Plant Biology Commons^™

Vegetation Dynamics Of Campos Under Grazing/Fire Regimes In Southern Brazil, Fernando L. F. De Quadros, J. P. P. Trinidade, D. G. Bandinelli, L. Pötter

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Natural grassland vegetation in Southern Brazil, known as campos, has most likely evolved under a disturbance regime that included fire and grazing (Pillar et al., 1997). Nowadays, the composition of the vegetation of campos is grazing- and fire-dependent (Boldrini et al., 1997). Its importance can be evaluated by the fact that it represents 37 % of the state’s area and provides 77 % of the slaughtered cattle at Rio Grande do Sul (Barcellos et al., 2002). The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the vegetation dynamics of campos under grazing/fire regimes in order to explore the …

Accumulation Of Polyphenols And Major Bioactive Compounds In Plantago Lanceolata L. As A Medicinal Plant For Animal Health And Production, Y. Tamura, K. Yamaki

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Producing animals without the use of feed-grade antibiotic growth promoters and chemical medicines is sought. Scientific studies with this aim have focused on medicinal plants to identify and quantify any beneficial effects that they might have on animal production. Plantago lanceolata L. has been used in herbal medicines and is currently being evaluated as a potential pasture species because of its beneficial effects on animal health. In the present study, the accumulation of polyphenols in P. Lanceolata is compared to that in principal pasture species, and genetic variation and environmental changes in the major bioactive compounds in P. Lanceplata are …

Effect Of Urea-Treated Pennisetum Pedicellatum And Supplementation Of Concentrates With Urea On Milk Production Of “Mossi” Ewes, V. M. C. Bougouma-Yameogo, A. J. Nianogo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The “Mossi” sheep is a near parent of “Djallonke” sheep that live in sudano-sahelian area of Burkina Faso. However, there are few available results on dairy production from this breed. The treatment of straw with urea is a technique used in several developing countries to improve the nutritional value of gramineous forages (Sourabié et al., 1995). The aim of this study was to test the influence on the performance of “Mossi” ewes and on milk composition of treatment of Pennisetum pedicellatum (Pp) with urea in comparison with addition of urea to the concentrate feed.

Effect Of Stocking Rate On A Stipa Breviflora Desert Steppe Community Of Inner Mongolia, G. Han, Walter D. Willms, M. Zhao, A. Gao, S. Jiao, David R. Kemp

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Stocking rate is an important factor in grazing management. The stocking rate defines utilization and ultimately grazing pressure, which in turn affects grassland sustainability. Grassland sustainability is partly defined by its species composition and ultimately by its productivity. These attributes are unique for specific plant communities and the effect of stocking rate must be established for each in order to understand the community response to grazing and to determine its carrying capacity. While some information exists on the effects of stocking rate on livestock production in the Stipa breviflora Griseb. Desert Steppe (Wei et al., 2000), the effects on …

Using The N-Alkane Technique To Estimate The Herbage Intake And Diet Composition Of Cattle Grazing A Miscanthus Sinensis Grassland, Y. Zhang, Y. Togamura, K. Otsuki

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Plant wax alkanes are now widely used as marker substances (Dove & Mayes 1991) for the estimation of forage intake and diet composition of grazing herbivores. The objective of this study was to evaluate this method with cattle grazing a M. sinensis grassland in Japan.

Reasons For The Premature Decline In Astragalus Adsurgens Stands In Kerqin Sandy Land, Qizhong Sun, Z. L. Wang, J. G. Han, Y. W. Wang, G. R. Liu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Diseases partly account for reductions in Astragalus adsurgens stand longevity. The effect of some cultural practices on the control of pests and diseases have been reported (Hou, 1986; Nan, 1996), but few reports have detailed the relationship among soil fertiliser status, diseases and premature stand decline. This study was conducted to investigate these relationships in order to extend the longevity of Astragalus adsurgens stands.

Selecting Grassland Species For Saline Environments, M. E. Rogers, A. D. Craig, T. D. Colmer, R. Munns, S. J. Hughes, P. M. Evans, P. G. H. Nichols, R. Snowball, D. Henry, J. Deretic, B. Dear, M. Ewing

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Australia, around 5.7 million hectares of agricultural land are currently affected by dryland salinity or at risk from shallow water tables and this figure is expected to increase over the next 50 years (LWRA, 2001). Most improved grassland species cannot tolerate the combined effects of salt and waterlogging and, therefore, the productivity of sown grasslands in salt-affected areas is low. However, there is potential to overcome the lack of suitably adapted fodder species by introducing new, salt and waterlogging-tolerant species and by diversifying the gene pool of proven species. Potential species include exotic, naturalised and native Australian grass, legumes, …

Effects Of The Stage Of Growth And Inoculation On Proteolysis In Field Pea Silage, L. Cavallarin, G. Borreani, S. Antoniazzi, E. Tabacco

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Ensiling legumes is a good way of providing home-grown protein in dairy farms but severe protein degradation can occur when conserving legumes. Peas (Pisum sativum L.) are legumes with a high crude protein and starch content, that provide a high forage yield in a short growing period. Very little information is available on the protein value of field pea silage. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of stage of maturity and inoculant application on proteolysis in field pea silage in the Po Valley, NW Italy.

