Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Grass-Based Health, Peter Ballerstedt

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A true discussion of sustainability must focus on improving the condition of humanity. Too often, however, such a discussion is a "dialogue of values that defies consensual definition" (Ratner 2004), with participants implicitly accepting as true numerous foundational beliefs that are factually incorrect or unproven. Dietary policies recommending carbohydrate-based diets are one example. Falsehoods persist despite decades of contradictory re-search results and clinical findings, contaminating a variety of diverse disciplines and discussions. A rational, objective discussion of sustainability in grassland agriculture must confront the issue of public health policy, consider our physical health, the fiscal health of our communities, and …

Increased Photosynthesis Contributes Towards Improved Ovule-To-Seed Ratio In Iaa Treated Range Grasses, Chandan Kumar Gupta, Badre Alam, D. Vijay, M. Srivastava, D. R. Malaviya

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Poor ovule-to-seed ratio is one of the major constraints in quality seed production in range grasses. Plant hormones per se or in the influence of external cues were known regulate the seed setting and their subsequent maturation in many crops. External application of hormones on the standing crops has shown very promising results but the physiological and biochemical phenomenon underlying such changes are not studied in detail. Exogenous application of different chemicals particularly during anthesis and post anthesis phases has increased the seed set in a number of species. Improved seed germination in Panicum maximum after foliar spray of indole …

The Effects Of Associated Pod Quality On Seed Recovery And Germination Of Dichrostachys Cinerea And Acacia Tortilis Fed Ruminants, Piet Monegi, Julius Ttjelele, Khanyisile Mbatha

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Pods of different plant species form an important part of the diet of livestock during the dry season due to their high nutritional value compared to grasses. Therefore, herbivores browsing pods of certain woody plants may disperse intact seeds that can potentially germinate. The quality of associated diet such as pod chemistry (i.e. protein and tannin concentration) is one of the most important determinants of success of livestock faecal seed dispersal (Tjelele et al., 2012: Tjelele et al., 2014). The objective of this study was to determine the effects of associated pods quality (i.e. nutrients and tannins …

A Case Study Of Evaluation, Demonstration And Adoption Of Improved Forages For A Cut-And-Carry System In Eritrea, Eskender Tesfay, Bruce Cook, Myles Parker

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Eritrea, a largely arid or semi-arid country in north-east Africa, lies on the western side of the Red Sea between about 12 and 18°N, and has an altitude ranging from -75m to 3018 m ASL. Soils range from shallow, often infertile stony soils in steeper areas to fertile clays and clay loams on the flats. Soil pH ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline. About 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence mixed farming, livestock being used for meat, milk, draft and fibre, as well as serving as a financial reserve. Average farm size in the most intensively populated …

Factors Affecting Rangeland Utilization By Ranchers In The Golestan Rangelands, Iran, Reza Tamartash, Mohammadreza Tatian, Maedeh Yousefian, Fatemeh Montazeri, Hamid Mostafalou

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Iran, rangelands produce most of the forage resources for livestock. There are various types of traditional grazing systems for the utilization of rangelands, including the consultative, collective and operational multiplayer systems. In the consultative type, certain people are selected by the ranchers and they determine the utilization method and manage grazing. In the collective system, all ranchers use rangeland in common. In the operational multiplayer system, rangelands are used in common but the ranchers share rangelands by rancher-rancher negotiation. This research was undertaken to investigate the human factors as rancher's effect on rangeland utilization in different systems above mentioned.

Research On The Most Sustainable Livestock Carrying Capacity In Grassland Management, Li Yang, Suying Li

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Although the concept of livestock carrying capacity is highly controversial (Gillson and Hoffman 2007; Roe 1997), it is still used as the key index for grassland management, especially in China. ‘X city’ which has enacted a Lives-tock and Forage Balance Policy (LFBP) since the beginning of this century as part of a trial to test the effectiveness of the policy. The LFBP Implementing Rule in ‘X city’ (Trial Implementation) developed in 2002 was designed with the purpose of trying to adjust the utilization of grassland based on a predetermined livestock carrying capacity (LCC). We collected information on the LCC adopted …

