Soil Science Commons^™

Relative Preference, Palatability And Intake Of Stylosanthes Scabra Accessions Adapted In Pretoria, Thamsanqa D. E. Mpanza, Abubeker Hassen, Ned E. F. Donkin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Inadequate supply of forage particularly during dry season is the major constraint in livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa (Anele et al. 2011). Poor management of the available feeds, seasonal variability in weather and climate changes may contribute to the high fluctuation of forage quality and quantity between season and years (Sultan et al. 2008). To improve livestock production in sub-Sahara Africa there is a need to improve feed deficiencies both in quantity and quality. Stylosanthes scabra cv. Seca was evaluated for dry season feed supplementation, and was found to be adaptive and productive under subtropical climate of Gauteng …

Performance Of Anatolian Merino And Akkaraman Lambs Fed Triticale, Hungarian Vetch Or A Mixture Of The Two Forages, Serkan Ates, Gurhan Keles, Fatma Inal, Ahmet Gunes, Mounir Louhaichi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forages from Hungarian vetch and triticale monocultures or mixtures that can be produced with relatively low cost are important feed sources for ruminants in spring particularly in the arid and semiarid regions. The feed intake and the response of different sheep breeds (Fraser et al. 2009) to forage resources that vary in feeding value may differ. Therefore it is critical to match forage to animal and crop production needs for more efficient production in integrated crop livestock farming system.

Graphical Analysis Of Spatio-Temporal Patterns In Forage Quality, A. Bracher, M. Böhlen, F. Cafagna, A. Taliun

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Due to the highly structured topography in Switzerland, crop growth conditions vary within short distances. Differences in altitude are one of the major causes for climatic variation resulting in significant spatio-temporal effects on forage quality in terms of nutrient content and feeding value, particularly in grassland dominated regions. It is one of the goals of the Swiss feed database to support queries that visualize and quantify the temporal and spatial influence on feed quality.

Pelletized Forage-Based Rations As Alternative Feeds For Improving Goat Productivity, E. A. Orden, E. M. Cruz, A. N. Espino, Z. M. Battad, R. G. Reyes, M. E. M. Orden, N. O. Frias, A. G. Gibe, N. A. Del Rosario, E. C. Villar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Goat farming is very popular in the Philippines as it is considered by many to be a viable rural enterprise. Despite this, the goat industry is faced with many challenges, including problems relating to high pre-weaning mortality, poor nutrition and lack of strategic approaches to accelerate genetic improvement. The long term rate of increase of goat numbers is only 0.97% per annum, due to high offtake rates and low productivity. Thus, the Philippine goat population is only expected to reach 4.27million by 2020 (compared with the target of 6.2 million), given the 3.88million population in 2010 (Alo 2012). Interventions are …

Nutritive Quality Of Hay And Silage From Natural Grazing Land In South Western Nigeria, Victoria O. A. Ojo, Alaba O. Jolaosho, Oluwasanmi M. Arigbede, Peter A. Dele, Samson A. Adeoye, Ronke Y. Aderinboye, Oluwaseun J. Idowu, Oludotun O. Adelusi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the tropics, inadequate nutrition caused by scarcity of forages and its low quality constitutes a major constraint to good performance of ruminant animals (Lukuyu et al. 2011). Herbage availability during the wet season often exceeds animal requirements (Chakoma et al. 1999). As the dry season sets in, the protein level of the accumulated forages drops and the fibre level increases, with an increase in lignin content while voluntary intake decreases. Due to lack of quality forage especially in the dry season, animals feeding on them tend to lose weight and their productivity will be negatively affected.

In …

Α-Tocopherol And Β-Carotene Concentrations In Legume-Grass Mixtures As Affected By Wilting And Ensiling, Elisabet Nadeau, Hanna Lindqvist, Søren Krogh Jensen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Fresh or preserved forage is the largest source of natural α-tocopherol and β-carotene for dairy cows. Plant species, wilting and method of preservation can affect the vitamin content of forage and, consequently, have a large impact on the concentrations of these vitamins in plasma of dairy cows (Agabriel et al.2007).

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of species mixture, wilting, ensiling and additive on the contents of α-tocopherol and β-carotene in legume-grass forages.

