as an annual pasture in these areas

Herbage Quality of Dwarf Napier Grass Under a Rotational Cattle Grazing System Two Years After Establishment

Dwarf Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) of a late-heading type (dwarf-late, DL), introduced by the Dairy Promotion Organization, Thailand, has a high over-wintering ability and is suitable for grazing. The objective of this study was to examine the digestibility and crude protein (CP) concentration of DL Napier grass both before and after rotational grazing in relation to the daily liveweight gain of cattle 2 years after establishment in the lowland area of Kyushu, Japan

Grazing Suitability of Various Napier Grass Varieties in Paddocks of Different Ages

Previous studies have demonstrated that late-heading type dwarf (DL) Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) introduced to Japan from Thailand by the Dairy Promotion Organization of Thailand was able to overwinter in the lowland areas of southern Kyushu (Mukhtar et al., 2003). The species has a higher proportion of leaf blade than other normal and dwarf varieties. These studies were conducted to assess the suitability of the various Napier grass varieties for grazing (Mukhtar et al., 2004). The objective of this study was to examine the grazing suitability, herbage quality and wintering ability of three Napier grass varieties for dairy cows on newly-established and four-year-old pastures in 2003 in Kyushu, Japan

Short-term grazing behavior of cattle under indoor housing for a new-bred tetraploid ruzigrass ( Germain et Everard)

Objective The preference evaluation of cattle is an important factor for estimation and improvement of the grazing amounts of newly introduced or bred grasses or cultivars in barn. This study was performed to assess the grazing behavior (the amount of grazing and/or the grazing speed) of cattle as indirect method using newly bred Brachiaria ruziziensis tetraploid strain ‘OKI-1’(BR) hay as treatment group and Cloris gayana ‘Callide’ (CG) hay as control group. It also compared the feasibility of using behavioral differences between two groups as one criteria for evaluating preference by Japanese black cattle in barn. Methods Three experiments were carried out using 12 growing Japanese Black cattle including 6 males and 6 females. In each experiment, the four Japanese Black cattle (2 males and 2 females) were placed in separated stall and allowed to graze BR and CG in manger that was separated into two portions for about 30 min. The position and behavior of the cattle were recorded, and weighed the residual of each gay at 15 and 30 minutes after experiment start. Results The BR was superior to CG in chemical composition such as protein, fibers and non-fibrous carbohydrate. The cattle, over all, tended to prefer BR over CG in the first half 15 minutes in terms of the time spent and amount of grazing. Additionally, growing cattle exhibited neophilia for BR bred newly. Conclusion These findings indicated the current approach could be applied for one of criteria to evaluate the preference of hay by Japanese black cattle under indoor housing environment