Endozoochorus Seed Dispersal By Jalauni Sheep In Tropical Climate: Recovery And Germinability Under Natural Pasture Grazing, Nityanada Das, S. B. Maity

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Herbivores can play an important role in seed dispersal. Climate, available vegetation for grazing, pasture situation can determine the seed dispersal trends by the grazing animals. Tropical climate of India with wide climatic variation leads to fluctuating herbage quality and available biomass. Ruminants spread plants through fecal pellets after grazing at one place and fecal voiding at another. Herbivores can play an important role in seed dispersal. Climate, available vegetation for grazing, pasture situation can determine the seed dispersal trends by the grazing animals. Tropical climate of India with wide climatic variation leads to fluctuating herbage quality and available biomass. …

Seed Yield Of Herbaceous Crops Under Agroforestry System, Sarmite Rancane, Dagnija Lazdina, Peteris Berzina, Vija Stesele

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Agroforestry is a perspective way of biomass production which combines simultaneous growing of woody plants with agricultural crops on the same area for different purposes (Reisner et al., 2007). Agroforestry like multifunctional agriculture has the objective of promoting economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable rural development (Leakey, 2012). It is more sustainable than the monocultures of forestry or agriculture separately. Agroforestry can be an appropriate technology in the areas with fragile ecosystems and subsistence farming.

The main advantage of this technology is improved efficiency of resource utilization and smaller competition of plants for nutrients (Bardule et al., 2013). Agroforestry has the …

Seasonal Influence On Seed Yield And Quality Of Anjan Grass (Cenchrus Ciliaris L.) Genotypes, R. P. Nagar, S. S. Meena

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cenchrus species are important perennial pasture component of Dichanthium-Cenchrus-Lasiurus grass cover of India associated with arid and semi-arid regions of tropical and sub tropical climate. It is adapted in wide range of environments due to its drought tolerance, deep roots, rapid response to summer rains, high biomass, resistance to overgrazing, palatable with crude protein 8-10% and 60-70% digestibility (Sawal et al., 2009). After well establishment these grasses give 8-10 t/ha dry fodder out of 3-4 cuts in a year and 100-250 kg/ha seed yield. There is a wide gap between demand and supply of Cenchrus grass seeds resulted about …

The Effect Of Fertilizer On Seed Production Of Melilotoides Ruthenica, Zhaolan Wang, Jiancai Du, Yanyan Zhang, Qingfeng Li, Juan Wang, Jun Li

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

M. ruthenica is very important legume forage, which has drought resistance, winter-hardness and high protein characteristics, and is thus adaptable wide environmental range, but low seed yield limited its widely extension and utilization. Fertilizer is the necessary nutrition for plant growth and production, Alfalfa production positively correlated with soil content of P and K (Attoe and Troug, 1950), and its seed yield can be increased 20.87%～31.37% by splashing B and Mo during the florescence (Haby and Keonaro, 1998). This study discussed the effect of fertilizer of N, P, K and microelements Mo, B, Cu, Zn on the seed production of …

Impact Of Grazing On Soil Seed Bank Replenishment Under The Mediterranean Climate Of Northern Syria, Abdoul Aziz Niane, P. C. Struik, Murari Singh, Zewdie Bishaw

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rangelands represent 70% of the semi-arid and arid Mediterranean land mass. It is a habitat for millions of people whose livelihood depends on animal husbandry. The revolutionary developments in the animal husbandry and veterinary medicines resulted in exponential increases in livestock and human populations living on and from dry lands. To respond to population growth, expansion on urbanization, transportation and road networks, land reform and rural development policies forced nomads to adopt sedentary lifestyles. The demographic changes coupled with national and international border crossing restrictions escalated opportunistic cultivation, and excessive exploitation of the scarce and slowly renewable vegetation cover of …

Anthesis Dynamics, Pollen Availability And Enhancement Of Seed To Ovule Ratio In Chrysopogon Fulvus, Dunna Vijay, Chandan Kumar Gupta, D. R. Malaviya, Aniruddha Maity