Grass Silage: Factors Affecting Efficiency Of N Utilisation In Milk Production, P. Huhtanen, K. J. Shingfield

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Key points

1. Low efficiency of N utilisation for milk production in cows fed grass silage-based diets is mainly due to excessive N losses in the rumen.
2. The type and extent of in silo fermentation can alter the balance of absorbed nutrients.
3. There is very little experimental evidence that the capture of N in the rumen can be improved by a better synchrony between energy and N release in the rumen. Nitrogen losses in the rumen can be reduced by decreasing the ratio between rumen degradable N and fermentable energy.
4. Rapeseed meal has increased milk protein output more than isonitrogenous soybean …

Decision Support For Grassland Systems In Developing Countries, P. K. Thornton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Key points

1. Information flows in complex systems are often themselves highly complex, and decision support approaches based on linear input-output processes may have only limited impact.

2. How decisions are made, and how they can be appropriately supported, is often incompletely understood, in part because of inadequate understanding of the objectives and attitudes of all the decision makers involved.

3. Much of the developing world faces daunting problems in the coming 30 years, and appropriate information could play a critical role in dealing with these.

4. System complexity, household variability, and institutional intricacies have to be embraced rather than …

An Ecosystem Modelling Approach To Rehabilitating Semi-Desert Rangelands Of North Horr, Kenya, G. A. Olukoye, W. N. Wamicha, J. I. Kinyamario

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Decreased rainfall, recurrent droughts and increased anthropogenic activities have led to a dramatic increase in wind erosion on pastoral lands of North Horr resulting in the reactivation of the once-stable sand dunes. This has degraded the vegetation and impoverished the local community. Mobile sand has a severe impact on dry season grazing areas (Omar & Abdal, 1994) and, therefore, affects pastoral livestock production. In North Horr, Suaeda monoica is important in camel production and for stabilising sand dunes but it has been over-utilized over the years. The objective of this study was to use ecosystem modelling approaches to examine the …

Riparian Management In Intensive Grazing Systems For Improved Biodiversity And Environmental Quality: Productive Grazing, Healthy Rivers, S. R. Aarons, M. Jones-Lennon, P. Papas, N. Ainsworth, F. Ede, J. Davies

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Within high rainfall intensive grazing systems of southern Victoria, riparian zones are often degraded due to vegetation clearing, stock access and inappropriate farm management. Streams in these landscapes often have poor water quality and reduced biodiversity due to degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Improved management of riparian zones depends on developing tools and practices for integration into productive grazing systems. This paper describes the approaches used and the tools developed in the ‘Productive Grazing, Healthy Rivers: Improving riparian and in-stream biodiversity’ project.

Contributions Of The United States Department Of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service To Conserving Grasslands On Private Lands In The United States, L. Peter Heard

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The future of biodiversity in the USA is tied inseparably to activities taking place on private lands. Agriculture is by far the most important user of these lands, with about 50% or 900M acres managed as private cropland, grassland or rangeland. Decisions made by America’s farmers and ranchers directly affect grasslands and their impact on food supply, biodiversity, soil protection and water quality. Agricultural programs and policies in the USA have had a large influence on the choices available to farmers and ranchers in land management. Since the 1930s, USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has been working with farmers, …

Effect On Sward Botanical Composition Of Mixed And Sequential Grazing By Cattle And Sheep Of Upland Permanent Pasture In The Uk, J. E. Vale, M. D. Fraser, J. G. Evans

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Previous work has shown benefits of sequential grazing by cattle and sheep, with superior liveweight gains being recorded for lambs grazing swards previously grazed by cattle. A preliminary study of the effects of mixed sheep and cattle grazing also suggested that more extensively grazed swards offer scope for complementary grazing between sheep and cattle. The aim of this experiment was to directly compare these two approaches of integrating the grazing of cattle and sheep.

Effect Of Mixed And Sequential Grazing By Cattle And Sheep Of Upland Permanent Pasture On Liveweight Gain, M. D. Fraser, J. E. Vale, J. G. Evans

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Previous work has shown benefits of sequential grazing by cattle and sheep, with superior liveweight gains being recorded for lambs grazing swards previously grazed by cattle. A preliminary study of the effects of mixed sheep and cattle grazing also suggested that more extensively grazed swards offer scope for complementary grazing between sheep and cattle. The aim of this experiment was to directly compare these two approaches of integrating the grazing of cattle and sheep.

