Supplementation of diets for piglets with L-Arginine and powdered whole milk

The objective of this study was to evaluate the supplementation of L-Arginine in diets with and without dairy products for piglets weaned at 21 days old. Thirty-two animals with initial mean weight of 5.16 ± 1.92 kg and from the same commercial lineage were allocated in a randomized block design to four diets. The experimental diets consisted of a corn and soybean meal-based diet (NDD), the same diet supplemented with 0.6% L-Arginine (NDDA), the diet supplemented with powdered whole milk (DD), and the diet supplemented with powdered whole milk and 0.6% of L-Arginine (DDA). At 43 days old, 16 animals were slaughtered. The productive performance, incidence of diarrhoea, serum parameters, relative organ weight, morphometry and intestinal health were evaluated. Supplementation with 0.6% of L-Arginine increased (P <0.05) the daily and final weight gain of the piglets at 32 days old and reduced the incidence of diarrhoea. DDA promoted a higher villi to crypt ratio (P <0.05). There was a lower rate of mitosis and apoptosis in the jejunum of animals fed DD and DDA. The non-dairy diet supplemented with 0.6% arginine (NDDA) increased serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) and Immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations compared with NDD (P <0.05). Thus, supplementation with 0.6% L-Arginine increased immunological activity, improved intestinal integrity, and reduced the incidence of diarrhoea

Doses de composto orgânico comercial na composição de substratos para a produção de mudas de maracujazeiro em diferentes tipos de cultivo protegido Contents of commercial organic compound in the production of passiflora seedlings in different types of protected cultivation

Doses de composto orgânico comercial misturado ao solo foram utilizadas como substrato na produção de mudas de maracujazeiro amarelo. O experimento foi conduzido no Campus de Aquidauana, da Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, de setembro a dezembro de 2007. Utilizaram-se seis ambientes protegidos: estufa plástica com pé-direito de 2,5m; viveiro telado com Sombrite® 50%, com pé-direito de 2,5m; viveiro telado de tela termo-refletora Aluminet® 50%, com pé-direito de 2,5m; viveiro coberto com palha de coqueiro, com pé-direito de 1,8m; estufa plástica com pé-direito de 4,0m, possuindo abertura zenital e tela termo-refletora 50% sob o plástico e, viveiro telado de tela de sombreamento 50%, com pé-direito de 3,5m. Foram utilizados cinco substratos com doses de 0, 7, 14, 21 e 28% de composto orgânico misturado ao solo. Utilizou-se o delineamento em parcelas subdivididas, com dez repetições. As parcelas principais foram os ambientes de cultivo e as subparcelas foram os substratos. Conclui-se que a estufa agrícola com altura de 4,0m, o viveiro agrícola com altura de 3,5m e o viveiro coberto com palha de coqueiro nativo propiciaram melhor desenvolvimento das mudas. As doses de 7%, 14% e 21% de composto orgânico se mostraram viáveis para composição de substratos com solo da região.<br>Contents of commercial organic compound mixed with soil were used as substrate in the production of Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg. seedlings. The experiment was carried out in the Aquidauana Campus at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, from September to December of 2007. Six environments were used: plastic greenhouse with height of 2.5m; nursery with height of 2.5m covered by shade net with black monofilament of 50% shading rate; nursery with height of 2.5m covered by Aluminum shading screen with shading rate of 50%; nursery with height of 1.8m covered by straw of native coconut; plastic greenhouse with height of 4.0m, zenith opened and thermal shade netting from Aluminet® under the roof and nursery with height of 3.5m covered by shade net with black monofilament of 50% shading rate. Five commercial organic compound contents of 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28%, mixed with soil were used. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized split-plot scheme where the environments were principal plot and substrates were subplots. The greenhouse with height of 4.0 m, the nursery with height of 3.5 m and the nursery covered with coconut fibers showed the best seedlings. The contents of 7%, 14% and 21% of commercial organic compounds were viable for composition of the substrates with local soil