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Yak Rearing On High Altitude Pastures Of Northeastern Himalaya Of India: Their Utilization Strategies And Rejuvenation, Vijay Paul, Sanjit Maiti, G. Krishnan, D. Medhi, S. M. Deb

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Yak rearing on alpine pastures is the main occupation of the highland pastoral nomads (Brokpa and Dokpas) of north-east (NE) India. These pastoral nomads living in the remote mountains solely rely on high altitude pastures for their nutritional and livelihood security because of virtual existence of agricultural activities in this area. They rear yaks under transhumance and utilize various pastures while migrating from low land winter pastures to high altitude alpine pastures during summer. Therefore, the temperate and alpine pastures are the major feed resources for the yaks. The indiscriminate use of pastures and impending climate change results …

Use Of Native Grassland In Small-Scale Dairy Systems In The Highlands Of Central Mexico. A Case Study, P. A. Sainz-Sanchez, Carloss Manuel Arriaga-Jordan, D. Heredia Nava, C. G. Martinez-Garcia, F. Vicente, L. R. Garcia-Winder, A. Martinez-Fernandez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Small-scale dairy systems in Mexico comprise 78% of specialized dairy farms and provide 37% of national production. They are small farms with herds 3-35 cows plus replacements, and rely on family labour (Posadas-Domínguez et al., 2014).

In the highlands, many farms have native grasslands, grazed during the rainy season, and supplemented with other feeds as maize straw, maize grain and maize ears. Native grasslands have not been studied in this context. This is a case study on the use of native grassland in a small-scale dairy farm. The objective was to determine how native grasslands are integrated in feeding …

Date Palm Wastes As Growth Substrate In Hydroponics To Grow Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.), Khawla Mohammed Al Marzooqi

Aridland Agriculture Theses

Recently, many countries are practicing a variety of modern farming techniques like hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics vertical farming etc., to enhance production and quality of the production. Among such techniques, hydroponic system of production is growing plants in an appropriate substrate, which provides both physical and nutrient support with a suitable root environment. Substrate media can be either inorganic or organic. In this study, date palm leaf waste has been used, rock wool slab and cocopeat slab. The main objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using palm leaf wastes as a growing substrate extensively in the hydroponics …

A Global Perspective On Sustainable Intensification Research, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Despite general agreement that meeting food demand without further loss of natural ecosystems requires sustainable intensification, there is little dialogue about the research agenda needed to achieve it. To that end, we evaluate current trajectories towards sustainable intensification, review published research on the topic, identify missing links, and propose a prioritization framework to fill gaps. Although progress towards sustainable intensification is behind schedule, we are optimistic that current trends can get back on course assuming a well-prioritized and adequately funded research portfolio and appropriate policies and institutions to support it.

Closing Yield Gaps In Oil Palm Production Systems In Ghana Through Best Management Practices, Tiemen Rhebergen, Shamie Zingore, Ken E. Giller, Charles Adu Frimpong, Kwame Acheampong, Francis Tetteh Ohipeni, Edward Kofi Panyin, Victor Zutah, Thomas Fairhurst

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The area under oil palm in Ghana has expanded but average fruit bunch yields remained low, resulting in large yield gaps. This study assessed the potential for increasing yield with 'Best Management Practices (BMP)' on plantations and smallholder farms in southern Ghana, compared with current standard practices, i.e. reference (REF) yield. We evaluated short-term (≤1 year) yield increases with 'yield taking' (improved crop recovery), and long-term increases (>1 year) with 'yield making' (better agronomy) practices and identified the factors that contributed most to yield improvements. Average fruit bunch yield increases with BMP were 2.1 t ha−1 (+19%) and 4.7 …

Science-Based Decision Support For Formulating Crop Fertilizer Recommendations In Sub-Saharan Africa, Jairos Rurinda, Shamie Zingore, Jibrin M. Jibrin, Tesfaye Balemi, Kenneth Masuki, Jens A. Andersson, Mirasol F. Pampolino, Ibrahim Mohammed, James Mutegi, Alpha Y. Kamara, Bernard Vanlauwe, Peter Q. Craufurd

