Agricultural Science Commons^™

The Importance Of Soil Seed Bank Dynamics As Potential Indicators Of Desertification Tipping Point, N. Hamunyela, W. C. Nesongano, K. Tielbörger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Soil seed banks play a major role in the vegetation dynamics of drylands, where annual rainfall is unpredictable and plants depend on a persistent stage (seeds) to survive over the dry season. The purpose of the study is to understand the behaviour of the rangeland system in terms of soil seed bank dynamics before, during and after crossing the “so called” DTP and to determine whether different management systems plays a role in accelerating the desertification process. Through the use of the Space for Time Substitution Approach the study analysed spatial grazing gradients (gradients radiating from water points) to predict …

The Influence Of Legume Species On The Productivity And Quality Of Multi-Species Swards In Four Production Years, A. Adamovics, I. Gutmane

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Latvia’s farms, the use of multicomponent grass–legume mixtures is a traditional practice, because swards can secure good persistence and stable productivity. Red clover Trifolium pratense (Tp) and lucerne Medicago sativa (Ms) are traditional forage crops, but fodder galega Galega orientalis (Go) is grown for a relatively short period. Field trials were carried out with the aim to investigate forage yield and quality during four production years of sown legume–grass swards. Mixtures were composed of 50% legumes and 50% grasses (G). Swards were cut three times during the vegetation season. Significant differences in dry matter (DM) yield were found between …

Promoting Rangeland Restoration And Climate Resilience Through Grazing Case Studies, T. D. Hudson, S. A. Hall, G. G. Yorgey, S. Neibergs, M. R. Reeves, S. Jensen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cow-calf beef operations are the primary users of the 8.75 million hectares of rangelands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and will have to adapt to ongoing and future climate change. Management directed toward current rangeland stressors which may be amplified under a changing climate—including fire risk, invasive plants, and droughts—is likely to improve future resilience. And although climate change discussions have become highly politicized, our experience suggests that Pacific Northwest ranchers support "no-regrets” strategies that provide ecological and economic benefits under a variety of future conditions. Our goal is to foster adoption of these strategies by sharing individual success stories. …

The Effects Of Microbial Inoculation On Short-To-Long Fermentation And Aerobic Stability Of Grass-Legume Silage Ensiled In Big Bales, J. Jatkauskas, V. Vrotniakiene, K. L. Witt, G. Copani, I. Eisner

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Wilted (35.9 % DM and 2.6% WSC) moderately difficult to ensile grass-legume mixture (red clover, alfalfa and timothy 50:20:30) was ensiled in cylindrical big bales (1.2 m hight and 1.2 m diameter) with a weight about 700 kg. The crop was ensiled for 8, 32 and 120 days with or without a microbial inoculation (SiloSolve^® FC containing Lactococcus lactis DSM 11037/1k2081 and Lactobacillus buchneri DSM 22501/1k20738 applied at 1.5×10⁵ CFU g^-1 forage). Ten bales per treatment were prepared for each fermentation period. After each period of ensiling the big bales were opened, sampled, and tested for fermentation …

Strategies To Decrease Management Inputs And Improve Quality Of Tripsacum For Fodder Production And Ecosystem Services, Jesse Ira Morrison

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Species and biotypes of the genus Tripsacum include: eastern gamagrass (T. dactyloides) in North and Central America; Guatemala grass (T. fasciculatum syn. T. andersonii) in Latin America and the West Indies; and wide-leaf gamagrass (T. latifolium) throughout Mesoamerica. Of these, Guatemala grass has become widely popular throughout the tropics as a fodder plant and for its benefits related to environmental and ecosystem services. Guatemala grass is a hearty, long-lived perennial warm-season bunchgrass. Mature plants are somewhat shallow rooted, with short rhizomes, and produce robust foliage with leaf blades 10cm wide and 120cm long. The …

Spatial And Temporal Variation Of Stocking Rate In A Rotational Grazing System On A Namibian Cattle And Sheep Farm From 2006 To 2017, L. Ludwig, C. Huelsebusch

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The debate on appropriate stocking rates (SR) increasingly recognizes the importance of variable, targeted and adaptive stocking in response to a temporally variable and spatially heterogeneous resource distribution, particularly in challenging environments such as the Namibian savannah. In common extensive ranching systems, a farmer’s scope of action is often limited to flexibly adjusting the number and concentration of livestock to the available forage in space and time. SRs are commonly set according to carrying capacity recommendations which usually have a low spatio-temporal resolution. This may lead to punctual under- and overutilization. The Namibian Rangeland Management Strategy advocates adjusting SR in …

Silage Preparation And Fermentation Characteristics Of Pearl Millet Stover Treated With Microbial Additive In West Africa, Y. Cai, Z. Du, S. Yamasaki, D. Jethro, M. Nignan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) stover is one of the main crop by-products in West Africa. To effectively use the crop by-product resources as roughage for ruminant to cover the feed shortage in the dry season, the millet stover silage was prepared using laboratory-scale fermentation system without (control) or with lactic acid bacteria inoculant (LP, Lactobacillus plantarum) and cellulase enzyme (AC, Acremonium) in Burkina Faso, and their fermentation characteristics and chemical composition were analyzed. The dry matter (DM) of fresh millet before ensiling was 44.3%, and their organic matter, crude protein (CP), ether extract, neutral detergent fiber …

