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Energy Conversion Efficiencies In Grazing Grassland At Different Stocking Rates, S Takahashi, M Shiyomi, T Akiyama, T Okubo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The effect of stocking rates on the energy conversion efficiency was examined on a grazing pasture over an eight year period from 1974. Annual stocking rates were in the range of 117-523 animal-unit days (AUD)/ha over eight years. Photosynthetically active radiation, net primary production by herbage plants and the amounts consumed by grazing cattle were measured during the plant growing season (from late March to late November). For estimations of stored energy in cattle, ARC feeding standards (1965) using the daily increment for body weight were adopted. Energy conversion efficiencies from solar energy through plants and animals were calculated as …

Energy Flow Through Cell Wall And Cellular Contents Of Plants On Grazing Pasture, N Koyama, M Tsuiki, M Shiyomi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Energy flow from sun to grazing animals, especially the functions of cellular contents (CC) and cell wall (CW) in this regard, was examined at the Fujinita Experimental Grazing Pasture of the National Grassland Research Institute, Tochigi which is situated at 36 °55'N and 136 °58 E, with a mean annual air-temperature of 12.3 °C and mean annual rainfall 1631 mm. Grazing experiments were conducted under two different nitrogen application regimes in 1983 and 1984. The net primary production was 53 and 33 Mkcal/ha/yr for plot of high (HN) and low (LN) nitrogen applications, respectively. Dry matter of the standing crop …

The Species Composition Index: A Tool For Explaining Variability In Steer Grazing Experiments, Henry A. Fribourg, J B. Mclaren

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forage growth and consumption, and animal performance were estimated in two beef steer (Bos sp.) backgrounding experiments concurrently with several environmental, plant, and animal characteristics. This paper describes, evaluates and validates a technique that combines the dynamic changes in species composition of grass-legume pastures over time into a Species Composition Index (SCI). This index then can be related to the effects of year, season, grazing pressure, forage quality, precipitation, and air temperature on forage growth and consumption, and animal performance. The SCI was compared to the traditional classification variable 'treatment' to describe seven different pasture conbinations of forage species for …

On The Improvement Of Natural Meadow By Using Shepherding Fences, Wang Ching Jui, Cao Xi Min

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The shepherding fence is an effective measure for mankind to make reasonable use of the animal factor to influence and transform the plant community on the subalpine meadow, to achieve the cultivation of the meadow in a direction-finding way and to increase the productivity of the meadow. It can enable us to use animals to cultivate grasses, promote the growth of the grasses for livestock, and lengthen the utilizing seasons of the meadow. Our six-year experiments and researches have proved that the shepherding fence can increase the output of the unit area on the meadow by 4.5-7 times.

Using Creature And Its Nitrogen Fixation To Enhance The Soil Fertility, Dong Min-Fu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Proper rotation of crops, combination of great promotion of growing green manure and herbage with development of animal husbandry, and use of creature and its nitrogen fixation to accumulate organic matter and increase nitrogen in the soil prove to be an effective way to improve the physiochemical properties of soil and its structure, and enhance the soil fertility.

Manurial Value Of By-Product From The Marine Industry On The Growth Of Oat, H Takizawa, H Nagai, H Miyazaki

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There are many sorts of discharge around the marine industry in Hokkaido. An attempt was carried out to process one of the discharges, to be called Froth or Scum, some of which contains ether-extract (Lipid) at concentration more than 60%, moreover to evaluate the manurial value of raw material by oat in comparison with it fermented aerobically. Even the Froth having more than 60% of Lipid could be processed on mixing fermented material in proportion to 10%, which resulted in making it 30% below. Variability of moisture content, pH value and nutrient composition, Lipid content on DM of pre to …

Preliminary Fertilizer Requirement Studies For Legume Based Pasture In Mid-Altitude Zone, Central Yunnan Province, Wang Jinjing, J R. Bruce-Smith, Li Jixin, Wang Mingliang

