The aim of the study was to determine optimum dietary energy level during the last trimester of pregnancy for Sahiwal heifers
in subtropical Pakistan. Sixteen Sahiwal heifers, 5–6 months pregnant, were assigned to four dietary treatments with four
heifers on each treatment. Isonitrogenous (CP = 14.1%) diets having varying energy, namely, ME 88%, ME 100% (Control), ME
112% and ME 124% of NRC recommended level for pregnant heifers, were fed until calving. All were fed a similar diet after
calving. Precalving weight gain was highest (P < 0.05) in heifers fed ME 112 and 124% (486 ± 13 and 497 ± 5 g/day, respectively) followed by ME 100% (444 ± 7 g/day), and
the lowest weight gain was recorded for ME 88% (397 ± 8 g/day). A similar trend was observed for feed efficiency. Body condition
score at calving in groups ME 124% and ME 112% was higher than ME 88% and ME 100%. Nutrient digestibility, birth weight of
calves and milk composition except fat content were not influenced by energy levels. The highest daily milk yield was observed
in heifers fed ME 100% followed by ME 112, 124, and 88%. We conclude that the NRC recommendation is applicable to the subtropical
region. 相似文献
Tropical Animal Health and Production - Cefotaxime is a third-generation broad-spectrum cephalosporin acting on a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In this work, the... 相似文献
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of increasing total nutrient supply by increasing level of concentrate supplementation in forage-based diet of growing Nili-Ravi buffalo replacement heifers on pre-pubertal growth rate and its impact on age at puberty and post-pubertal productive and reproductive performance. Twenty-eight Nili-Ravi buffalo heifers of 7 ± 1 month age were divided into 3 groups. The treatments were 3 levels of concentrate (crude protein (CP) = 17.9%, metabolisable energy (ME) = 2.66 Mcal/kg), i.e. 0.5, 1, and 1.5% of the body weight referred as low, medium, and high treatments, respectively. Irrespective of pre-pubertal treatment, all the heifers received similar feed after puberty up to completion of their first lactation. The results of the study showed a similar response across the treatments in age, weight, and condition at puberty, weight at calving, lactation length, and yield. The medium and high treatments resulted in poor reproductive performance because of higher services per conception and less number of heifers confirmed conceived compared with low treatment. The low treatment resulted in less mortality compared with medium and high treatments. The feeding cost per animal at puberty, conception, and calving was lowest for treatment low as compared with medium and high. In conclusion, the results of the study showed that Nili-Ravi buffalo heifers achieved puberty at 23 months with feeding of concentrate (CP = 17.9%, ME = 2.66 Mcal/kg) during pre-pubertal stage at the rate of 0.5% of the body weight with better reproductive performance.
This study presents the first experimental evidence of the sensitivity of rice plants to ambient air pollution from the Southeast Asian tropical region. Two widely adopted local cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa L.), MR84 and MR185, were grown in open top chambers ventilated with charcoal-filtered air and non filtered air, and in adjacent open plots on the campus of University Putra Malaysia. This is located on the south side of the Klang Valley, a rapidly developing area embracing Kuala Lumpur and other satellite cities, but where agriculture remains important The experimental period was from October 2000 to January 2001, corresponding to the main rice growing season in peninsular Malaysia. Adverse impacts on rice growth and yield were observed and were attributed to phytotoxic levels of ambient ozone. There was a clear difference in the sensitivity of the two selected cultivars. A yield reduction of 6.3% was observed for cultivar MR185 (p < 0.01) which was largely due to an increase in grain sterility, whilst the yield reduction for cultivar MR84 was not statistically significant. The reasons for these differing responses are discussed, and a comparison of the present findings with crop responses to ozone found under European conditions suggests a higher sensitivity in our study crops. With increasing industrialisation and urbanisation, this study highlights the need for further examination of the sensitivity of a wider range of crops and cultivars to ambient air pollution in this region, and also points to the potential for appropriate cultivar selection to ameliorate impacts. 相似文献
AbstractPotato (Solanum tuberosum) showed a well-established mutualistic association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In the present study, earthen pots containing autoclaved soil were taken in which surface sterilized potato seeds were sown. The seed sowed earthen pots were inoculated by sterilized spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along with sterilized inoculated maize-root fragments, while the rest half of the seed filled pots, without any inoculation depicting control but were provided with non-inoculated maize root fragments. The inoculation was performed twice; first inoculation was done 3 days prior to sowing of potato seeds and second at the time of seedling emergence. Sampling of the inoculated as well as of control plants was performed at 20-day intervals till 80?days after tuber initiation. An increment in the level of metabolites as well as mineral nutrient was found in mycorrhizal inoculated potato tubers in contrast to non-inoculated. Our work demonstrates that inoculation has a great potential in enriching storage metabolites and nutrients in potato plant in low yielding soils. 相似文献