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In sub-Saharan Africa, there is considerable spatial and temporal variability in relations between nutrient application and crop yield, due to varying inherent soil nutrients supply, soil moisture, crop management and germplasm. This variability affects fertilizer use efficiency and crop productivity. Therefore, development of decision systems that support formulation and delivery of site-specific fertilizer recommendations is important for increased crop yield and environmental protection. Nutrient Expert (NE) is a computer-based decision support system, which enables extension advisers to generate field- or area-specific fertilizer recommendations based on yield response to fertilizer and nutrient use efficiency. We calibrated NE for major maize agroecological …

Strategies To Ameliorate Pasture Production For Livestock In High Altitude Regions, M. M. Roy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The high altitude regions in India exhibit a diverse climate, topography, vegetation, ecology and land use pattern. The annual average rainfall varies from 80 mm in Ladakh to over 200 cm in some parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The vegetation varies from the scrub in the lower hills to arctic in the Greater Himalaya (GJK 2004). In this region, Ladakh is a unique land form encompassing distinct physical features, ecology, environment, ethnicity, agricultural systems and livestock rearing practices. This region experiences a very hostile climate and winter temperature may go as low as -30⁰ C. Summer temperature …

Local Use And Knowledge Validation Of Fodder Trees And Shrubs Resources Browsed By Livestock In Manipur (India), R. Joseph Koireng, Ansarul Haq, Kh. Priya Devi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

North Eastern states of India particularly in Manipur livestock rearing were being considered as one of the important homestead activities in the farm household. In the rural household economy, livestock is considered as an inseparable component in the whole farm business, as the production of milk and meat as well as manure, draught and transportation depends on it. It provides nutritional security to farm family and stabilizes farm income too.

As a major source of animal feeds in Manipur, fodder trees and shrubs are highly valued by farmers. They have deep root systems enabling the extraction of water and nutrients …

Pasture Management For Sustainable Forage Production, Pijush Kanti Mukherjee, Putan Singh, S. S. Singh

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the livestock management grazing was the major feed resources in the past and even today a significant portion of livestock is being sustained on grazing resources from pastures and other grazing lands like forest, fallow lands, cultivable waste lands etc.

During the last few decades ever increasing livestock population has created enormous grazing pressure on pasture resources leading to deterioration and destruction of pastures. This has led to the urgent need of improvement of pastures as well as judicious implementation of grazing management practices. There has been certain constraints on pasture development which include fragmentation and degradation of …

Production And Quality Assessment Of Pasture Crop In Red Lateritic Wasteland Of Central Chhattisgarh, Mahendra Nath Naugraiya, G. S. Tomar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The livestock constitutes a very important component in rural economy, as in agriculture. Our country largely depends on livestock for manure and power. The availability of fodder is short from the requirement and an estimate of several agencies, there is more than 300 per cent gap between availability and requirement (Anon, 1980). Most of the livestock depend either partially or completely on natural and developed pastoral system, but the existing practices of utilization of range lands, grasslands and forest areas natural resources and increasing land degradation. In the improved pastoral system in wastelands, the carrying capacity of grass-legumes pastoral field …

Effects Of Alternate Furrow Irrigation On The Forage Quality Of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa), Xiao Yu, Zhengang Guo, Tingting Jia, Yuying Shen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is widely used to establish pasture to sustain animal production because of its high nutritional quality for livestock (Bouton, 2012). Therefore improving quality of alfalfa pasture is the main goal for establishing pasture throughout the world. Irrigation is an important approach for achieving high qualities of alfalfa pasture, however, the scarcity of water threatens the sustainability of world alfalfa production, requiring us to force on using water more efficiently (Liu and Guo, 2013). Alternate furrow irrigation has been proved as a water-saving technique to promote fruit quality of tomatoes and grapevines and the seed quality …

The Impact Of Surface Coal Mining On The Pre- And Post-Mining Agricultural Potential Of The Grassland Biome Of Southern Africa, Wayne F. Truter, T. Bredell, J. Olivier, D. Van Heerden, P. Mosebi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Surface mining of coal is widespread in the grassland areas of the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa, and is the main cause of many environmental impacts in this agriculturally important region. To ensure healthy and productive vegetation after the reclamation process, disturbed soils need to be ameliorated and re-vegetated with locally adapted grass species to protect, preserve and improve soils for future agricultural use. To date, soil compaction is regarded as one of the main factors that cause severe restrictions in the effective rooting depth of plants, and the level of compaction is strongly influenced by altered soil water contents, …

