PERMANENT AND SOWN GRASSLANDS IN SERBIA: CURRENT STATE AND TRENDS

Number of cattle in Serbia during two decades of the 21st century shows the tendency of decreasing. The main source for sustainable livestock production in Serbia are grasslands. Permanent grasslands occupy approximately 30% of agricultural land in Serbia, thereby playing an important role in forage production and ecosystem services. The majority of natural meadows and pastures are located in hilly-mountainous regions. The general characteristics of grasslands in the central Balkans are low production and insufficient quality. The yield of permanent grasslands in Serbia is influenced very strongly by climatic conditions, type of grassland and level of organic and mineral fertilization. On areas that are not managed by mowing and fertilizing, forbs make up over half of the plant production.This paper presents some recent experiences and results in livestock feed production obtained from permanent and sown meadows and pastures in Serbia. There is survey of permanent grassland botanical composition and productivity with special emphasis on importance of preserving legume species. Also, recent trials assessed the benefits of mineral and organic fertilizers application in terms of forage production, testing whether the mineral or organic sources improves the stability of the grassland and evaluated response patterns over a large environmental gradient. Nutrient availability in permanent grasslands has a strong influence on plant species biodiversity, plant cover, and species’ dominance in the vegetation canopy. Dry matter yield is very low with high variation in crude protein content, which confirms that grasslands need to be maintained through fertilizer application, with special emphasis being given to the new role of manure enriched by zeolite. The above-stated lead to poor production potential of these grasslands for livestock production, nonetheless offering sustainable means of soil and biodiversity protection in the area

Načini upravljanja procesom fermentacije u siliranim hranivima

The control of fermentation process in ensilaged livestock feed is based on the knowledge of biomasses. The important aspects are the suitability for ensilaging (the content of fermentative carbohydrates and buffer capacity of the biomass), providing of the correct level of dry matter and anaerobic environment, wilting, using the chemical additives such as organic acids and their salts, using of biologic additives (inoculants), adsorption of mycotoxins, etc. In purpose of making the process of ensilaging of grasses, legumes and grass-legume mixes, the silages are prepared as bales or silo-tubes.Kontrola procesa fementacije bazira se na poznavanju biomasa u pogledu pogodnosti za siliranje, odnosno obezbeđivanju povoljnog odnosa šećera i pufernog kapaciteta. Biomase višegodišnjih leguminoza i trava neophodno je provenjavati, odnosno povećati sadržaj suve materije u silomasi na najmanje 300-400 g kg-1. Za teško silirajuće biomase (višegodišnje i jednogodišnje leguminoze) koristiti ugljenohidratna hraniva (kukuruzna prekrupa, prekrupa ostalih žitarica, suvi rezanci šećerne repe, melasa, i dr.). Korišćenje hemijskih sredstava iz reda organskih kiselina i njihovih soli. Upotreba bioloških dodataka, inokulanata u smeši sa enzimima (amilaze, celulaze, hemicelulaze i dr.) obezbeđuje dobijanje dobre i stabilne silaže, kao i silaže veće hranljive vrednosti. Korišćenje inokulanata sa homo i heterotrofnim mikroorganizmima u cilju obezbeđivanja aerobne stabilnosti silaža, posebno lakosilirajućih biomasa (kukuruza, sirka, sudanske trave, italijanskog ljulja i dr.)

