Eastern goat’s rue in Forage Production of Russia: state and breeding objectives

Козлятник восточный (Galega orientalis Lam.) обладает рядом ценных хозяйственно полезных признаков и биологических свойств, характеризуется высоким содержанием протеина и незаменимых аминокислот в зелёной массе. Благодаря способности к вегетативному размножению эта культура способна обеспечивать формирование устойчивых гомеостатических агропопуляций, которые при соблюдении технологии использования могут длительно сохранять высокую семенную и кормовую продуктивность. Однако до настоящего времени козлятник восточный практически не используется как кормовое растение в высокотехнологичном кормопроизводстве для породистого высокопродуктивного КРС. Эта культура имеет ряд ограничительных факторов по комплексу хозяйственно полезных и биолого-технологических признаков, качеству сырья для заготовки объёмистых кормов. В настоящее время галега как кормовое растение по площадям посевов и использованию существенно уступает традиционным бобовым травам (люцерне, клеверу, эспарцету) и может рассматриваться только в качестве дополнительной многолетней культуры для овец, коз, кроликов, лошадей, свиней. Козлятник восточный может быть классифицирован как культура с очень небольшим генетическим изменением. Зарегистрированные сорта являются улучшенными биотипами природных популяций по кормовой и семенной продуктивности, зимостойкости (для северных районов ареала интродукции этой культуры). В научных учреждениях проводится традиционная фенотипическая селекция по отдельным признакам в границах конститутивного биотипа козлятника. Для повышения эффективности производственного использования козлятника необходимо выведение сортов со сниженным содержанием антипитательных веществ в зелёной массе и повышенной толерантностью к укосному режиму эксплуатации травостоев. Для устранения недостатков козлятника, в том числе в его биохимическом составе, требуется корректировка биологических свойств как поиском природных форм с необходимыми признаками, так и их индуцированием путём редактирования генома. Для этого необходимо использование арсенала современных методов: экспериментального мутагенеза, полиплоидии, клеточной селекции, соматической гибридизации, генотипирования или трансгенеза/интрогрессии — с последующей традиционной фенотипической селекционной оценкой и отборами. Eastern goat’s rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) is a valuable crop that is rich in protein and essential amino acids. Due to its ability to vegetative reproduction the crop forms stable homeostatic ecosystems providing high seed and forage yields. However, farmers still prefer other crops for cattle feeding. Eastern goat’s rue has a number of traits limiting its wide cultivation. Nowadays the crop occupies much smaller territories compared to legumes such as alfalfa, clover and sainfoin being an additional perennial fodder for sheep, goats, rabbits, horses and pigs. Genome of eastern goat’s rue has barely changed. Registered varieties have improved feed and seed productivities as well as winter hardiness. Research Institutes mostly focus on conventional phenotypic selection. More effective use of eastern goat’s rue requires breeding of new genotypes with lower concentration of anti-nutritional factors in its green mass combined with higher tolerance to regular cutting. Selection of new natural genotypes as well as genome editing are promising areas to improve its biochemical composition. Modern methods of plant breeding can be of great use: mutagenesis, polyploidization, cell selection, somatic hybridization, genotyping or transgenesis/introgression — followed by conventional phenotypic selection.

GROWTH PARAMETERS AND FORAGE YIELD OF TWO GRAIN SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) VARIETIES UNDER DIFFERENT PLANTING DATES AND AGES OF HARVEST IN SHIKA

To determine the influence of sorghum variety, planting dates and ages of harvest on growth parameters and forage yield of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in Shika, Nigeria, an experiment was conducted in split plots in the National Animal Production Research Institute, Shika, Nigeria. The experimental treatments comprised of two sorghum varieties (SAMSORG-16 as V1 and SAMSORG-17 as V2), three planting dates (15th June, 30th June and 14th July as P1, P2 and P3) and three ages of harvest (6, 10 and 14 weeks after sowing as C1, C2 and C3), respectively. Results showed that plant height of sorghum bicolor significantly (P<0.05) differed between variety with higher values in Samsorg-16. Plant height, number of leaves and leaf area index (LAI) decreased (P<0.05) from 15th June to 14th July planting date. However, there was a significant increasing trend (P<0.05) in these parameters as ages of harvest advanced from 6 to 14 week after sowing (WAS). Significant (P<0.05) interaction effect between variety and planting date was observed for plant height. Similarly, significant (P<0.05) interaction effect was observed in the number of leaves and LAI. There was non-significant (P>0.05) effect of variety on fresh and dry forage yields. Fresh and dry forage yields declined from 54.73 and 10.49 t/ha to 30.72 and 6.11 t/ha from 15th June to 14th July planting dates, respectively. Whereas fresh and dry forage yields increased from 12.22 and 1.37 t/ha to 58.94 and 14.47 t/ha as ages of harvest increased from 6 to 14 WAS,