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Under the present scenario of severe green fodder shortage (64%) in India, grassland offers an opportunity to enhance fodder availability. To revitalize the existing denuded grasslands, seed is the best propagating material. Availability of quality seed in forage grasses is less than 20% of actual requirement/ demand. Hence, there is a need to enhance the production and productivity of grass seeds. Even the available grass seeds have very low germination percentage, which is mainly due to the absence of a caryopsis inside the fluffy seed material. Chrysopogon fulvus, commonly known as Guria grass or red false beard grass, is …

Effect Of Pretreatments On Seed Dormancy And Seedling Growth In Anjan Grass (Cenchrus Ciliaris), R. P. Nagar, S. S. Meena

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Anjan grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is native to tropical, sub-tropical Asia and Africa. It can grow on wide range of soils varying from sandy to harder heavy textured soils with annual rainfall of 350- 800 mm and up to an altitude of 1000 m. Among different rangeland grasses, it is considered palatable and nutritious grass for all kinds of grazing animals. It contains high percentage of protein (8-10%). One of the reasons for low production of pasture is poor plant density which might be due to low seed germination. The seed dormancy in range grasses hampers in establishment of …

Seed Hardening And Moisture Conservation Practices To Mitigate Water Stress In Cowpea, Syama S. Menon, K. E. Savithri

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cowpea is an important protein catering feed/fodder for cattle. Being a non-season bound crop, it can be grown throughout the year and performs well during summer season under irrigation but water scarcity limits its area under cultivation. It necessitates the development of alternate management technologies to overcome the water stress period for the sustainable growth and yield of the crop. Seed hardening, soil moisture conservation measures like mulching and antitranspirant sprays are the techniques which helps the plant to survive under drought. So the present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of various seed primers, antitranspirants and mulches for …

Soil Seed Bank Study On Abandoned Fields And Semi-Arid Grassland, South Africa, P. J. Malan, T. Myburg, Hennie A. Snyman

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Up to the 1980’s marginal soils in the central grasslands of South Africa were successfully ploughed for crop production, but unfortunately those soils soon proved to be uneconomical. Due to high input costs, low maize prices, and unreliable rainfall, the Department of Agriculture soon implemented the “soil conversion scheme” to promote the conversion of those ploughed marginal soils to permanent pastures. Regardless of the implementation the soil conversion scheme, many farmers unfortunately just abandoned some of these marginal fields, not establishing permanent pastures. This led to many hectares of unproductive previously cultivated fields, referred to as abandoned fields. It was …

The Effects Of Seed Ingestion By Livestock, Dung Fertilization, Trampling, Grass Competition And Fire On Seedling Establishment Of Two Woody Plant Species, Julius Ttjelele, David Ward, Luthando Dziba

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The increasing rate of woody plant encroachment in grasslands or savannas remains a challenge to livestock farmers. The causes and control measures of woody plant encroachment are of common interest, especially where it negatively affects the objectives of an agricultural enterprise. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of gut passage (goats, cattle), dung (nutrients), fire, grass competition and trampling on establishment of A. nilotica (Fabaceae) and D. cinerea (Fabaceae sub family Mimosoideae) seedlings. Germination trials were subjected to: 1) seed passage through the gut of cattle and goats and unpassed/ untreated seeds (i.e. not …

Morphofunctional Diversity Of Diaspores Of Some Range Grasses Of Punjab (India), Amarjit Singh Soodan, Sushant Sharma, Ashok Kumar, Rajdavinder Kaur

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslands occupy almost half of the terrestrial expanse of India ranging from coastal to alpine regions. Whyte (1958) defined ‘grassland as the land on which graminaceous species represent the dominance if not the exclusive vegetation’. Grasslands comprise the main source of fodder for the 500 million cattle population in the country besides providing habitat to several plant and animal species. But the grasslands are shrinking due to the pressure of intensive agriculture and urbanization not only in expanse but also in their biodiversity. In this context there is an urgent need to develop not only a policy towards a sustainable …

Seed Shedding Of Lolium Multiflorum In Dependency On Application Of Preparations Controlling Plant Ripening Process, Barbara Golińska, Piotr Goliński

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The seed shedding susceptibility is specific biological feature of grasses (Hampton and Fairey, 1997; Simon et al., 1997), which occurs particularly in the species of Lolium-Festuca complex. Lolium multiflorum is a grass distinguished by highest susceptibility of seed shedding (Golińska, 2009). It is the main reason of up to 60% of seed yield losses during harvest of seed plantations of this grass (Coolbear et al., 1997). In order to prevent seed losses by shedding the investigations are necessary to improve the efficiency of grass seed production. One of the possibilities is using of preparations which physically or physiologically …