Višegodišnje leguminoze i trave - stabilan izvor kvalitetne kabaste stočne hrane

Perennial legumes, alfalfa, red clover, bird's foot trefoil, white clover, sainfoin and grasses, cock's foot, meadow fescue, tall fescue, Italian ryegrass, English ryegrass, French ryegrass, red fescue and Timothy grass can be grown successfully in pure crops and in legume-grass mixtures, on different soil types. Their importance in livestock development is based primarily on the great potential for yield of dry matter of over 20 t ha-1 if adequate agro-technical measures have been applied. Also, perennial legumes are characterized with high content of nutritive substances, especially protein and represent the most important protein source in livestock nutrition. Depending on the species and pheno stage of utilization, the content of crude proteins in grasses varies from 100 to 174,6 g kg-1 of DM, and in perennial legumes from 190,0 to 228,8 g kg-1 of DM. Livestock feed obtained from these plant species can be used in several ways, from grazing as most efficient and economical way, to preparation of hay and high quality silages and haylages. Stated forage species are very important in sustainable agriculture and organic production, considering that they carry out the process of biological fixation of nitrogen, but also from the ecological aspect. By using diverse selection/breeding material numerous domestic cultivars of perennial legumes and grasses have been created which are characterized with high potential for main agronomical traits.Višegodišnje leguminoze, lucerka, crvena detelina, žuti zvezdan, bela detelina, esparzeta i trave ježevica, livadski vijuk, visoki vijuk, italijanski ljulj, engleski ljulj, francuski ljulj, crveni vijuk i mačiji rep, mogu se uspešno gajiti u čistom usevu ili u leguminozno-travnim smešama, na različitim tipovima zemljišta. Njihov značaj u razvoju stočarstva, pre svega, se zasniva na visokom potencijalu za prinos suve materije, koji se uz primenu savremenih agrotehničkih mera kreće i preko 20 t ha-1. Pored toga, višegodišnje leguminoze se odlikuju visokim sadržajem hranljivih materija, posebno proteina i predstavljaju najvažniji izvor proteina u ishrani domaćih životinja. U zavisnosti od vrste i fenofaze iskorišćavanja sadržaj sirovih proteina kod trava se kreće od 100 do 174,6 g kg-1 SM, a kod višegodišnjih leguminoza od 190,0 do 228,8 g kg-1 SM. Stočna hrana dobijena od ovih biljnih vrsta može se koristiti na više načina, od ispaše kao najefikasnijeg i najekonomičnijeg načina, preko pripreme sena, do spravljanja kvalitetnih senaža i silaža. Navedene krmne vrste imaju veoma značajno mesto u održivoj poljoprivredi i organskoj proizvodnji, obzirom da obavljaju proces biološke fiksacije azota, veoma su značajne i sa ekološkog aspekta. Korišćenjem divergentnog selekcionog materijala stvoren je veliki broj domaćih sorti višegodišnjih leguminoza i trava koje se odlikuju visokim potencijalom za osnovna agronomska svojstva

Response of Italian ryegrass seed crop to spring nitrogen application in the first harvest year

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) cv. Tetraflorum was sown with different nitrogen application rates and it was tested under the agroecological conditions of Western Serbia. Four-year field experiments were carried out from 2002 to 2006 and the biometric characteristics of generative tillers, seed yield and shoot dry matter (herbage yield) were measured during the first production year. Italian ryegrass crop was established with four spring nitrogen application rates: 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1. Tiller length was not affected by nitrogen application, while two other tiller parameters were much more affected by the treatments. The maximum seed yield in the first production year varied among treatments depending on season conditions. Harvest characteristics were impacted by nitrogen application; however, there was an opposite impact in arid and humid weather conditions. The N application of 50 kg ha-1 was found to be the optimal for seed production in those conditions. Higher rates of N application (100 to 150 kg ha-1) had either no impact on seed yield, or decreased the yield of seed as a result of ryegrass lodging following seed shedding. Abundant shoot dry matter was obtained in some treatment variants, but there was no linear correlation between seed yield and yield components.Key words: Harvest characteristics, Italian ryegrass, nitrogen application, seed yield

Uticaj dodavanja neproteinskih azotnih supstanci na kvalitet silaže komine grožđa

In this study grape pomace was ensilaged without and with the addition of NPN substances (Benural) at the dose of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of the amount of husk and with the addition of inoculant based on homo and hetero fermentative lactic acid bacteria. The greatest effect on the nutritional value had application of Benural, especially in increasing the CP content from 126.9 to 178.3 g kg-1DM, an increase of over 40%. Application of Benural increased the ammonia and soluble nitrogen several times, but even with the maximum addition of Benural percentage of ammonia nitrogen in the total nitrogen reached only slightly above 5% NH3 -N/Σ N (5.38%), while the percentage of soluble nitrogen in total nitrogen was 28.29%. The application of inoculants generally had no significant impact, both on the chemical composition and the fermentation process.U istraživaniima komina grožđa je silirana bez i uz dodatak NPN supstanci (Benural) u količini od 0,5; 1,0 i 1,5% od količine komina i sa dodatkom inokulantana na bazi homo i heterofementativnih mlečno-kiselinskih bakterija. Najveći efekat na hranljivu vrednost imala je primena NPN, posebno u povećanju sadržaja SP od 126,9 na 178,3 gkg-1SM. Primena NPN supstanci je uticala na povećanje amonijačnog i rastvorljivog azota nekoliko puta, ali i pri najvećoj količini dodatog NPN supstanci udeo amonijačnog azota u ukupnom azotu je neznatno prešao vrednost od 5% (%NH3-N/ΣN 5,38) dok je udeo rastvorljivog azota u ukupnom azotu iznosio 28,29%. Primena inokulanata uglavnom nije imala značajnog uticaja, kako na hemijski sastav, tako i na proces fermentacije

Coumarin structure as a lead scaffold for antibacterial agents - molecular docking

