Methods for Estimating Seed Production of Two Summer-Active Grass Weeds, \u3cem\u3eSetaria pumila\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eDigitaria sanguinalis\u3c/em\u3e, in New Zealand Dairy Pastures

Undesirable C4 annual grasses such as summer grass (Digitaria sanguinalis, (L.) Scop., SG) and yellow bristle grass (Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. et Schult., YBG) are prevalent in dairying regions in the North Island of New Zealand. Field surveys of 39 dairy pastures in the central North Island demonstrated that their percentage ground cover has tripled over the last four years (Tozer et al. 2012). The prolific seed production of these species is thought be facilitating this increase in ground cover. However, little information is available on their fecundity in dairy pastures. Counting the number of seeds in a panicle is slow and laborious, therefore a rapid and robust method to assess fecundity is required. In USA crops, Forcella et al. (2000) found a significant curvilinear relationship between YBG seeds per panicle and panicle length, regardless of crop identity, year and weed density. A study was therefore established to determine if panicle length or weight could be used to estimate YBG and SG fecundity in intensively managed dairy pastures in New Zealand

Persistence of Perennial Ryegrass, Tall Fescue and Cocksfoot Following Sequential Annual Sowings: Influence of Species, Cultivar and Pasture Age on Inter-Annual Variability in Yield and Botanical Composition

The persistence of sown, temperate pasture species is an important determinant of perennial pasture-grass productivity. Defining the traits that affect persistence is essential for improving pasture longevity through plant breeding and for identifying criteria that should be included in cultivar ranking indices such as the DairyNZ, Forage Value Index. Compared with a conventional longitudinal study, in which pasture from a single sowing is monitored over time, repeated annual sowings allow the effects on persistence of sowing year and the ensuing interactions between environment and age of pasture to be identified. A repeated sowings experiment was commenced at two sites: under sheep grazing in Canterbury, New Zealand and under cattle grazing in Waikato, New Zealand. At each site, eight cultivars of perennial ryegrass representing different ploidy, flowering date, and decade of cultivar release, and one cultivar each of tall fescue and cocksfoot were sown in a randomised complete block design with four replicates, in autumn each year. The longitudinal cohort (i.e., the measurements conducted over time following each annual sowing) is the experimental unit for effects of sowing year and age. This paper reports interim data from the longest available longitudinal cohort, sown in autumn 2016 at Waikato on pasture yield and botanical composition measured in spring and autumn for six successive years following sowing. Repeated measures analysis of the six years of pasture data was used to identify trends over time and inter-annual variability in the effects of cultivar and site

Successful Establishment of Oversown Chicory and Plantain on Uncultivatable Hill Country

All-year grazing of livestock on steep, non-arable hill country (\u3e 20o slope angle, \u3c 1,000 m elevation) is a significant feature of New Zealand agriculture. Hill country pastures are in various states of improvement depending on factors such as extent of subdivision, fertiliser inputs, plant species introduction, and grazing management. Numerous introduced grass, legume and herb species are available to match the many micro-sites in steep hill country (Kemp et al. 1999). There has been increasing use of the perennial herbs chicory (Chicorium intybus L.) and plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) in seed mixtures used on a range of topographies, mostly flat to undulating terrain. Advantages of these species include tolerance of drought and high summer temperatures, highly palatable foliage, enhanced mineral content, and high animal growth rates (Stewart 1996; Li and Kemp 2005). Farmers have sown these species on hill country but there is negligible information on their establishment in such landscapes. As part of a large, New Zealand-wide programme to increase pasture productivity on non-arable hill country through new germplasm introduction, chicory and plantain were included in a seed mixture broadcast-sown at a range of sites. This paper reports on the seedling establishment of these two species

PhagoSight: an open-source MATLAB® package for the analysis of fluorescent neutrophil and macrophage migration in a zebrafish model

Neutrophil migration in zebrafish larvae is increasingly used as a model to study the response of these leukocytes to different determinants of the cellular inflammatory response. However, it remains challenging to extract comprehensive information describing the behaviour of neutrophils from the multi-dimensional data sets acquired with widefield or confocal microscopes. Here, we describe PhagoSight, an open-source software package for the segmentation, tracking and visualisation of migrating phagocytes in three dimensions. The algorithms in PhagoSight extract a large number of measurements that summarise the behaviour of neutrophils, but that could potentially be applied to any moving fluorescent cells. To derive a useful panel of variables quantifying aspects of neutrophil migratory behaviour, and to demonstrate the utility of PhagoSight, we evaluated changes in the volume of migrating neutrophils. Cell volume increased as neutrophils migrated towards the wound region of injured zebrafish. PhagoSight is openly available as MATLAB® m-files under the GNU General Public License. Synthetic data sets and a comprehensive user manual are available from http://www.phagosight.org

Developing a core outcome set for fistulising perianal Crohn's disease

OBJECTIVE: Lack of standardised outcomes hampers effective analysis and comparison of data when comparing treatments in fistulising perianal Crohn's disease (pCD). Development of a standardised set of outcomes would resolve these issues. This study provides the definitive core outcome set (COS) for fistulising pCD. DESIGN: Candidate outcomes were generated through a systematic review and patient interviews. Consensus was established via a three-round Delphi process using a 9-point Likert scale based on how important they felt it was in determining treatment success culminating in a final consensus meeting. Stakeholders were recruited nationally and grouped into three panels (surgeons and radiologists, gastroenterologists and IBD specialist nurses, and patients). Participants received feedback fromtheir panel(in the second round) andall participants(in the third round) to allow refinement of their scores. RESULTS: A total of 295 outcomes were identified from systematic reviews and interviews that were categorised into 92 domains. 187 stakeholders (response rate 78.5%) prioritised 49 outcomes through a three-round Delphi study.The final consensus meeting of 41 experts and patients generated agreement on an eight domain COS. The COS comprised three patient-reported outcome domains (quality of life, incontinence and a combined score of patient priorities) and five clinician-reported outcome domains (perianal disease activity, development of new perianal abscess/sepsis, new/recurrent fistula, unplanned surgery and faecal diversion). CONCLUSION: A fistulising pCD COS has been produced by all key stakeholders. Application of the COS will reduce heterogeneity in outcome reporting, thereby facilitating more meaningful comparisons between treatments, data synthesis and ultimately benefit patient care

