Dry Matter Yield, \u3ci\u3ein Vitro\u3c/i\u3e Digestibility, Protein and Fiber Composition of \u27Tifton 9\u27 Bahiagrass (\u3ci\u3ePaspalum notatum\u3c/i\u3e) at Six Maturities

The objective of this research was to evaluate dry matter yield, in vitro digestibility, and the concentrations of protein and cell wall components in \u27Tifton 9’clipped at six maturities. Herbage was cut at the age of 20, 27, 34, 41, 48 and 55 days. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with six trataments (ages) and four replications. Dry matter yield and acid detergent fiber ranged from 188 g m-2, to 593 g m-2 and 386.9 g kg-1 to 375.1 g kg-1 respectively, with the cubic regression model having the best fit (P\u3c 0.05). Concentrations of crude protein decreased linearly (P\u3c 0.05) from 121 to 69 g kg-1. Neutral detergent fiber concentration and “in vitro” digestibility, were not affected (P\u3e 0.05) by maturity, in the range studied. Dry matter yield, digestibility and concentration of fiber components presented values similar to other tropical forages, whereas the crude protein remained above 100.5 g kg-1, only until the 27th day, according to the regression model

Dynamics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from vine bark in vineyard: Influence of plant age and strain presence during grape must spontaneous fermentations

In this study, two vineyards of different age were chosen. During three years, a sampling campaign was performed for isolating vineyard-associated Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) strains. Bark portions and, when present, grape bunches were regularly collected from the same vine plants during the overall sampling period. Each bark portion was added to a synthetic must, while each grape bunch was manually crushed, and fermentations were run to isolate S. cerevisiae strains. All collected yeasts were identified at different species and strain levels to evaluate the genetic variability of S. cerevisiae strains in the two vineyards and strains dynamics. Moreover, bark-associated strains were compared with those isolated from spontaneous fermentations of grapes collected during the two harvests. Regarding the youngest vineyard, no S. cerevisiae was identified on bark and grape surface, highlighting the importance of vine age on yeast colonization. Results reported the isolation of S. cerevisiae from vine bark of the old vineyard at all sampling times, regardless of the presence of the grape bunch. Therefore, this environment can be considered an alternative ecological niche that permanently hosts S. cerevisiae. Bark-associated strains were not found on grape bunches and during pilot-scale vinifications, indicating no significative strain transfer from vine bark to the grape must. Commercial starters were identified as well both in vineyards and during vinifications

Herbage Accumulation, Nutritive Value and Persistence of Mulato II in Florida

Grasses in the Brachiaria genus are the most widely grown forages in tropical America, occupying over 80 Mha (Boddey et al. 2004). Mulato II is apomictic and a vigorous, semi-erect cultivar resulting from 3 generations of crosses including original crosses between ruzigrass and signal-grass (cv. Basilisk, apomictic tetrapliod). According to Peters et al. (2003), Mulato produced 25% more herbage mass than palisadegrass (Brachiaria brizantha) and koroni-viagrass (Brachiaria humidicola) under similar management practices. Although Mulato II shows promise as a forage in tropical regions, herbage accumulation and persistence in subtropical areas is unknown. This publication summarises results of the research with Mulato II conducted in Florida in the last 5 years

The Use of Sunn Hemp as Forage in Florida

Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) is a warm-season annual legume that has been widely used as cover crop; however, there is potential to use sunn hemp as forage in subtropical regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate management practices to improve the efficiency of using sunn hemp as a forage crop. The study was conducted in Ona, Florida, USA from 2016 to 2018 and tested the factorial arrangement of five sunn hemp genotypes (Crescent Sunn, Ubon, Blue Leaf, and AU Golden) and two harvest times (60 d after seeding or flowering) with four replicates. There was a cultivar × harvest period effect on HA, crude protein (CP), and in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM) concentrations. Herbage accumulation was greater at flowering than 60 d harvest for all cultivars; however, the magnitude of increase was greater for Blue Leaf and Crescent Sun than AU Golden and Ubon. AU Golden and Ubon flowered at 83 and 92 d after seeding, while Blue Leaf and Crescent Sun flowered or were harvested at 166 d after seeding. AU Golden and Crescent Sunn had the greatest CP at 60 d harvest, and Blue Leaf and Ubon had the least CP concentrations. AU Golden and Crescent Sun had the greatest IVDOM at 60-d harvest; however, AU Golden and Ubon had greater IVDOM than Blue Leaf and Crescent Sun at flowering. Sunn hemp may be a feasible warm-season annual legume to be used in forage systems in Florida and harvest 60 d after seeding would results in forage with greater nutritive value

Convergent evidences from human and animal studies implicate angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity in cognitive performance in schizophrenia

In schizophrenia (SCZ), higher angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels have been reported in patient's blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hereby, we propose to explore whether the ACE activity levels are associated to cognitive performance in SCZ. Seventy-two patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a cognitive battery with parallel collection of peripheral blood samples to measure ACE activity. Significant higher ACE activity levels were confirmed in the plasma of SCZ patients compared with HCs (Student's t=−5.216; P<0.001). ACE activity significantly correlated to Hopkins delayed recall measures (r=−0.247; P=0.004) and Hopkins total (r=−0.214; P=0.012). Subjects grouped as high ACE activity (above average) had worse performance compared with low ACE activity level group for Hopkins delayed recall measure, even after correction for clinical condition, age, gender and years of education (P=0.029). The adjusted R squared for this final model was 0.343. This result was evident only comparing extreme groups for ACE activity, when splitting the sample in three groups with similar number of subjects. To clarify this finding, we performed an evaluation of the cognitive performance of transgenic mice with three copies of ACE gene in novel object recognition (NOR) test, which showed that such animals presented impairment in NOR (P<0.05) compared with two copies of wild-type animals. The results observed in SCZ patients and animal model suggest both the association of ACE to cognitive deficits in SCZ. This finding may support the evaluation of novel treatment protocols and/or of innovative drugs for specific intervention of cognitive deficits in SCZ envisioning concomitant ACE activity and behavior evaluations

