The effect of concentrate supplementation on the productivity of grazing Jersey cows on a pasture based system

The effect of concentrate feeding on milk production, milk composition, live weight, condition score and intercalving period of 60 Jersey cows grazing high quality pastures over two lactations was determined. Cows were fed at a no (NC), low (LC), medium (MC) or high (HC) level of concentrate. All cows received a mineral supplement of 300 g/day. The LC, MC and HC groups were fed an energy concentrate at 3, 6 and 9 kg/day, respectively from day 1 to day 150 of lactation followed by 1.5, 3 and 4.5 kg of energy concentrate per day from day 151 to day 300 of lactation. The energy concentrate consisted of 10.6% whole cottonseed, 42.1% rolled maize, 42.1% rolled wheat, 4.2% molasses, 0.5% feedlime and 0.5% salt on a dry matter (DM) basis. A protein concentrate consisting of 76.5% cotton oil cake and 23.5% fish meal was fed at 0.5, 1 and 1.5 kg per day to the LC, MC and HC group respectively from days 1 to 105 of lactation. The lactating cows grazed pasture allocated at 20 kg DM/cow/ day consisting of 43% perennial ryegrass/clover, 24% annual ryegrass/oats, 14% lucerne, 15% kikuyu and 4% other pastures during the experimental period. The fat corrected milk (FCM) production per lactation of cows fed NC (0 kg/day), LC (2.4 kg/day), MC (4.8 kg/day) and HC (7.2 kg/day) was 3741, 4645, 4868 and 5282 kg (s.e.m. = 146), respectively. Cows fed the high level of concentrate (HC) produced significantly more FCM and butterfat than cows on the other treatments. The FCM production of cows on the LC and MC treatments did not differ from each other and both produced more FCM than the control treatment. Cows produced 1.25, 0.78 and 0.54 L of FCM for each kg of concentrate fed at the LC, MC, and HC levels of concentrate feeding over two lactations. Concentrate feeding had no significant effect on milk composition, live weight and intercalving period of cows. The condition score of cows improved as the level of concentrate feeding increased. South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 36(2) 2006: 105-11

Milk production potential of two ryegrass cultivars with different total non-structural carbohydrate contents

The aim of the study was to compare a new Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) cultivar (Enhancer), bred to contain a high total non-structural carbohydrate content, with the cultivar, Dargle, in terms of dry matter (DM) production, nutritional value, carrying capacity and milk production. The ryegrass cultivars were sown (25 kg/ha) under supplementary irrigation in a randomized block design (7 blocks with 2 paddocks, 4.5 ha/treatment) on the 2nd May 2001 (year 1) and the 15th March 2002 (year 2) on an Estcourt soil type. Nitrogen was applied at 56 kg N/ha after each grazing. Grazing started on 26 June 2001 and the grazing cycle varied from 24 to 28 days. Pasture yield was estimated with a rising plate pasture meter. Forty Jersey cows from 50 to 150 days in milk were randomly allocated to one of the two treatments. The experimental period started on 22 August 2001 and consisted of an adaptation period of 15 days followed by a measurement period of 75 days. Pasture was allocated at 10 kg DM/cow/day above 30 mm. Cows were weighed and condition scored on two consecutive days at 14:00 at the start and the end of the experimental period. Milk production was recorded daily and milk composition was determined every 14 days. All cows were fed a flat rate of 3.6 kg DM of a dairy concentrate (120 g crude protein (CP)/kg DM, 11.5 MJ ME/kg DM) per day. The concentrate was fed in two equal portions during milking at 06:00 and 15:00. The total production of Enhancer was higher at 8438 and 9084 kg DM/ha in 2001 and 2002, respectively, compared to 7570 and 7694 kg DM/ha of Dargle. The DM and total non-structural carbohydrate content of Enhancer was higher than Dargle in 2001 but not in 2002. In 2002 the CP content of Enhancer was lower than that of Dargle. Enhancer increased 4% fat corrected milk production by 1.3 and 1.4 kg/cow/day in 2001 and 2002, respectively, and DM intake by 1.1 and 0.88 kg/cow/day compared to Dargle. The total milk production per hectare of Enhancer was 1499 kg and 2277 kg higher during 2001 and 2002, respectively, compared to Dargle. Enhancer, a high sugar Italian ryegrass, demonstrated good potential to increase milk production

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behavior with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months

The effect of adding a lactic acid bacteria inoculant to big round-bale oat silage on intake, milk production and milk composition of Jersey cows.

AgriwetenskappeVeekundige WetenskappePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

The effect of adding a lactic acid bacteria inoculant to big round-bale oat silage on intake, milk production and milk composition of Jersey cows.

AgriwetenskappeVeekundige WetenskappePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

The effect of adding a lactic acid bacteria inoculant to maize at ensiling on milk production and milk composition of Jersey cows.

AgriwetenskappeVeekundige WetenskappePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

The effect of the addition of a lactic acid bacterial inoculant to maize at ensiling on silage composition, silage intake, milk production and milk composition

AgriwetenskappeVeekundige WetenskappePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Coastal dune topography as a determinant of abiotic conditions and biological community restoration in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Topography is rarely considered as an independent goal of restoration. However, topography determines microenvironmental conditions and hence living conditions for species. Restoring topography may therefore be an important first step in ecological restoration. We aimed at establishing the relative importance of topography where coastal dunes destroyed by mining are rebuilt as part of a rehabilitation program. We assessed the response of (1) microclimatic and soil conditions, and (2) woody plant and millipede species richness and density, to locationspecific topographic profiles. We enumerated the topographic profile using variables of dune morphology (aspect, elevation, and gradient) as well as relative position on a dune (crest, slope, and valley). Temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity varied with aspect, elevation, gradient, and position. However, regeneration age was a better predictor of soil nutrient availability than these topographic variables. Age also interacted with topographic variables to explain tree canopy density and species richness, as well as millipede species richness. The density of keeled millipedes (forest specialists) was best explained by topographic variables alone. The transient nature of these new-growth coastal dune forests likely masks topography-related effects on communities because age-related succession (increasing structural complexity) drives the establishment and persistence of biological communities, not habitat conditions modulated by topography. However, our study has shown that the microhabitats associated with topographic variability influence specialist species more than generalists.Department of Trade and Industry and Richards Bay Minerals and the National Research Foundationhttp://link.springer.com/journal/11355hb2014ab201

Why is Southern African canine babesiosis so virulent? An evolutionary perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Canine babesiosis is a common, highly virulent disease in Southern Africa with even pups and juveniles being severely affected. This contrasts with bovine babesiosis, for example, where host, parasite and vector co-evolved and young animals develop immunity after infection without showing clinical signs. <it>Babesia rossi</it>, the main causative organism of canine babesiosis in sub-Saharan Africa, was first described from a side-striped jackal (<it>Canis adustus</it>) in Kenya. Although data are meagre, there is evidence that indigenous African canids, such as jackals and wild dogs (<it>Lycaon pictus</it>), can harbour the parasite without showing untoward effects. Dogs are not indigenous to Africa. The vast majority of dogs presented at veterinary facilities in South Africa represent recently introduced European, Asian or American breeds. The contention is that <it>B. rossi </it>is a new challenge to which these dogs have not adapted. With intensive treatment of clinical cases, natural selection is effectively negated and the status quo will probably be maintained indefinitely. It is postulated that <it>Babesia vogeli</it>, which frequently results in unapparent infections or mild manifestations in dogs, represents or is closely related to the ancestral form of the canine parasite, possibly originating from wolves (<it>Canis lupus</it>).</p