Ligand-Receptor Networks of TGF-beta plays essential role in transmitting a wide range of extracellular signals that affect many cellular processes such as cell growth. However, the modeling of these networks with conventional approach such as ordinary differential equations has not taken into account, the spatial structure and stochastic behavior of processes involve in these networks. Membrane computing as the alternatives approach provides spatial structure for molecular computation in which processes are evaluated in a non-deterministic and maximally parallel way. This study is carried out to evaluate the membrane computing model of Ligand-Receptor Networks of TGF-beta with model checking approach. The results show that membrane computing model has sustained the behaviors and properties of Ligand-Receptor Networks of TGF-beta. This reinforce that membrane computing is capable in analyzing processes and behaviors in hierarchical structure of cell such as Ligand-Receptor Networks of TGF-beta better than the deterministic approach of conventional mathematical models. 相似文献
Terrestrial laser scanning technology is an advanced active remote sensing ranging method that is well suited for yielding high-resolution scans of the morphology of a tree, which is an indicator of the health of the plant. The Ganoderma boninense fungus causes basal stem rot (BSR), which threatens the oil palm industry in Malaysia. To date, the current practice of inspection in a plantation is conducted every 6 months. Monitoring the progress with a closer gap is required to comprehend if any changes can be seen earlier than 6 months. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to identify the most suitable parameters of the oil palm trees to detect the BSR disease based on temporal laser scanning data and to identify suitable time frames for monitoring the progress of the symptoms of the disease. Terrestrial laser scanning data was used to analyse changes in the crown and frond metrics of oil palm trees with two different scan durations i.e., 2- and 4-months after the first scan. This spatio-temporal data is important in the precision agriculture field for better oil palm management, to understand the disease development for long-term solutions and also to provide a fast response so that appropriate treatment can be given to the palm as early as possible. Statistical analyses, i.e., the Kruskal–Wallis test with α?=?0.05 and the Wilcoxon post-hoc test, were conducted to determine significant differences in the parameters at different points in time. The results show that crown strata number 17 (850 cm from the top) and the crown area were the most suitable parameters to be used. Furthermore, the oil palm trees with BSR can be detected by comparing the 4-month scan or the second 2-month scan. The results have shown that the effect of Ganoderma boninense infection can be differentiated at the later stage. In conclusion, the changes can be measured at 4-months after the first inspection, thus helping to preventing crop losses.
Crop tolerance to salinity is of high importance due to the extent and the constant increase in salt-affected areas in arid
and semi-arid regions. Pearl millet (Pennistum glaucum), generally considered as fairly tolerant to salinity, could be an alternative crop option for salt affected areas. To explore
the genotypic variability of vegetative-stage salinity tolerance, 100 pearl millet lines from ICRISAT breeding programs were
first screened in a pot culture containing Alfisol with 250 mM NaCl solution as basal application. Subsequently, 31 lines
including many parents of commercial hybrids, selected from the first trial were re-tested for confirmation of the initial
salinity responses. Substantial variation for salinity tolerance was found on the basis of shoot biomass ratio (shoot biomass
under salinity/ non-saline control) and 22 lines with a wide range of tolerance varying from highly tolerant to sensitive
entries were identified. The performance of the genotypes was largely consistent across experiments. In a separate seed germination
and seedling growth study, the seed germination was found to be adversely affected (more than 70% decrease) in more than half
of the genotypes with 250 mM concentration of NaCl. The root growth ratio (root growth under salinity/control) as well as
shoot growth ratio was measured at 6 DAS and this did not reflect the whole plant performance at 39 DAS. In general, the whole
plant salinity tolerance was associated with reduced shoot N content, increased K+ and Na+ contents. The K+/Na+ and Ca++/Na+ ratios were also positively related to the tolerance but not as closely as the Na+ content. Therefore, it is concluded that a large scope exists for improving salt tolerance in pearl millet and that shoot
Na+ concentration could be considered as a potential non-destructive selection criterion for vegetative-stage screening. The
usefulness of this criterion for salinity response with respect to grain and stover yield remains to be investigated. 相似文献