Mixed Species Seeding: A Means To Increase Production In Temperate Pastures, Michael P. Schellenberg, Bili Biligetu, Valentin Picasso

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Seeding mixed species for forage production has been suggested as a means of increasing productivity and stabilizing yields under a changing climate. Forages have traditionally been sown as monocultures or binary mixtures only, with the emphasis being on species and not necessarily their function or compatibility. While natural plant communities typically may be dominated by a single species, they are comprised of several species and function-al groups.

This paper provides the results of sowing multiple species at semiarid sites within the North American Great Plains and identifies a similar result from a more humid region reported within the literature.

Generation Of Transgenic Tall Fescue Plants With Enhanced Abiotic Stress Tolerance, I. Alam, Y. G. Kim, K. H. Kim, N. Y. Ahn, B. H. Lee

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Environmental stresses, such as drought, salinity and temperature extremes significantly decrease the yield of forage crops. Therefore, traits associated with abiotic stress-tolerance are of prime importance for their improvement. Biotechnological approaches have the potential to accelerate and complement conventional breeding by extending the range of gene sources for valuable traits, thus offering new opportunities for forage improvement. Transgenic technology appears as an efficient biotechnological tool of molecular breeding for improving forage quality and yield as well as tolerance to various environmental stresses. Occurrence of high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a common phenomenon in abiotic stress-challenged plants. Plants …

Drivers Of Change For Grassland And Forage Systems: A Case Study Of China, Yingjun Zhang, L. Z. Zhang, M. L. Wang, X. L. Li, Q. C. Yang, J. Hanson, M. A. Jorge

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grassland and forage systems have changed dramatically across the world. This paper describes some of the key drivers of change of grassland and forage systems using examples from China as a case study. The key drivers of change for grassland and forage systems include political, economic, social, technical and environmental factors and their impact on changes in grasslands ecosystems in China is discussed. There are interactions among the drivers and their impact is similar in many developing countries.

Stakeholders Integration For Sustainable Use Of Temperate Forage/Livestock Agriculture, Garry D. Lacefield, Don Ball

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forage/livestock production is complex, and best management options are often site-specific, but some concepts have broad application. The intent of this article is to provide an overview of research-based management approaches that the authors believe are necessary to ensure the sustainability of forage/livestock farms. This overview discussion is needed because livestock agriculture is changing, thus creating both challenges and opportunities for producers. In the last 30 years, beef numbers in the USA have declined by 20%, but production per cow has more than doubled, resulting in increased total production on less land with fewer animals. Similar statistics exist for the …

Enhancing Grassland Productivity Through Disease Management Of Grass And Forage Species, Tingyu Duan, Chunjie Li, Yanzhong Li, Binhua Yu, Zhibiao Nan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The total area of grassland in China is about 400 million hectares, accounting for 41.7% of the country’s land area, which plays important role in ecological construction and food security assurance of the national. However, diseases of grass and forage limited the development of the pastoral agriculture. There are more than1500 new diseases were reported in the past 16 years with more and more new diseases were discovered. The damage to grassland is becoming more severe with the known diseases prevalent areas expanding.

Problems And Prospects Of Grassland Development: Policy Issues, S. Ray Smith

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There are a range of government and non-government policies that affect grassland development around the world. The objective of this paper is to provide examples of successful policies which have been instrumental in the preservation and maintenance of grasslands and to highlight policies which have resulted in negative consequences. This paper will not attempt to provide a complete overview of policies, but instead will provide examples from representative countries. Policies which affect grasslands can be classified into two broad categories: government policies that cover comprehensive landscape issues like the Grassland Household Contract System (GHCS) in China or the Federal Land …

Reclamation Of Saline Soils Through Revegetation In Australia: Plants, Processes And People, Edward G. Barrett-Lennard

Conference papers and presentations

Secondary salinity (salinity induced by human activity) is a major world problem. Hydrological imbalances in landscapes cause watertables to rise, drawing salt from deeper in the soil profile to the soil surface, where the combined stresses of salinity and waterlogging threaten the growth of crops and pastures. The reversal of salinity by the broad‐scale reintroduction of perennial plants back into landscapes may not be economically feasible, but watertables may be at least partly directly drawn‐down by the grow th of salt tolerant plants (halophytes) on saltland . This review summarises data from Australia in which the water use by perennial …