Nutrient Return from Plant Litter and Cattle Excretion Grazing on N-Fertilized Grass or Grass-Legume Pastures in North Florida

Nutrient recycling via plant litter and livestock excreta is an important ecosystem service provided by grasslands. This study determined nutrient return via these pathways in three grazing systems. The experiment was conducted from May to October (2016 and 2017) and treatments were: 1) Nitrogen fertilized bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) pastures (112 kg N ha-1) during the warm-season, overseeded with a mixture (56 kg ha-1 of each) of ‘FL 401’ cereal rye (Secale cereale, L.) and ‘RAM’ oat (Avena sativa, L.) during the cool-season (BGN); 2) Ecoturf Rhizoma peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth.)/bahiagrass pastures during the warm-season, overseeded with similar rye/oat mixture fertilized with 34 kg N ha-1 plus a mixture of clovers (Trifolium incarnatum L., T. pretense L., and T. nigrescens L.) during the cool-season (BGRP); 3) unfertilized bahiagrass pastures during the warm-season, overseeded with similar rye/oat grass/clover mixture + 34 kg N ha-1 during the cool-season (BG). Litter mass was evaluated every 5wk. Litter decomposition was evaluated with incubation periods of 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256 days. Urine and fecal samples were collected for N concentration analysis. There was a net return of 47 kg N ha-1 season-1 via litter in all three systems without differing among them. In addition, litter decomposition rates were not different in the three systems. Conversely, N returned via excreta (urine and feces) was greater (63, 27, and 51 kg N ha-1 season-1) than that returned via litter (58.6, 41.6, and 41.2 kg ha-1 season-1). When assessing the proportions of N returning to the system via litter or excreta, no differences were observed among treatments, and on average 65.1 % of the N returned via excreta vs. 34.9 % returning via litter. The introduction of legumes could reduce the inputs from N fertilizers in grazing systems and keep the productivity similar because of more efficient N cycling

Ecosystem Services Provided by Overseeding Aeschynomene Into Bahiagrass Pastures in South Florida

Aeschynomene (Aeschynomene americana L.) is a warm-season annual legume commonly overseeded into warm-season perennial grass pastures in tropical and subtropical regions. Although aeschynomene usually increases forage production and nutritive value, there is limited information about the ecosystem services provided by this legume. The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effects of overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) pastures on nutrient dynamics and microbial N-cycling gene abundances. The studies were conducted in Ona, FL, from April to March 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Treatments were the split-plot arrangement of two forage systems treatments (overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass or bahiagrass monoculture; main plots) and two N fertilization levels [0 (control) and 60 kg N ha-1 ; sub-plot], distributed in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Forage characteristics were evaluated 8-wk after seeding and every 35 d thereafter. The static chamber technique was used to estimate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The litter bag technique was used to estimate organic matter (OM) and N decomposition. Nitrogen-cycling gene abundances were measured by qPCR. Bahiagrass-aeschynomene had greater crude protein concentration than bahiagrass monoculture but there was no difference in forage accumulation. Nitrogen fertilization increased forage accumulation and daily N2O emissions. Litter from bahiagrass-aeschynomene had greater OM and N decomposition rates than bahiagrass only, and N fertilization did not affect litter decomposition. There were no differences in N-cycling microbial gene abundances among treatments. Overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass may provide additional ecosystem services, but the magnitude is conditional to the establishment and proportion of aeschynomene in the pasture botanical composition

Release of a New Forage Bermudagrass Cultivar from the USDA-NPGS Cynodon Collection

Warm-season perennial grasses are the backbone of the pasture-based livestock industry in the southeastern USA. In Florida specifically, bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) and bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) support 1 million head of cattle and 15,000 beef cattle operations. Bermudagrass is the most widely planted forage species in the southeastern USA, planted in approximately 15 million ha and used for grazing, hay and silage. The genus Cynodon is native to southern Africa and germplasm collections have revealed a high degree of genetic variability within the genus. The United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) maintains a collection of bermudagrass plant introduction (PIs) in Griffin, GA, USA and the USDA Georgia Coastal Plains Experiment Station, Tifton, GA, maintains additional forage germplasm. Multi-location trials were established in 2014 in four states (FL, GA, NC and OK) to screen the collection for herbage accumulation (HA) and nutritive value (NV). Due to the large genotype by environment interaction for HA across states, we focused on selecting accessions adapted to South Georgia and Florida. Several PIs showed improved HA and NV compared to ‘Tifton 85’ across several trials and years. Particularly, PI 316510 produced high HA in Citra, FL and Tifton, GA, had improved NV traits, and faster establishment compared to Tifton 85. We confirmed that PI 316510 is tetraploid by chromosome counts and flow cytometry. The PI 316510 has been released by the University of Florida under the name “Newell”