Seasonal Patterns Of Herbage Accumulation Dynamics In Marandu Palisadegrass Subjected To Intensities Of Continuous Stocking Management, André F. Sbrissia, Daniel Schmitt, Paulo G. Duchini, Sila C. Da Silva

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

It is relatively well reported in the literature that pastures can have similar forage net accumulation when managed with contrasting structures. However, we hypothesized that the patterns of forage accumulation dynamics of pastures managed at different canopy heights is dependent on environmental conditions. The experimental treatments were four canopy heights (10, 20, 30, and 40 cm), allocated to experimental units according to a randomized complete block design with four replicates and evaluated throughout four contrasting environmental seasons (Summer, Autumn, Winter-Early Spring, and Late Spring). Under favourable growing conditions greater forage accumulation was observed in pastures maintained taller; on the contrary, …

Screening Of Napier Grass (Pennisetum Purpureum Schumac.) Clones For Stunt Disease In Western Kenya, Caroline A. O. Kute

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Napier stunt disease (NSD) is a threat to Napier grass farming in the smallholder dairy industry in east and central Africa. NSD in Kenya is caused by Candidatus Phytoplasma oryzae (Ns-phytoplasma) belonging to the 16SrXI group; vectored by a leaf hopper Maiestas banda. The objective of the study was to determine the incidence (proportion of diseased leaves) and severity (proportion of leaf area diseased [PLAD]) of stunt disease in Napier clones by screening in Bungoma, Kakamega and Busia Counties in Western Kenya. The Napier clones were germplasm collections maintained at KALRO Kitale and Muguga nurseries and in farmers’ fields. …

Revisiting Nitrogen Fertilisation Rates Of Kikuyu And Kikuyu-Ryegrass Pastures, C. Viljoen, Janke Van Der Colf, Pieter A. Swanepoel

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Irrigated pastures are used for dairy production in South Africa. Minimum-tillage and nitrogen (N) fertilisation are important management practices for kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) and ryegrass (Lolium spp.) pastures. Nitrogen fertiliser application rates as high as 500 kg N ha^-1 year^-1 have been reported. Conventional tillage as well as cutting and removal of herbage material (opposed to removal through grazing) are the basis on which these fertiliser guidelines were developed. The current management practices have substantially changed the soil organic carbon and N stoichiometry. The aim of this study was to determine an optimum rate of …

Review Of Urochloa Breeder’S Toolbox With The Theory Of Change And Stage Gate System Approach, E. Sweitzer, L. Hernandez, D. Florian, A. Notenbaert, S. Burkart, J. Arango, J. Cardoso, M. Peters, V. Castiblanco

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock production in the global south is at crossroads as there is a demand to increase Animal Source Foods to address hunger and pressure to lighten the environmental footprint often associated with livestock production. To satisfy both needs, the use of technologies that improve animal performance, while reducing land use and net Greenhouse Gas emissions produced by animals is essential. One of such technologies are Urochloa forage grasses.

Urochloa forage grasses are well known for their rusticity and their ability to grow in soils of low fertility and high aluminum content. These characteristics allow Urochloa to grow in areas temporally …

Residual Feed Intake (Rfi) And Efficiency Of Feed Utilization (Efu) Of Total Mixed Ration (Tmr) Fed Frisian Cross Bred Cows – A Case Study, S. C. Somasiri, A. M. C. S. Karunarathna

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Residual Feed Intake (RFI) is the difference between an animal’s actual feed and expected feed intakes for a given period of time. Literature shows that highly efficient animals have a negative or lower RFI. Thus understanding about RFI is important to maintain an efficient herd. A feeding trial was undertaken at a commercial farm in Sri Lanka having Frisian cross bred cows. The cows were fed with a grass-based Total Mixed Ration (TMR) having maize (Zea mays), CO3 (Pennisetum perpureum X Pennisetum americarnum), beer pulp (wet brewer’s grain), dhal meal (Lens culinaris), mineral mixture …

Hybrid Seed Set In Relation With Male Floral Traits, Estimation Of Heterosis And Combining Abilities For Yield And Its Components In Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.), Samira El Hanafi, Souad Cherkaoui, Zakaria Kehel, Miguel Sanchez-Garcia, Jean-Benoit Sarazin, Stephen Baenziger, Wuletaw Tadesse

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Breeding hybrids with maximum heterosis requires efficient cross-pollination and an improved male sterility system. Renewed efforts have been made to dissect the phenotypic variation and genetic basis of hybrid floral traits, although the potential of tailoring the appropriate flower design on seed setting is less known. To this end, elite wheat genotypes were crossed using a chemical hybridizing agent at different doses. A total of 23 hybrids were developed from a partial diallel design; and planted in an alpha lattice design with their parents at two locations in Morocco, for two years, to evaluate for yield components, heterosis and combining …