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There are large areas of hilly land swathed in poor native pasture in Yunnan. While not suited for intensive cropping, the mid altitude areas (1500-3000m) seem ideally suited for development into legume based permanent pastures capable of supporting a substantial grazing industry. The objective of a joint Chinese -Australian project is to find suitable pasture species and define their fertilizer requirements at selected sites within the Province. The field and glass house experiments described here demonstrate there is a need for phosphorous and possibly lime as an essential part of successful legume establishment. There is also an additional requirement for …

Regulating Grass And Clover Growth With Mefludide, R J. Haggar, S P. Isaac

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A three-year study on the use of mefluidide, a plant growth regulator, for suppressing seed-head production in a range of grass is reported. The first stage, involving the evaluation of a range of does and timings on up to nine grass species, indicated the potential of mefluidide applied at 150 g ha-1 in early spring to prevent the normal decline in herbage quality associated with flowering and to transfer growth from spring to mid-summer, albeit at a loss of some 30% in total dry-matter production. A supplementary investigation showed that white clover was reasonably tolerant to mefluidide treatment although a …

Preliminary Study On The Effect Of Spraying Myricyl Alchohol (1-Hydroxyriacontane, N-Triacontanol) Upon Chinese Wildrye, Wang Yulin, Luo Xinyi, Chai Feng0jiu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of different concentration, amount and spraying times of the plant growth hormone on Chinese Wildrye production, with the orthogonal comparison. It has been found by the orthogonal analysis that fresh yield per mu mas increased by 11.92%, 12.95%; 17.34%, 7.5%; 11.11%, 13.17%; in the treatment of solution concentration of 0.1 ppm, 0.05ppm; spraying times of 1, 2; solution amount of 10 kg, 20 kg per mu, as compared with that control trial (225.3 kg per mu of fresh yield), respectively. The treatment of concentration of 0.05 ppm, spraying times of …

Relationship Between Germination Tests And Field Emergence Of Perennial Warm-Season Forage Grasses, F H. Hsu, C J. Nelson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Perennial warm-season forage grasses can be valuable components of forage systems to improve animal performance in summer, but they are difficult to get established. Therefore, two germination tests and two field experiments were conducted to determine relationships between seed germination and field emergence. Chilled and unchilled seed of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi Vitman), caucasian bluestem ( Bothriochloa caocasica (Prin.) C. E. Hubb.), indiangrass ( Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash.), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) were germinated at different temperatures. Unchilled seed were planted in the field near Columbia, MO., at approximately 2-week intervals from early April to late June in …

Field Performance Of Tall Fescue Selected For Leaf-Area Expansion Rate, C J. Nelson, D A. Sleper, J H. Coutts

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Several morphological characters have been associated with yield of forage grasses. Our objective was to evaluate field performance of four generations of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) that had been selected for differences in leaf area expansion rate (LAE). Yield of reproductive growth at two locations was influenced very little by selection for high LAE, despite a reduction in density of both reproductive and vegetative tillers. Conversely, selection for high LAE led to an increased yield of vegetative regrowth due to higher leaf elongation rate (LER) and higher weight/tiller (WIT) for vegetative tillers that more than offset a decreased …

The Potential For Seed Production Of Tropical Pasture Species In Zambia, J Kulich

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

One of the major constraints for forage development in Zambia is the shortage of seeds of the desired species. It has been necessary to import seed using scarce foreign exchange. A three-year study was conducted at the National Irrigation Research Station, Mazabuka, Zambia, to identify potential seed yields for seven tropical forage legumes and three forage grasses. The promising species were established in replicated pure stands. Basal (PK) fertilisers were applied, including nitrogen for the grasses. Seed was harvested by hand each time a seed crop matured. The weight of clean dry seed was recorded and the seed was assessed …

Evaluation Of Orchardgrass And Alfalfa For Its Nutritive Value And Voluntary Intake By Neutral Detergent Analysis, T Ishiguri

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A series of trials has been carried out over a ten-year period to determine the ad lib. intake and digestibility of clipped orchardgrass and alfalfa fed at several growth stages to wethers. Forage and feces were fractionated into cell wall (CW) and cell content (CC) with neutral detergent solution, moreover the digestibility and the digestible amount of CW, CC were determined. The changing amount of digestible dry matter (D DM) in grass and legume related to the amount of digestible CC and indigestible CW, whereas digestible CW was observed to have little relation.

