Calibration of DRAINMOD for prediction of water table depths and drain discharges under waterlogged Vertisols of Maharashtra, India

An estimation of optimal design parameters of subsurface drainage system through monitoring of water table depths and drain discharges are expensive in terms of time and money. The simulation modeling is an effective tool for estimation of drainage design parameters at less cost and short time. In view to this, calibration of DRAINMOD model for prediction of water table depths and drain discharges were conducted by installing subsurface drainage system with 40 m drain spacing and 1.0 m drain depth at Agricultural Research Station, Kasbe Digraj, Dist. Sangli (Maharashtra) during 2012-13 to 2013-14. The field data on water table depth and drain discharge were used for calibration of DRAINMOD model. The input data files on climatic, soil, crop and drainage design system parameters were attached to DRAINMOD model and calibrated successfully. It is found that both observed and simulated water table depths and drain discharges showed a fluctuating trend and predicted both water table depths and drain discharges closely with the observed values during frequent rainy days and following the rainy days. The DRAINMOD model reliably predicted water table depths with a goodness of fit (R2 = 0.97), MAE (12.23 cm), RMSE (15.49 cm) and CRM (0.05); drain discharges with R2 of  0.93, MAE of 0.095 mm day-1, RMSE of 0.1876 mm day-1and CRM of 0.04. Thus, the calibrated DRAINMOD model can be used to simulate the water table depths and drain discharges in semi-arid climatic conditions of Maharashtra and in turn to estimate and evaluate drain spacing and depth

Higher slaughter weight affects broiler meat quality and bird welfare

An experiment was conducted to determine the influence of increasing broiler’s slaughter weight on, carcass characteristics, meat quality, sensory evaluation, immunity, and welfare. Commercial strain “Vencobb-430” chicks (n=280) were randomly distributed among eight groups consisting of 35 chicks in each. The experimental birds were fed on commercial maize soya-based basal diet. The broiler chicks were reared for up to 48 days and slaughtered at a different live body weight of 1.0-1.2, 1.5-1.7, 2.1-2.2, 2.5-2.7, 2.8-3.0 and 3.3-3.5 (i.e 24, 28, 34, 39, 42 and 48- day slaughter day). The results revealed that dressing and breast % were significantly (P2.1 kg, an increasing trend of gait score and breast cleanliness was observed at each stage of slaughter weight. Based on the results, the broiler birds reared up to 2.1 to 2.2 kg live body weight resulted in better welfare, immune status, and meat quality parameters