Enhancing Seed Set And Seed Yield Of Sewan Grass (Lasiurus Sindicus) Through Physiological Approaches, Maharaj Singh, K. Venkatesan, Uday Burman

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Western part of Rajasthan, the Thar desert, is the most thickly populated desert of the World, possessing more than 55 million population each of human and livestock. Aberrant weather conditions and poor soil fertility pose major threats to arable crops cultivation. Livestock rearing is directly dependent on fodder availability but due to harsh agro-climatic conditions there is severe fodder scarcity. Lasiurus sindicus, perennial grass grown in hot and warm grassland climate thrives well under moisture stress on sandy plains, low dunes and hummocks of this region, receiving annual rainfall below 200 mm. For decades, these grasslands in turn supported …

Effect Of Different Seeding Rate On Seed Production Of The Rye Variety “Gogu” In Korea, Joung-Kyong Lee, Young-Il Cho, Ouk-Kyu Han, Jong-Duk Kim

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The rye (Secale cereale L.) has been used as an excellent green manure crop and good forage crop in Korea. The rye is usually recommended as a winter crop for forage and green manure after either maize or rice in Korea (Heo et al., 2009). But most of its seeds are being imported from foreign countries because the seed productions have difficulty with latematuring and the heavy raining season in the ripening stage in Korea. Therefore, a new rye variety “Gogu” with an earlymaturing and high performance was bred by National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Suwon, Korea in …

Seed Standards And Seed Testing Protocols For Forage Legume Seeds, Vinod Kumar, K. Sridhar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Seed is the basic agricultural input and its quality is extremely important. In the absence of seeds of assured quality, the expenditure of the farmers on the other inputs may become of little use. It was in this context, seed legislation is in force in majority of the crops cultivated across the country to ensure the availability of high quality seeds to the farmers. The seed quality parameters (known as Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards, IMSCS) of a notified variety of various crops (viz., forages, cereals, millets, pulses etc.) have been published through Gazette notifications by the Government …

Seed Production Of Brachiaria Ruziziensis In India--Seed Collection Methods And Feed Opportunities, Edna Antony, K. Sridar, D. T. Pal, Vinod Kumar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Brachiaria ruziziensis is an important fodder crop suitable for high rainfall areas and soils with low nutrient supply. Though the area under B. ruziziensis cultivation in India is not properly documented, it is widely grown in Kerala (Stür et al. 1996) and in parts of Karnataka and Goa. By virtue of its shade tolerance and adaptability, B. ruziziensis have wide scope for adoption in other parts of India. In India, Brachiaria is mainly planted through root slips as availability of good quality filled seeds is very less. It is known that the proportion of filled to unfilled seeds depends …

Multiple Scale Impacts Of Nomad Settlement On Social-Ecological Systems, Mingming Fan, Wenjun Li

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There are complex interactions and feedback mechanisms between human and natural systems within the coupled social-ecological systems (SESs) (Liu et al. 2007, Li and Li 2012). Human society is the major driving force that changes ecosystem dynamics from local environments to the biosphere (Liu et al. 2007, Kirch 2005). Grasslands, especially the vulnerable arid and semi-arid grassland ecosystems upon which pastoralists live and graze livestock, can be considered as SESs; pastoral activities influence the biophysical environment and set up interactions between the components of these systems (Robinson 2009). In recent years, the ecosystem services provided by grasslands and …

Improving Smallholder Livelihoods: Dairy Production In Tanzania, Edward Ulicky, Jackson Magoma, Helen Usiri, Amanda Edward

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Tanzania is primarily an agro-based economy, characterized by subsistence agricultural production that employs more than 80% of the population and contributing up to 45% of the GDP (2005). This country is endowed with a cattle population of 21.3 million, composed mainly of indigenous Zebu breed and about 680,000 improved dairy animals. About 70% of the milk produced comes from the traditional sector (indigenous cattle) kept in rural areas, while the remaining 30% comes from improved cattle mainly kept by smallholder producers. In Northern Tanzania and particularly in Hai district of Kilimanjaro region, some dairy farmers organize themselves into small producer …