Release Of A New Forage Bermudagrass Cultivar From The Usda-Npgs Cynodon Collection, Esteban F. Rios, José C. B. Dubeux Jr., João M. B. Vendramini, M. Wallau, C. H. Lopes De Souza, A. J. Grossman, Y. Lopez, P. Munoz, W. Anderson, L. Baxter, M. S. Castillo, M. C. Saha, K. Quesenberry, A. Blount, P. Reith, K. Kenworthy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Warm-season perennial grasses are the backbone of the pasture-based livestock industry in the southeastern USA. In Florida specifically, bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) and bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) support 1 million head of cattle and 15,000 beef cattle operations. Bermudagrass is the most widely planted forage species in the southeastern USA, planted in approximately 15 million ha and used for grazing, hay and silage. The genus Cynodon is native to southern Africa and germplasm collections have revealed a high degree of genetic variability within the genus. The United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) maintains a collection …

Relationship Between Semi-Arid Rangelands Quality Parameters And Vegetation Indexes, P. Toro-Mujica, D. Enriquez-Hidalgo, S. Escobar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A large portion of the sheep production systems in the semi-arid zone of Central Chile base their feeding on the rangelands, adjusting both the production cycle and the use of supplementary feed to the natural supply of fodder. In this way, knowledge of the rangeland quantity and quality at the farm level emerges as an essential input for the decision-making of feed management. The objective of the study was to relate the herbage quality parameters of the semi-arid zone rangeland with Vegetation Indices (VI) and to determine which vegetation index report the best results. Vegetative indexes were obtained from aerial …

Predicting Forage Intake By Sheep Through The Pampa Corte Model Or Nrc, C. A. Pozo, Gilberto V. Kozloski, H. M. N. Ribeiro Filho, J. F. Tourrand, Vicente Celestino Pires Silveira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the Pampa Corte and National Research Council (2007; NRC) models for predicting forage intake (FI) by sheep. Individual data (n = 213) of observed FI, body weight and chemical composition of consumed diet were taken from fifteen indoor digestibility trials conducted with male sheep housed in metabolic cages and fed only forage ad libitum. The diets were composed of tropical grasses, temperate grasses and legumes. Individual observations of FI were averaged by treatment (n = 32) into each experiment which were then compared to FI …

Performance Of Napier Grass (Cenchrus Purpureus L.) Genotypes Grown Under Limited Soil Moisture, E. Habte, M. S. Muktar, A. T. Negawo, A. M. Sartie, C. S. Jones

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach L.) is an important perennial forage native to Africa and grown in many tropical and subtropical countries. It is considered as a short-term drought tolerant forage which is a useful trait in areas that are characterized by low precipitation during the dry season. To exploit the potential of this grass and identify water use efficient (WUE) genotypes, a field drought stress trial was conducted at Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Eighty-four Napier grass genotypes were planted in a p-rep design in four replications. The genotypes were evaluated for forage performance during the dry season of 2019 and …

Pasture Utilization At Islands In Northern Norway, V. Lind, Ø. Holand, F.-A. Haugen, G. Steinheim

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Norwegian sheep industry is based on utilization of “free” rangeland pasture resources. Use of mountain pastures is dominating, with about two million sheep grazing these pastures during summer. Regional challenges related to e.g., loss of sheep to large carnivores make farmers think differently. The Norwegian coastline is among the longest globally and is scattered with islets and islands. Alone along the coast of Nordland county, it is estimated more than 14,000 islands. Use of islands for summer pasture is an alternative but there is a limited knowledge about such a management system. In this study, we examined lambs’ average …

Performance Of The Leucaena Leucocephala–Megathyrsus Maximus Cv Mombasa System And Local Range Grazed By Pelibuey Ewe-Lambs, E. Cortés Díaz, J. C. Campos Ojeda, P. Martínez Hernández, J. L. Zaragoza Ramírez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Mombasa grass and leucaena have shown an excellent agronomic performance grown in tropical semi-arid ranges, the objective of this study was to compare the agronomic performance of Leucaena-Mombasa grown as a silvopastoral system at two leucaena plant densities (10000 and 15000 plants ha^-1) and of Pelibuey ewe-lambs grazing it against native unimproved tropical semi-arid range of the state of Morelos, México. Experimental design was a completely random with two replications. Unimproved native range was mainly deciduous shrubs and mixed herbaceous plants (Poaceae and Asteraceae). Stocking rate was the same across treatments and grazing lasted all rainy season. Of …

Participatory Evaluation Of Urochloa And Megathyrsus Forage Species In Western Kenya: Farmers Perspective, Ruth Odhiambo, Solomon Mwendia, David Mwangi, Alfred Juma, An Notenbaert

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Despite western Kenya potential in dairy production, it has lagged behind compared to other regions in the country. This comes against growing per capita milk consumption in Kenya currently estimated at 120 litres per person per year. As a result, western Kenya is largely net importer of milk from neighbouring counties albeit the possibility improving productivity within. Among the most prevalent constraint to increased productivity is limited forage quality and quantity throughout the year. Napier stunting disease, which suppresses forage production from Napier grass, the most prevalent cultivated forage in western Kenya, exacerbates this. To contribute to addressing the problem, …