De Novo Sequencing And Analysis Of Salvia Hispanica Tissue-Specific Transcriptome And Identification Of Genes Involved In Terpenoid Biosynthesis, James Wimberley, Joseph Cahill, Hagop S. Atamian

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Salvia hispanica (commonly known as chia) is gaining popularity worldwide as a healthy food supplement due to its low saturated fatty acid and high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in addition to being rich in protein, fiber, and antioxidants. Chia leaves contain plethora of secondary metabolites with medicinal properties. In this study, we sequenced chia leaf and root transcriptomes using the Illumina platform. The short reads were assembled into contigs using the Trinity software and annotated against the Uniprot database. The reads were de novo assembled into 103,367 contigs, which represented 92.8% transcriptome completeness and a diverse set of Gene Ontology …

Salt-Tolerant Forages For Irrigated Saline Land In Central Iraq, Iman S. Salman, Edward G. Barrett-Lennard, Kareem Kadhim, Shoaib Ismail, Hayley C. Norman

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Salinity is a major problem in the irrigated zones of central and southern Iraq. We investigated biomass production from five salt-tolerant forage species, represented by 15 introduced accessions and 3 local accessions, during two successive summer growing seasons. Species included pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolour), guar (Cluster bean; Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and sesbania (Sesbania aculeata and S. sesban). The research site was located in the Al-Dujaila irrigation project area in Wasit. The soil had a silty clay texture with moderate salinity (ECe 10-20 dS/m). The site was …

Improving Grassland Quality In Communal Arable Lands In The Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Theunis L. Morgenthal, Pieter W. Conradie, Gideon Jordaan, Unathi Gulwa, Neil Ballard, John Howieson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Overgrazing and shifting cultivation practise have severely degraded communal lands in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Methods need to be developed to improve forage quality of grazing land, especially previously cultivated lands. The aim of the study was to investigate legume species to rehabilitate arable lands abandoned from cropping, to enhance their forage quality, productivity and ecological integrity. The study was conducted in seven communities within the Eastern Cape Province. This study showed that within the communal lands studied extensive areas have been cultivated and the majority of this land is now poorly utilised. Natural grasslands ploughed for cropping …

Grassland Rehabilitation Through Re-Designing Livestock Management Systems, Guodong Han, Zhongwu Wang, Zhiguo Li, Mengli Zhao, David R. Kemp, David L. Michalk, Kris M. Havstad

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslands are one of the most important land types supplying critical ecosystem services including feed for livestock grazing. They occupy ~54% of the world’s ice-free land surface. China contains the third largest area of grassland in the world, ~400 M ha, ~40% of China’s land surface. Chinese grasslands are severely degraded primarily due to overgrazing, which contributes to local poverty because of poor livestock production. To both recover the degraded grassland and to enhance the local herders’ income, a large farm-scale experiment was conducted in a desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, China from 2007 to 2012. We used a baseline …

Environment Impact Of Moxidectin In Sheep Faeces Upon Dung Diptera In South Of Brazil, Alda L. G. Monteiro, Susana Gilaverte, Maria Angela M. Fernandes, Alessandre P. Colavite, Paulo Guimarães, Mylena T. P. Peres, Cláudio J. A. Da Silva

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Dung Diptera can be beneficial to the environment because the adults feed on, deposit eggs in, and the larval nutrition depends on the feaces of animals which significantly im-proves nutrient cycling. However, anthelmintics which are used to control internal parasites have long persistence with a long half-life in faeces. This is harmful to the coprofauna and may adversely affect the diversity of this environmen-tal system. In this study we evaluated the toxicity of moxidectin anthelmintic on the dung Diptera population in pastures of South of Brazil.

Mix Cropping Of Smooth Vetch And Barley Under Cold Rainfed Conditions, Mahmoud Pouryousef, Khoshnood Alizadeh

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Drylands are mainly used for wheat and food legumes production and there is increasing demand to forage crops in these areas. About 2-3 million hectares of arable lands across Iran are left as fallow every year (Alizadeh, 2010) which could be used to suitable forage crops. Considerable variation has been reported in herbage and grain yields of improved vetches (Vicia spp.) under Iranian rainfed conditions. Introduction of annual feed legumes in dryland cropping systems that are dominated by cereals would reduce pest and disease risk and increase sustainable productivity. However, vetch species as monocultures produce low forage yield under …