Crop Updates 2002 - Farming Systems, Peter Metcalfe, Mike Ewing, Roy Latta, Keith Devenish, Diana Fedorenko, Clayton Butterly, Chantelle Butterly, Kim Diamond, Neil Diamond, Stuart Mcalpine, Bill Bowden, Jessica Johns, Terry Piper, David Bowran, Robert Beard, Phil Ward, Dominie Wright, Nichole Burges, Roger Jones, Danae Harman, Greg Shea, George Yan, David Tennant, David Hall, Anyou Liu, Clinton Revell, Candy Hudson, Andrew Blake, Natalie Lauritsen, John Fosu-Nyarko, Roger Jones, Lisa Smith, Mike Jones, Geoff Dwyer, Bill Bowden, Michael O'Connell, Chris Gazey, David Gartner, Amanda Miller, Richard W. Bell, K. Frost, Mike Wong, Ross Brennan, N. J. Blake, G. Mconnell, D. Patabendige, N. Venn, Derk Bakker, Greg Hamilton, Dave Houlbrooke, Cliff Spann, Paul Blackwell, Bindi Webb, G. Lyle, K. Wittwer, Perry Dolling, Senthold Asseng, Ian Fillery, Michael Robertson, Caroline Peek, David Rogers, Peter Portman, Jeff Russell, Greg Shea, Ben Henderson, Ross Kingwell, Tresslyn Walmsley, Jean Galloway, Debbie Thackray, Moin Salam, Art Diggle, William J. Macleod, Jenny Hawkes

Crop Updates

This session covers forty one papers from different authors:

INTRODUCTION

1. Future Farming Systems session for Crop Updates 2002 Peter Metcalf, FARMING SYSTEMS SUBPROGRAM MANAGER GRAINS PROGRAM Department of Agriculture

2. Perennial pastures in annual cropping systems: Lucerne and beyond, the ‘Big Picture’, Mike Ewing, Deputy CEO CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, Department of Agriculture

3. Perennial pastures in annual cropping systems: lucerne and beyond, Roy Latta and Keith Devenish, Department of Agriculture

4. Establishing Lucerne with a cover crop, Diana Fedorenko¹, Clayton Butterly¹, Chantelle Butterly¹, Kim and Neil Diamond^{2 …}

Fertilizing Alfalfa For Optimum Yields, William O. Thom

Soil Science News and Views

Alfalfa is one of the most important forage crops in Kentucky. It is grown on a wide range of soil types, has the ability to produce high yields, and will respond to good management including a sound soil fertility program.

Soil Testing: Improving Reliability, John H. Grove

Soil Science News and Views

Late summer is a good time to check forage and row crop fields for possible nutritional problems and to make plans for fall soil sampling. "Problem" areas can be identified for selective sampling and the test results can be used to plan fertilizer and lime expenses for the next crop production season. Fields scheduled for tobacco, small grain and/or double cropping need to be sampled first in order to determine lime, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) needs before fall application.

Seedbed Preparation For Pasture Renovation, Harold B. Rice

Soil Science News and Views

In Kentucky renovation has come to mean the re-establishment of legumes in grass pastures and meadows. Many acres of grassland do not contain enough legumes to fill the amount of nitrogen needed and to improve the nutritional value of the forage. A good stand of white clover, for example, has the capacity to fix about 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Because of this, pastures containing around 40 percent clover can produce about as much meat or milk as grass pastures fertilized with 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre. For best results in seeding clovers into grass sods, fields should …

Economic Analysis Of Forage Production And Utilization In Dakota And Dixon Counties, Nebraska, Howard W. Ottoson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Soil erosion remains a serious problem on many Nebraska farms despite programs of financial assistance, technical aid, and education by several national and state agencies. One reason that soil conserving adjustments in land use have not been made by farmers is that considerable uncertainty surrounds the economics of soil erosion control on the farm level. This study is an attempt to increase knowledge and reduce some of the uncertainty with regard to the economics of erosion control in a specific area.