orchardgrass varied little between the first cut …

Lamb Performance On Extended Season Grazing Of Brassica Pekinensis X B. Rapa, D W. Koch, F C. Ernst Jr, N R. Leonard, R R. Hedberg, J R. Mitchell

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Brassica pekinensis X B. rapa var. tyfon was evaluated for its potential for extending the grazing season and utilization for finishing lambs. Tyfon was seeded without tillage in mid-July and grazing was initiated in each of two years about 70 days after seeding with lambs which had previously grazed clover-grass. A similar group was placed on a balanced ration of hay and grain. Tyfon maintained high quality throughout the grazing period, which was 45 days in 1983 and 68 days in 1984. Lambs gained an average 214 and 249 g day-1 in 1983 and 1984, respectively, on tyfon, while lambs …

Effect Of Cutting Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.) And Wheat (Triticum Oestivum L.) On The Yield Of Grain And Straw With Special Reference To The Nutritive Value Of The Green Forage Cut, M S. Nowar, S Y. Sherif, G A. Abdel-Rahman, S N. Abdel-Baki, K M. El-Gindi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

It was intended to study the possibility of cutting green barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) before obtaining grains. The grains of the two crops were sown in broadcasting. Half of the cultivated area of both crops were cut manually at 30 cm plant height, while the others were left as controls. Two digestibility trials using 3 fistulated castrated Ossimi rams were carried on the green forage cut of barley and wheat. The obtained results are summarized as follow:

1. The values of in vitro disappearance, in vivo digestion coefficients (except EE), nutritive value (SV, …

Feeding Value In Grain And Straw Of Paddy Rice At The Different Stage, K Taji, S Kumai, R Fukumi, E Horiuchu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Experiments were carried out to estimate the feeding value and the rate of undigested excretion of starch in grain and ammoniated straw (AS) of paddy at the dough and the ripe stage. The plant material used was Matsuyama Mii, a late variety. Materials and experimental animals for the digestion trial were rough rice and AS, and sheep, respectively. In chemical composition, each content of crude fat (CF) and crude ash (CA) of the ripe rough rice (RRR) was higher than that of the dough rough rice (DRR), and moreover, each content of CF and CA of AS at the dough …

Development Of The Practical Use Of Water Hyacinth As The Water Purification And The Feed Of Animals, M Shimizu, K Kabata, N Ashikari, I Goto, T Sawada

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

1. The global prolific growth of water hyacinth (Eichhomia crassipes) and effect of its vigorous reproduction on the environment is an increasing serious world-wide problem challenging an environmental menace. But Fortunatly, it contains much protein and essential amino acid. From above mentioned characteristics the plants are probably the most promising species for feed of animals and nutrient removal from eutrophic water. But unfortunately, the plants are so succulent that the practical use has not been realized. From such circumstances, we want to solve the hard problems by cutting down production expenses for the practical utilization of the plants. …

Cattle Performance On Tall Fescue Cultivars Varying In Forage Quality And Levels Of Endophyte Infestation, R C. Buckner, R W. Hemken, J A. Boling, P B. Burrus Jr, L P. Bush, J A. Jackson Jr, M R. Siegel, G D. Lacefield

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A fungal endophyte, Acremonium coenophialum, and alkaloids of tall fescue may prevent the realization of improved performance of animals consuming cultivars bred for superior forage quality. Beef and dairy cattle performance was studied using tall fescue cultivars varying in forage quality, in potential to produce alkaloids, and in levels of A. coenophialum infestaion. Comparative performance of growing beef and mid-lactation Holstein cattle was evaluated using forage from a seed lot of Kentucky 31 with ca. 75% endophyte infestation and from another seed lot without infestation and Kenhy and G 1-320 cultivars with improved forage quality and low levels of …

Productivity Of Morphologically Different Sown Tropical Grass Pastures Grown Under Similar Conditions, B G. Robbins, J J. Bushell