Ethical Use Of Cereal Legume Intercrop Forages For Feeding Of Sheep And Pasture Development, S. B. Maity, K. K. Singh, G. Prabhu, N. Das

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cereal forages are important in the feeding of livestock for their high energy and dry matter content. However, they are low in protein content and inferior in other nutritional quality than the legume forages. Ruminants required protein as well as energy to maintain their production. Supplementation of protein through concentrates is cost effective in livestock production. Besides, ruminant is unique in having the potential for cycling forage materials, poor quality protein and non protein nitrogen sources into human food supply as meat and milk (Eskandary et al., 2009). Thus, management of forages for livestock feeding either in feedlot or in …

Productivity Of White Clover-Grass Mixed Swards, Aleksandrs Adamovics, Olga Adamovica

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Dairy farming is a major branch of agriculture in Latvia. Therefore, providing livestock with high quality grass forage over the whole grazing season is of great importance. However, the cost of obtaining high quality grass forage should not be too high. Perennial forage legume-grass stands meets the required demands best of all. Inclusion of white clover in legume-grass stands contributes to the production of high quality herbage swards (Frame and Newbould, 1986; Laidlaw et al., 1995; Orr et al., 1990; Van Bockstaele, 1985). The nutritive value of white clover depends on the favorable leaf: stem ratio in total …

Yield And N Recovery By Grass Species In Response To Long Term Applications Of Manure And Mineral Fertilizer In A Cool Maritime Climate, Shabtai Bittman, Derek Hunt

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Liquid manure is an important source of nutrients on many modern dairy farms. Nitrogen (N) use efficiency of slurry is usually less than chemical fertilizer, but the difference is less when tested in trials lasting at least 7 years than in short term trials (Schröder et al., 2007). The efficiency of slurry manure N can be improved by minimizing loss of ammonia after application using low emission applicators. In grass stands where injection is impractical, mitigation methods often involve spreading the slurry in narrow bands directly on the soil surface. Losses of N as ammonia, nitrous oxide and leaching have …

Calcium And Phosphorus Ratio In Soil, Native Grasses, Water And Bovines And Its Correlation With Productivity, Anandamoy Kundu, Jaisunder, S. Jeya Kumar, R. B. Rai

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Minerals play vital role in growth, sexual maturity, conception and milk production. Reproductive problems viz. delayed puberty in heifers, post pubertal anoestrus, repeat breeding and prolonged post partum anestrous, prolonged service period and calving interval in cattle has been observed to be a major cause for poor productive and reproductive performance under this island ecosystem. Therefore, the study was undertaken to correlate the extent to which calcium and Phosphorus were responsible for reproductive performance of bovines. In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the concentrate feeding to bovines is uncommon. Thus bovines are fully dependent on grazing or forage feeding. Most of …

Monitoring Of Heavy Metal Contamination In Fodders, Feeds And Milk In Gulbarga District Of Karnataka, K. S. Prasad, D. T. Pal, S. B. N. Rao, B. D. Naveen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Xenobiotics like heavy metals are increasing in environment due to industrialization, urbanization and agricultural practices which pose threat to animal health and quality animal products. Safe animal feeds are important for health of animals, environment and for the safety of foods of animal origin especially milk (Prasad et al., 2012). To address the issue, monitoring of xenobiotics especially heavy metals in the fodder, feeds and animal products is necessary. The aim of the present study is to find out the status of heavy metals in feeds and milk of Gulbarga district in Karnataka.

Linking Rangeland Management With The Nutritional Physiology And Ecology Of Locusts, Arianne J. Cease

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rangeland management practices alter soil and plant characteristics and communities. These changes have implications for the success of pests common to grass and forage systems. Understanding how pests respond to anthropogenic influences is a key variable for the development of sustainable pest management strategies that minimize potential risk and severity of pest damage. For example, heavy livestock grazing in northeast China promotes locust outbreaks by lowering plant nitrogen content. This in turn likely decreases the amount of protein, relative to carbohydrate, that locusts receive. In this case, a low protein/high carbohydrate diet is just what this locust species needs to …

Influence Of Foliar Nutrition Of Selenium On Phytochelatines Content In The Forage Of Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense L.), Iva Klusoňová, Pavel Horký, Jiří Skládanka, Markéta Komínková, Vojtěch Adam, René Kizek, Petr Škarpa, Lucia Hodulíková

