Fermentation profile and microbial population in soybean silages with inoculant and powdered molasses

Fermentation profile and microbial population were assessed in soybean silages without any additive (control), with inoculant (I), with I + powdered molasses (I+M), and with powdered molasses only (M). Soybean plants were harvested at the R6 stage and ensiled in 2kg-capacity laboratory silos. The additives were added to the natural matter base of silages. The assessed fermentation periods were 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days. A 4×6 factorial arrangement (4 additives × 6 fermentation periods) in a completely randomized design with 3 replicates was used. Lactic, acetic, and butyric acids concentrations were influenced by additives and periods (P< 0.05). It was observed higher lactic acid values to control silages, on the 56 th day. Lower average values of acetic and butyric acids were observed to I+M and M silages. It was observed quadratic effect to pH values with a reduction estimated of 0.5504, 0.5358, 0.6312 and 0.6680 units to pH values to control, I, I+M, and M silages in the first 10 days. A maximum lactic acid bacteria population was observed at the 28 th day of fermentation in silages with inoculant. The inoculant and powdered molasses improve the fermentation profile of soybean silages

COMPORTAMENTO DA INGESTÃO EM BOVINOS (RUMINANTES) EM PASTAGEM DE CAPIM Brachiaria decumbens NA REGIÃO CENTRO-OESTE DO BRASIL

An experiment has been carried out aiming to evaluate the ingestion behavior of young heifers, heifers and cows in pastures of Brachiaria decumbens, in the system of continuous stocking with three categories representing the treatments, each one with ten repetitions. The experimental period  was of 30 days, being 20 for adaptation of the experimental animals and 10 for three evaluations with duration of 24 hours each, in intervals of five days. The results of the Tukey test demonstrated that the cows grazed during more time (12 hours) than the young heifers (0.5 hours) and the heifers (10.25 hours). Statistic differences were not observed among the animals for the rumination time (7.25, 7.39 and 7.40, respectivety). The cows displayed larger bite rate (41.30) than the heifers and the young heifers. This result suggest that there was a compensatory mechanism between the times of grazing and the bite rates, so that the animals with more nutritional requirement regulated the amount of ingested forage, incrementing the grazing time.Foi conduzido um experimento com o objetivo de avaliar o comportamento na ingestão de bezerras, novilhas e vacas leiteiras em pastagens de Brachiaria decumbens, no sistema de lotação contínua com taxa de lotação variável. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, com três categorias animais representando os tratamentos, cada um com dez repetições. O período experimental foi de 30 dias, sendo 20 para adaptação dos animais e 10 para avaliações, que consistiram de três, com duração de 24 horas cada, em intervalos de cinco dias. O teste de Tukey demonstrou que as vacas pastejaram mais tempo (12 horas) que as novilhas (10,50 horas) e as bezerras (10,25 horas). Não foi observada diferença estatística entre os animais para o tempo de ruminação (7,25, 7,39 e 7,40, horas respectivamente). A taxa de bocados diurnos foi maior para as vacas do que para os novilhos e bezerros. Os resultados sugerem que houve um mecanismo de compensação entre os tempos de pastejo e as taxas de bocado, de modo que os animais mais exigentes pudessem regular a quantidade de forragem ingerida aumentando o tempo de pastejo

Longitudinal data assessment of global stability index in kale leaves

ABSTRACT Kale plants are usually sold “in natura” in street markets and malls. Kale leaves can have their appearance compromised by dehydration and discoloration due to increased post-harvest time exposure. We aimed to analyze the Global Stability Index (GSI) in kale accessions by means of repeated measurement analysis and curve grouping as a complementary form of superior sample identification with regard to post-harvest preservation. Thirty kale accessions were evaluated using a randomized block design with four blocks and five plants per plot. Two commercial leaves per plant were collected, and kept on workbenches in the shade at a temperature of 18 ± 1 °C. Subsequently, the degrees of discoloration and dehydration, total chlorophyll content, and accumulated fresh mass loss were evaluated over a 15-day period. From these data, the GSI was calculated for each day of evaluation. In addition, using mixed models, thirteen co-variance structures were tested. For graphical analysis, thirteen linear and non-linear models were assessed followed by curve grouping using multivariate analysis. The GSI was efficient for differentiating accessions, which became an important tool in post-harvest studies. GSI values were not equally correlated, therefore the use of mixed models became an important approach. The unstructured matrix was the best fit to model the dependence of error. The Melow I model was the best fit for studying the GSI. The accessions UFVJM-10, UFLA-1, COM-1, UFVJM-32, COM-3, UFVJM-8, UFVJM-36 and UFVJM-24, belonging to 3 and 5 clusters, are recommended for crop cultivation and as parental material in breeding programs