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A reduction in animal production as sown grass pastures age has been identified as a serious problem on clay soils in south-east Queenland. To determine if this decline in productivity varied between sown grasses or mainly depended on some aspect of soilfertility, such as soil available nitrogen (N), a three year experiment was conducted at Gayndah (730 mm average annual rainfall). In this replicated grazing trial, six morphologically different grass pastures (native grasses (Heteropo­gon/Bothriochloa); angleton grass (Dichanthium aristatum); creeping bluegrass (Bothriochloainsculpta); purple pigeon grass ( Setaria porphyran tha); green panic (Panicum maximum) …

Composition And Nutritive Value Of Diets Selected By Sheep And Goats On Four Pasture Types, E C. Prigge, D B. Mpiri, W B. Bryan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Esophageally fistulated sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus) were compared in relation to the composition and nutritive value of ingesta collected by grazing four pasture types. The pasture types are described as Improved Pasture, Unimproved Pasture, Unimproved Pasture with Low Scrub and High Scrub. The scrub consisted mainly of hawthorne (Crataegus sp.) and blackberry (Rubus sp.). Samples of herbage and esophageal extrusa were visually separated into four forage classes (legumes, grass, forbs/browse and dead material). A significant (P < .01) animal species x type of pasture interaction was evident in regard to the preference for the various forage classes. The goats consumed much larger proportions of browse than the sheep on the pastures containing scrub. Few differences were evident between goats and sheep in nutritive value of the ingesta within pasture type.

The Effect Of Silage Quality And Level Of Concentrate On The Dry Matter Intake And Milk Production Of British Friesian Heifers, R H. Phipps, J A. Bines, J Thomas, A Cooper, R J. Wilkins

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Trials have shown that both silage quality and level of concentrate are major factors influencing dry matter (DM) intake and milk production with adult dairy cows but there are few data relating to heifers.Seventy-two British Friesian heifers were divided into two groups during weeks 3-12 of lactation and received ad Iibitum either good quality (G) or poor quality (P) grass silage. The in vitro digestible organic matter in the dry matter was 68 and 60 for silages G and P, respectively. In addition, the heifers in each group consumed concentrate at either a low (4.3 kg DM/day), medium (6.4 kg …

Intake Of Grassland - Hay By Dairy Cows And Its Potential Meet Requirements Of Maintenance And Milk Production, J P. Dulphy, C Beranger, D Micol

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There have been few recent studies on the use of grass-hays by dairy cows, probably as a result of the importance given to studies on silage. Therefore 9 grass-hays, harvested in good conditions, were prepared and fed to dairy cows. With a CP content of 133 g/kg DM and an O.M. digestibility of 64.4%, the intake of these hays was 2.07 % of live weight (12.65 kgDM/animal/day). Their energy supply was sufficient to cover the maintenance needs of the cows, and a mean theoretical daily production of 8.1 kg of milk. The real production was 20.1 kg, and the difference …

An Expert Nirs Forage System, John S. Shenk, M O. Westerhaus

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has become an accepted technique to analyze the nutritive value of forage and feedstuffs. Recent advancements have been made in developing universal calibration equations that can be transferred from instrument to instrument. This advancement has made it possible to use NIRS as the analytical component of expert system software in conjunction with livestock feeding models. The software is flexible to provide information for research, extension, and industry applications. The incorporation of NIRS into an expert system promises to make possible new advancements in efficiency of livestock production.

Research For Selection Criteria For Grass Quality, Based Upon Animal References, M Gillet, J Scehovic, M Lila

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In an effort to find selection criteria for intake and digestibility, based on correlations with the same characters measured on animals, we have compared 4 to 6 grasses of similar heading dates for intake, palatability, digestibility by sheep, intake by goats and many laboratory tests. 1979 results were published for Lexington Congress. Results of 1980 and 1981 springs bear them out in several points :

- palatability was a very precise and stable test

- palatability, digestibility and goat intake were stable and correlated with each other

- soluble phenols were able to predict palatability and part of digestibility

-sheep …

The Effect Of The Species, Stage Of Maturity And Level Of Intake Of Grass On The Efficiency Of Microbial Protein Synthesis In The Rumen Of Cattle, F J. Hart, Jane Leibholz