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Selenium (Se) is an essential element significantly influencing health status of animals and humans. The insufficient supply of organism with this element leads to many disorders. Conversely, higher intake can be toxic. As a part of selenoproteins, it regulates the antioxidant system and thus prevents the oxidative destruction of biological membranes and prevents the damage of the body by heavy metals. Consequently, its deficiency disrupts the overall health of animals and humans because of involvement of selenium compounds in many biological functions. Selenium concentration of plant biomass is derived from its content in the soil and may considerably vary depending …

Comparative Sulfur Use Efficiency And Water Stress Tolerance In Two Brassica Napus Cultivars, Bok-Rye Lee, Tae-Hwan Kim, Sang-Hyun Park, Qian Zhang, Rashed Zaman

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

S-deficiency and/or S-deprivation decreases the cell sap osmotic potential resulting from a net increase of intracellular solutes rather than from a loss of cell water and chlorophyll content resulting in a restriction of Rubisco synthesis and provoked the chlorosis of young leaves (Lee et al., 2014; Muneer et al., 2014). These imply that S-deficiency results in a general inhibition of photosynthesis and protein synthesis. On the other hand, several studies have indicated that S nutrition has a potential role in stress tolerance and defense mechanism. Sulfur is an essential element in the formation of sulfhydryl (S-H) and disulphide bond …

Fodder Yield Of Baby Corn (Zea Mays L.) As Influenced By Mulching, Liming And Integrated Nutrition Management Under Foot Hill Condition Of Nagaland, Rakesh Kumar, Bidyut C. Deka, Manoj Kumar, Neivah Hansing

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Baby corn (Zea mays L.) being one of the most important dual purpose crop is grown widely round the year for its cob as well as green fodder in India. It has an edge over the other cultivated fodder crops due to its higher production potential, wider adaptability, fast growing nature and excellent fodder quality free from toxicants. Baby corn production has been directly integrated with dairying farms in different countries because only 13-20% of fresh ear weight is used as human food and the rest (silk, husk and green stalk) can be used as excellent feed materials for …

Optimum Rates Of Surface-Applied Coal Char Decreased Soil Ammonia Volatilization Loss, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Harold P. Collins, Virginia L. Jin, Michael Kaiser, Jennifer Cooper, Arindam Malakar, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Fertilizer N losses from agricultural systems have economic and environmental implications. Soil amendment with high C materials, such as coal char, may mitigate N losses. Char, a coal combustion residue, obtained from a sugar factory in Scottsbluff, NE, contained 29% C by weight. A 30-d laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of char addition on N losses via nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission, ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, and nitrate (NO₃–N) leaching from fertilized loam and sandy loam soils. Char was applied at five different rates (0, 6.7, 10.1, 13.4, and 26.8 Mg C ha …

Chemical Composition Of Woody Species At Browsed Caatinga Under Different Forage Allowance, Osniel F. De Oliveira, Mércia V. F. Dos Santos, Márcio V. Da Cunha, James P. Muir, Evaristo J. Oliveira De Souza, Felipe M. Saraiva

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Native rangelands are essential for Brazilian livestock production in the northeast Caatinga because they are abundant and inexpensive. Greater knowledge of nutritive values of these native plants is a needed because they fit well in prevailing edapho-climatic conditions. The chemical composition of plants, however, may differ according to ontogeny, elevation, soil, climate, plant community and human actions. Caatinga plants usually have high crude protein (CP) although some of this is fiber-bound (Santos et al., 2009). Browse can therefore become a key livestock diet component.

Condensed tannins (CT) in browse can provide benefits, including anthelmintic activity greater amino acid absorption, …

Unpalatable Perennial Grass Invasion In Central-East Argentina Native Grasslands: Processes, Implications And Recovery, Roberto A. Distel

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In temperate semiarid central-east Argentina, unpalatable perennial grasses (UPG) have been steadily invading native grasslands formerly dominated by palatable perennial grasses (PPG). The objective of this contribution is to provide a synthesis of underlying processes and implications of UPG invasion, as well as recovery strategies. Results have shown that heavy selective grazing on PPG reduces their superior competitive ability. Gaps formed due to reduced competition by PPG provide safe sites for UPG establishment. The development of large, long-lived tussock of UPG, in combination with high standing crop accumulation, impairs PPG establishment even in absence of grazing. UPG produce sclerophyllous tissues, …