Effects Of Breed And Stage Of Growing Season On The Metabolic Profile Of Sheep Grazing Moorland, V. J. Theobald, M. D. Fraser, J. M. Moorby

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Previous studies have shown that the diet of sheep grazing heather moorland is affected by season (Grant et al., 1987) and the proportion of Calluna vulgaris cover (Osoro et al., 2000). In order to investigate the impact of these factors on the associated nutrient supply of animals grazing heathland, blood samples were taken to monitor the metabolic status of different breeds of sheep at different stages of the growing season when grazing sites with different proportions of heather cover.

Characterising The Fermentation Capabilities Of Gut Microbial Populations From Different Breeds Of Cattle And Sheep Grazing Heathland, D. R. Davies, M. D. Fraser, V. J. Theobald, E. L. Bakewell

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Previous studies have demonstrated differences in the diet composition of sheep and cattle when grazing heather moorland, and such differences may in turn lead to differences in rumen fermentation characteristics and associated adaptation to diet. To investigate this further an in vitro gas production experiment was conducted using inocula from different breeds of cattle and sheep grazing heathland.

The Performance Of Cattle On Lowland Species-Rich Neutral Grassland At Three Contrasting Grazing Pressures, B. A. Griffith, J. R.B. Tallowin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grazing is an essential management practice for maintaining the nature conservation value of lowland semi-natural neutral grassland to control succession and create different faunal habitats via structural heterogeneity within the pasture (Duffey et al., 1974). However, there is a paucity of information on what would constitute a sustainable grazing intensity that will deliver the wildlife objectives and what the consequences of this management would be on growth rate of livestock and overall pasture output. An experiment was designed to quantify the ecological and agronomic consequences of imposing different grazing intensities on species-rich neutral grassland. The results will provide sward-based …

Nutritional Value Of Pasture Forage For Sheep In Krkonoše National Park, P. Homolka

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This study describes the nutritional value of pastures in extreme mountain conditions in Krkonoše Mountains National Park. The Park performs important ecological and environmental functions. Extensive sheep grazing serves in the preservation of rare, protected and endangered species of plants (including endemics) and in the restoration of the biodiversity of meadows. The objective of this experiment was to estimate the production of plant biomass in these pastures and its digestibility by sheep.

Facilitating Transformative Innovations In Sustainability Education [Version 2], Martin Melin, Geir Lieblein, Tor Arvid Breland, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Educational strategies globally are changing from an authoritative, top-down model to one focused on greater student and stakeholder participation in planning and implementation of research and educational activities. In addition to emphasis on student-centered education, strategies currently evolve to encompass learning organizations and multistakeholder learning networks. These are essential to address the complexity and scope of tomorrow’s challenges, involving issues that could be called ’wicked problems’ not easily addressed by single disciplines nor resulting in solutions that please all the players. In this study we describe how a transformative innovation – the NEXTFOOD educational approach – may contribute substantially to …

Center For Grassland Studies, March 2023

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

New Assistant Director for The Center for Grassland Studies, David Wedin

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director's Column by Jerry Volesky (Interim Director)

Congratulations December 2022 Graduates

New Grazing Lands Ecologist for Grassland Studies, Nic McMillan

New Administrative Associate for Grassland Studies, Ashley Branting

Apply Now for CGS Scholarships and Assistantship, https://grassland.unl.edu/grassland-systems/grazing-livestock-scholarships

New Guidelines for Reducing Eastern Redcedar in Grasslands by Dillon Fogarty

Year One Barta Brothers Ranch Collaborative Adaptive Management Update by Craig Allen

Nebraska Grazing Conference, August 8-9, 2023 by Daren Redfearn

Forty Years Reflection on Grassland Fire Weather by David Wedin

Nebraska Youth Range …

Biology Of Spodoptera Frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) On Rice And Different Corn Varieties, Anthony S. Agravante, Karen B. Alviar, Analiza Henedina M. Ramirez, Sheryl A. Yap

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Rice and corn are one of the most important crops in the Philippines. Several insect pests contribute to the losses and low yield of these crops. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), was recently reported to cause economic damage to corn. Also, this insect consists of two genetically differentiated strains namely, the corn strain and the rice strain. This study was conducted in a laboratory conditions to evaluate the biological parameters of FAW on rice and corn varieties. Newly hatched larvae were fed such as the open pollinated variety (OPV), traditional variety, Macho F1 (hybrid), NK 6410 (genetically …

Morphological Characterization Of Intraspecific Variation For Trichome Traits In Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum), Satinderpal Kaur, Neetu Khanal, Robert Dearth, Rupesh Kariyat