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This study was undertaken because there is a paucity of information in the literature on the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis in the rumen of cattle when grass is fed as the sole diet. There is also little experimental data available on the factors which affect the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis. The work involved feeding six rumen fistulated Friesian steers with three species of grass which were harvested at various tages of maturity. In addition each maturity of forage was fed at three 15levels of orp5 nic matter ( OM) intake.

as sampled at the omasum and microbial protein …

Methodology For Environmental Toxicology: Assessing Feeding And Rearing Strategies In Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Nigricans) Larvae, Amber Hitchins, Hannah Mcneese, Deise Cruz, Andrew Todd, Maria Sepúlveda, Tyler Hoskins

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an anthropogenic group of chemicals known for their persistence in the environment and their potential to bioaccumulate. PFAS can bioaccumulate in largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans), yet the effects of exposure on bass larvae are unknown. While largemouth bass are commonly raised for aquaculture, techniques for rearing bass which enable controlled experiments at known densities, a necessity for toxicity studies, are poorly understood. Furthermore, the live prey typically used in existing approaches are not suitable for PFAS studies due to high background concentrations. The objective of this project was to assess different venues …

Ctnna3 Deficiency Promotes Heart Regeneration By Enhancing Cardiomyocyte Proliferation In Neonatal Mice, Sha Zou, Wuhou Dai, Wufan Tao, Jifen Li, Zeyi Cheng, Hongyan Wang

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: Heart regeneration requires renewal of lost cardiomyocytes. However, the mammalian heart loses its proliferative capacity soon after birth, and the molecular signaling underlying the loss of cardiac proliferation postnatally is not fully understood.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the role of Catenin alpha 3 (Ctnna3), coding for alpha T catenin (αT-catenin) protein in regulating cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration during the neonatal period.

Methods: Here we report that ablation of Ctnna3 and highly expressed in hearts, accelerated heart regeneration following heart apex resection in neonatal mice.

Results: Our results show that Ctnna3 deficiency enhances cardiomyocyte proliferation …

Examining Light-Circadian Interactions In Regulation Of Amyloid Plaque Pathology, Melvin William King

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Circadian disruption has long been appreciated as a downstream consequence of Alzheimer’s Disease in humans. However, an upstream role for circadian disruption in regulating AD pathology remains an open question. The mammalian circadian system is hierarchical, with cellular clocks – driven largely by BMAL1 – synchronized by the hypothalamic SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) via a combination of hormonal and synaptic cues. To assess the relative contributions of each component to Alzheimer’s Disease pathology, we crossed mice harboring either microglial (Cx3cr1/Lyz2-Cre) or GABAergic (VGAT-iCre, expressed in more than 95% of the SCN) BMAL1-knockout to mouse models of Aβ aggregation (5xFAD; APP/PS1-21), which …

Gene Regulatory Network Prediction Using Machine Learning, Deep Learning, And Hybrid Approaches, Sai Teja Mummadi, Md Khairul Islam, Victor Busov, Hairong Wei

Michigan Tech Publications

Construction of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is essential for elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying metabolic pathways, biological processes, and complex traits. In this study, we developed and evaluated machine learning, deep learning, and hybrid approaches for constructing GRNs by integrating prior knowledge and large-scale transcriptomic data from Arabidopsis thaliana, poplar, and maize. Among these, hybrid models that combined convolutional neural networks and machine learning consistently outperformed traditional machine learning and statistical methods, achieving over 95% accuracy on the holdout test datasets. These models not only identified a greater number of known transcription factors regulating the lignin biosynthesis pathway but also …

Cultivating The Wild: Strategies For Entrepreneurs Navigating Niche And Specialty Food Markets, Trey Malone, Courtney F. Cooper

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction Consumer demand for authenticity and sustainability in food systems is growing, creating both opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs in niche and specialty markets. While wild-foraged and hunted foods are often perceived as more "natural" and sustainable, attempts to scale these products through farming may compromise their perceived authenticity.Methods To explore these dynamics, we conducted discrete choice experiments with a nationally representative sample of 1,039 U.S. consumers. Participants evaluated their willingness to pay (WTP) for salmon, venison, and morel mushrooms, presented in both wild-foraged/hunted and farm-raised forms.Results Consumers exhibited strong preferences for wild versions of all three products, with average …