Developing a core outcome set for fistulising perianal Crohn's disease

Objective Lack of standardised outcomes hampers effective analysis and comparison of data when comparing treatments in fistulising perianal Crohn’s disease (pCD). Development of a standardised set of outcomes would resolve these issues. This study provides the definitive core outcome set (COS) for fistulising pCD. Design Candidate outcomes were generated through a systematic review and patient interviews. Consensus was established via a three-round Delphi process using a 9-point Likert scale based on how important they felt it was in determining treatment success culminating in a final consensus meeting. Stakeholders were recruited nationally and grouped into three panels (surgeons and radiologists, gastroenterologists and IBD specialist nurses, and patients). Participants received feedback from their panel (in the second round) and all participants (in the third round) to allow refinement of their scores. Results A total of 295 outcomes were identified from systematic reviews and interviews that were categorised into 92 domains. 187 stakeholders (response rate 78.5%) prioritised 49 outcomes through a three-round Delphi study. The final consensus meeting of 41 experts and patients generated agreement on an eight domain COS. The COS comprised three patient-reported outcome domains (quality of life, incontinence and a combined score of patient priorities) and five clinician-reported outcome domains (perianal disease activity, development of new perianal abscess/sepsis, new/recurrent fistula, unplanned surgery and faecal diversion). Conclusion A fistulising pCD COS has been produced by all key stakeholders. Application of the COS will reduce heterogeneity in outcome reporting, thereby facilitating more meaningful comparisons between treatments, data synthesis and ultimately benefit patient care

Methods of reducing ripgut brome seed production and carcass damage

Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus) is an annual grass weed prevalent in dry, hill and high country regions throughout the South Island. Its large seeds contaminate wool and carcasses. Two studies were undertaken in 2006/2007 to test strategies to control and mitigate its impacts. The first study (South Canterbury) tested different rates and timing of application of herbicides on ripgut brome. Glyphosate applied in spring as a spray-topping application (112 g a.i./ha) showed potential as a control strategy, reducing ripgut brome seed production and seedling densities without large increases in bare ground caused by the other broad spectrum and grass selective herbicides. Herbicides had no effect on the cover of perennial grasses, dicots or forbs. In the second study (Marlborough and Central Otago), shearing lambs at weaning reduced the number of carcasses that were detained due to seed contamination (0.33 and 0.41 respectively, proportion of shorn and unshorn carcasses detained) but did not reduce the number of seeds contaminating each carcass. Shearing at weaning, combined with herbicide application targeted at ripgut brome dominant areas may be useful strategies to help reduce seed contamination.MAF Sustainable Farming Fund, Meat and Wool New Zealand and MerinoInc provided finance to undertake this research

Suppression of vulpia and goose grass in dryland pastures through the choice of sown pasture species

Vulpia (Vulpia myuros) and goose grass (Bromus hordeaceus) are common annual grass weeds throughout New Zealand in dryland pastures. They compete with sown species, suppressing pasture production and livestock performance. Their seeds may also damage hides and carcasses. Choice of sown pasture species can be important in limiting their spread. The abundance and fecundity of sown vulpia and goose grass was measured over 1 year in dryland Canterbury pastures sown with different grass and legume species. Survival and seedhead production of both vulpia and goose grass were lower in pastures oversown with the annual legumes subterranean and balansa clover. Annual grass weed establishment was also lower in cocksfoot than perennial ryegrass pastures. In Canterbury dryland pastures subject to summer drought, cocksfoot-based pastures oversown with subterranean and balansa clover show promise as a better alternative to ryegrass-based pastures for suppressing the ingress of these species. Repeating this study over several years in different environments would determine how widely these conclusions can be applied.Lincoln University

Control of gorse (Ulex europaeus) in dryland pasture converted from Pinus radiata forest

The effect of crop sequence, pasture species mixture and nitrogen fertiliser on gorse establishment was monitored over 23 months in land converted from pine forest to a dryland sheep pasture. There were fewer gorse plants in plots sown initially into the forage crop triticale and then into grass legume pasture than plots sown directly into grass or grass-legume pasture. Once the triticale was grazed, under-sowing grass-legume pasture beneath rape to establish clover rich pastures suppressed gorse more than sowing grass-legume pasture directly. There was no effect of nitrogen fertiliser applied at 150 kg N/ha/year on gorse plant density or cover. Appropriate management tools to control gorse in forest to pasture conversions include a combination of crop sequences where forage crops are followed by pasture and the establishment of pasture legume rich herbage. This type of pasture is preferred by livestock and results in high grazing intensity of gorse seedlings growing in the pasture

Production and composition of nil and MAX P™ tall fescue pastures on dry, stony soils.

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of tall fescue endophyte AR542 (MAX P™) on dryland pasture production and composition, weed invasion, and sheep gazing preference in Canterbury, New Zealan