Larval Survival And Movement Of The Fall Armyworm And Corn Earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In Seed Blends Of Non-Bt And Pyramided Bt Corn: Implications For Resistance Management, Marcelo Dimase

LSU Master's Theses

A seed blend refuge has been used in the U.S. Corn Belt for Bt corn insect resistance management (IRM). The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (F.), and corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) are major target pests of Bt corn in the Americas. One major concern for the use of a seed blend refuge is that larval movement of insects among non-Bt and Bt plants could affect its efficacy for resistance management. To address this concern, field and greenhouse trials were conducted to determine 1) if seed blend refugia could provide comparable levels of susceptible S. frugiperda (aabb) as structured refugia and …

Population Of Fungi Associated With Seed Germination After Storage And Seed Treatment, Alaba O. Jolaosho, Adijat Olabisi Atayese, Olufunmilayo Comfort Amed, Bolanle Temitope Akinyemi, Jimoh A. Olanite, Victoria O. A. Ojo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Fungi growth occurs in seeds as a result of environmental conditions (high relative humidity, suitable temperature and high level of seed moisture content). But pathogen free healthy seeds are required for plant propagation. Microbial and insect attack affect seeds throughout the life cycle of the plant (Islam et al., 2009). Fungi are the most common microbes that affect seed germination and they can be both saprophytic and pathogenic. Hence, the aim of this experiment is to determine the cultural and morphological characteristics and population of fungi associated with the germination of some legume seeds after storage and scarification.

Productivity Of Grasses In Association With Hardwickia Binata Under Rainfed Conditions, S. N. Ram, Ajoy K. Roy, A. K. Shukla

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Adoption of silvipasture system on wastelands offers, without impairing the growth of trees, an extra yield of grass during monsoon season and top feed during summer seasons. The leaf fodder from the hardy trees and shrubs serve as an insurance against fodder scarcity during drought to the livestock. In view of this the present study was carried out to assess the productivity of different grasses in association with Hardwickia binata under moisture conservation practices under rainfed condition.

Quality Fodder From Fruit Trees For Sustainable Forage Production In Semi-Arid Tropics, Sudhir Kumar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

India being at the crux of exploding livestock population in the world, needs to reorient agroforestry potential by inducing the fruit trees based hortipastoral systems to minimize the existing gap between fodder supply and demand from arable farming system. It is realized that in some part of the country probably more animals are depending on shrubs and trees than on grass and legume based pastures. At this juncture of main farm resource limitations, the community can exploit fruit trees to a considerable extent for fodder along with the supplementary benefit from fresh and/or processed fruits. Interestingly, the leaves which usually …

Effect Of Plant Spacing On Yield And Quality Of Leucaena Leucocephala Subsp., Wattanawan Srisomporn, Kharuthai Jantipbadee, Ganda Nakamanee, Sukanya Kampayae

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit commonly known as leucaena, is one of the most productive tree legumes available to tropical agriculture. Leucaena leucocephala subsp. glabrata 34/92 was introduced to Thailand from Oxford Forestry Institute in the year 1996 with another 16 lines and evaluated in Thailand. It was chosen as a potential psyllid resistance and high forage edible yield (Phaikaew et al., 2005). Seed lot 34/92 is derived from K636 through selfing (Hughes, 1993). This report is a part of ‘research and development of Leucaena leucocephala subsp. glabrata production as protein source in commercial feed project’ which contain a …

Forage Production In Peach Based Hortipastoral System In Indian Himalaya, Ram Pralash Yadav, Jaideep Kumar Bisht, T. Mondal, A. Pattanayak

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The North West Himalayan region (NWHR) exhibits a great diversity in geology, physiography, climate, socio-ecology and land use pattern and supports vast livestock population. The annual average rainfall varies from 80 mm in Ladakh to over 2000 mm in some parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Livestock rearing is an integral part of hill agriculture. The huge animal population (190 lakh) and poor fodder availability (30 to 40 % of the requirement) has widen the gap between demand and supply of forage crops in the region. The area under permanent pasture and grasslands in NWHR is said to be of …