Coumarins owe their class name to “Coumarou”, the vernacular name of the tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata Willd, Fabaceae), from which coumarin was isolated in 1820. Many molecules based on the coumarin structure have been synthesized utilizing innovative synthetic techniques. Various synthetic routes have led to interesting derivatives including the furanocoumarins, pyranocoumarins and coumarinsulfamates which have been found to be useful in photochemotherapy, antitumor and anti-HIV therapy, as stimulants for central nervous system, antiinflammatory therapy, as anti-coagulants, etc. One of important pharmacological activity of coumarin molecules is their potential as antibacterial agents since they show inhibitory activity toward isoleucyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetase. In the presented research molecular docking studies of selected coumarin compounds inside isoleucyltransfer RNA (tRNA) synthetase active site were performed. Molecular docking scores of all studied compounds were obtained through score functions. Presented results indicate that from all studied coumarin compounds the strongest interactions with studied enzyme has 7,8-dihydroxy-4-phenyl coumarin followed by 5,7-dihydroxy-4-phenyl coumarin. Presented results are in accordance with in vitro obtained results for their antibacterial activity. Presented findings suggest that 4-phenyl hydroxycoumarins may be considered as good molecular templates for potential antibacterial agents and can be used for further chemical modifications for improving their antibacterial activity

Impact of non-protein nitrogen substances on grape pomace silage quality

In this study grape pomace was ensilaged without and with the addition of NPN substances (Benural) at the dose of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of the amount of husk and with the addition of inoculant based on homo and hetero fermentative lactic acid bacteria. The greatest effect on the nutritional value had application of Benural, especially in increasing the CP content from 126.9 to 178.3 g kg-1DM, an increase of over 40%. Application of Benural increased the ammonia and soluble nitrogen several times, but even with the maximum addition of Benural percentage of ammonia nitrogen in the total nitrogen reached only slightly above 5% NH3 -N/Σ N (5.38%), while the percentage of soluble nitrogen in total nitrogen was 28.29%. The application of inoculants generally had no significant impact, both on the chemical composition and the fermentation process

Nur77-deficiency in bone marrow-derived macrophages modulates inflammatory responses, extracellular matrix homeostasis, phagocytosis and tolerance

The nuclear orphan receptor Nur77 (NR4A1, TR3, or NGFI-B) has been shown to modulate the inflammatory response of macrophages. To further elucidate the role of Nur77 in macrophage physiology, we compared the transcriptome of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) from wild-type (WT) and Nur77-knockout (KO) mice. In line with previous observations, SDF-1α (CXCL12) was among the most upregulated genes in Nur77-deficient BMM and we demonstrated that Nur77 binds directly to the SDF-1α promoter, resulting in inhibition of SDF-1α expression. The cytokine receptor CX3CR1 was strongly downregulated in Nur77-KO BMM, implying involvement of Nur77 in macrophage tolerance. Ingenuity pathway analyses (IPA) to identify canonical pathways regulation and gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) revealed a potential role for Nur77 in extracellular matrix homeostasis. Nur77-deficiency increased the collagen content of macrophage extracellular matrix through enhanced expression of several collagen subtypes and diminished matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 activity. IPA upstream regulator analyses discerned the small GTPase Rac1 as a novel regulator of Nur77-mediated gene expression. We identified an inhibitory feedback loop with increased Rac1 activity in Nur77-KO BMM, which may explain the augmented phagocytic activity of these cells. Finally, we predict multiple chronic inflammatory diseases to be influenced by macrophage Nur77 expression. GSEA and IPA associated Nur77 to osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and allergic airway inflammatory diseases. Altogether these data identify Nur77 as a modulator of macrophage function and an interesting target to treat chronic inflammatory diseas

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 enhances survival of LX2 human hepatic stellate cells

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) is strongly induced upon activation of hepatic stellate cells and their transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts in vitro. This was confirmed in vivo in an animal model of liver fibrosis. Since IGFBP5 has been shown to promote fibrosis in other tissues, the aim of this study was to investigate its role in the progression of liver fibrosis. METHODS: The effect of IGFBP5 was studied in LX2 cells, a model for partially activated hepatic stellate cells, and in human primary liver myofibroblasts. IGFBP5 signalling was modulated by the addition of recombinant protein, by lentiviral overexpression, and by siRNA mediated silencing. Furthermore, the addition of IGF1 and silencing of the IGF1R was used to investigate the role of the IGF-axis in IGFBP5 mediated effects. RESULTS: IGFBP5 enhanced the survival of LX2 cells and myofibroblasts via a >50% suppression of apoptosis. This effect of IGFBP5 was not modulated by the addition of IGF1, nor by silencing of the IGF1R. Additionally, IGFBP5 was able to enhance the expression of established pro-fibrotic markers, such as collagen Ialpha1, TIMP1 and MMP1. CONCLUSION: IGFBP5 enhances the survival of (partially) activated hepatic stellate cells and myofibroblasts by lowering apoptosis via an IGF1-independent mechanism, and enhances the expression of profibrotic genes. Its lowered expression may, therefore, reduce the progression of liver fibrosi