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trichomes, the hairlike protuberances in plants, have been well known to act as the first line of defense against herbivores, and abiotic stresses, along with other structural defenses such as spines, thorns, and waxes. We previously reported the tremendous variation in trichome traits among different wild and cultivated Solanum species and demonstrated that trichomes types and density are traditionally miscalculated and often misnamed. However, intraspecific variation in trichome traits is poorly understood, although this has implications for stress tolerance and resistance breeding programs in economically important crop species and can also mediate ecological interactions at multiple trophic levels in their …

Abnormal Ear Development In Corn: Does Hybrid, Environment, And Seeding Rate Matter?, Osler A. Ortez, Anthony J. Mcmechan, Emily Robinson, Thomas C. Hoegemeyer, Reka Howard, Roger W. Elmore

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Corn (Zea mays L.) yields have increased in the United States since the 1930s and in other parts of the world since the 1950s and 1960s because of improvements in agricultural management and genotypes. Despite these increases, production concerns still exist. In July 2016, abnormal ear development (multi-ears per node, barbell-ears, and short-husks) was reported in cornfields that extended from the Texas Panhandle to eastern Colorado and east through Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. Surveys in Nebraska farmer fields revealed significant productivity losses due to the issues, but little was known about the underlying causes. A research study was …

Intensifying A Crop–Fallow System: Impacts On Soil Properties, Crop Yields, And Economics, S. J. Ruis, S. Stepanovic, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Intensifying crop–fallow systems could address increased weed control costs, increased land or rental costs, reduced crop diversity, and degraded soil properties in water-limited environments. One strategy to intensify such systems could be the insertion of a short-season crop during fallow. But, how this strategy affects soils, crop production, and farm economics needs further research. Thus, we studied the impacts of replacing fallow in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L)–corn (Zea mays L.)–fallow system with a short-season spring crop [field pea (Pisum sativum L.)] on crop yields and economics from 2015 to 2019 and 5-yr cumulative effects on …

Evaluating Metabolic And Genomic Data For Predicting Grain Traits Under High Night Temperature Stress In Rice, Ye Bi, Rafael Massahiro Yassue, Puneet Paul, Balpreet Kaur Dhatt, Jaspreet Sandhu, Phuc Thi Do, Harkamal Walia, Toshihiro Obata, Gota Morota

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The asymmetric increase in average nighttime temperatures relative to increase in average daytime temperatures due to climate change is decreasing grain yield and quality in rice. Therefore, a better genome-level understanding of the impact of higher night temperature stress on the weight of individual grains is essential for future development of more resilient rice. We investigated the utility of metabolites obtained from grains to classify high night temperature (HNT) conditions of genotypes, and metabolites and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to predict grain length, width, and perimeter phenotypes using a rice diversity panel. We found that the metabolic profiles of rice genotypes …

Ruminal Proteolysis In Forages With Distinct Endopeptidases Activities, G. Pichard, C. Tapia, R. Larrain

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Improving livestock efficiency in utilisation of nitrogen resources continues to be a major environmental and economic objective. Zhu et al. (1999) have shown that plant endopeptidases are activated as a response to cutting stress. Previous work in our laboratory explored over 300 entries of forage genotypes and found a broad diversity in enzymatic activity by means of hydrolysis in gelatine and direct autolysis assays in forage tissues. The objective of this work was to assess if the species previously identified as having high or low endopeptidase activity, would behave consistently when exposed to ruminal microbial proteolysis.

Effects Of Particle Size In Forage Samples For Protein Breakdown Studies, G. Pichard, C. Tapia

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Coupling ruminal processes of hydrolysis and synthesis continues to be a research issue where more progress is needed. This requires the development of good protein assessment methods, particularly when representing the breakdown processes that occur in fresh pastures eaten by herbivores. Laboratory analyses need to deal with small and homogeneous samples, but the mechanical reduction of particle size may not reflect the actual digestion kinetics occurring when the original fresh forage is consumed. Such physical traits may alter the release of non-structural compounds and the penetration of microbial enzymes (Boudon et al., 2002). The objective of this work was …

A New System For The Evaluation Of The Fermentation Quality Of Silages, K. Weiß, E. Kaiser

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Depending on the content of nitrate in green forage, the pattern of fermentation products in silages differ significantly (Weiß & Kaiser, 2001). The systems, which are now common in practice for evaluating the quality of silage fermentation, characterise fermentation quality incorrectly because the evaluation is influenced by the chemical composition of green forage. The aim of this work was to derive an evaluation system for fermentation quality, which is independent from the chemical composition of green forage.

Prediction Of Indigestible Ndf Content Of Grass And Legume Silages By Nirs, L. Nyholm, M. Rinne, M. Hellämäki, P. Huhtanen, J. Nousiainen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The future feed evaluation systems based on mechanistic digestion models require reliable estimates of forage digestible and indigestible NDF content (DNDF and INDF). The objective of this study was to examine the potential of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) in predicting INDF content of grass and legume silages.