Evaluating Soybean Cultivars for Forage Yield and Nutritive Values

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata) are frequently utilized by equine producers in the Southeast. However, challenges related to their production have producers searching for alternative legume options. In 2019 and 2020, five soybean cultivars, “Tower of Leaves,” “Stonewall,” “Laredo,” “AG79X9,” and “AG64X8,” were evaluated for yield and nutritive value. Soybeans were grown at two row spacings (36 and 71 cm), two locations (Central and South Alabama), and harvested at three heights (10, 15, and 20 cm; HH). Forages were harvested using a plot harvester, dried at 55°C, and ground to 1 mm. Forage quality was determined using a NIRS, with verification by wet chemistry analyses. The study was a randomized, complete block design (n = 4) and statistical analysis was carried out using PROC Glimmix of SAS version 9.4 (SAS Inst., - Cary, NC). Forage yields were greatest in “Stonewall” and “Tower of Leaves,” and lowest in “Laredo” (2,074, 1,978, and 1,348 kg/ha, respectively). Across years, HH and forage cultivar had a significant effect on yield (P &lt; 0.0001). As expected, yield increased as HH decreased (P &lt; 0.0001). In 2019, crude protein (CP) was affected by HH (P &lt; 0.0001), with 10 cm having lower CP than 15 and 20 cm (14 vs 16%, respectively; P &lt; 0.0001). Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and total digestible nutrients (TDN) were affected (P &lt; 0.01) by HH and variety. “Stonewall” had the lowest NDF (30.84%) and ADF (29.27%; P &lt; 0.01). “Stonewall” and “AG79X9” had the greatest TDN (74 and 73%, respectively; P &lt; 0.01). The cultivar “Stonewall” shows promise as a forage, with greater yields and moderate forage nutritive value compared with the other cultivars tested. Further research is needed to evaluate “Stonewall” in mixtures with other warm-season annual forages.

Forage yield of Urochloa brizantha [(Hochst. Ex A. Rich.) R.D.] cv. Insurgente at different cutting heights

Objective: Evaluate the forage yield of Urochloa brizantha cv. Insurgente at differentcutting heights.Design/ methodology/ approach: the experiment was carried out at the Universidaddel Papaloapan, Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, Mexico. Four cutting heights were evaluated (5,10, 15, and 20 cm) during the rainy, norther, and dry seasons. The experiment followeda randomized block design with four replicates. We evaluated plant height (PH), greenmatter yield (GMY), dry matter yield (DMY), growth rate (GR), and morphologicalcomponents, such as leaf yield (LY), sheath yield (SY), and stem yield (StY).Results: the cutting height and season interaction was significant for all the evaluatedvariables (P?0.01). The highest PH (42 cm) was obtained with a cutting height of 20 cmduring the rainy season. The highest GMY and DMY (2,484 and 606 kg ha -1 ,respectively) were obtained with cutting heights of 15 cm during the rainy season. Thesevalues were similar (P&gt;0.05) to those obtained at 20 cm (2,410 and 582 kg ha -1 ,respectively). The highest LY, SY, and StY values were obtained with cutting heights of15 and 20 cm during the rainy season. The highest GR (31 kg MS ha -1 day -1 ) wasobserved during the rainy season, regardless of cutting height.Findings/ conclusions: for each of the evaluated seasons, cutting heights of 15 and 20cm resulted in the highest forage yields of U. brizantha cv. Insurgente.

GENOTYPIC VARIATIONS IN SOME EGYPTIAN CLOVER (TRIFOLIUM ALEXANDRINUM L.) VARIETIES FOR FORAGE YIELD

The recent study’s objective was to detect variability in Egyptian multi-cut barseem genotypes via studying ten different commercial varieties regarding forage yield production during two successive winter seasons (2018/19 and 2019/20). These varieties, namely; Hartuor, Narmar, Sinai 2, Giza 6, Helaly, Gemiza, Serw1, Sakha 4, Khadrawy and Meskawi. Four cuttings were taken in each season. The analysis of variance in each season revealed that the mean squares due to berseem genotypes were significant for all studied traits. A wide range of variation was observed for plant height traits). Berseem varieties had fresh seasonal yield ranging from 114.70 to 137.72 and averaging 125.20 ton acre-1 in the first season. In the second season, the genotypes had a mean seasonal new yield of 146.89 with a range of 120.26 to 162.07 ton acre-1. Seasonal forage dry yield of the varieties ranged from 20.72 to 26.53 with a grand mean of 24.31 ton acre-1 in the first season, and it went from 25.10 to 29.84 with a great standard of 28.65 ton acre-1 in the 2nd season. Based on per se performance, the variety Khadrawy was identified for total fresh and dry forage yields. The values of PCV for different characters were higher than corresponding GCV values. Estimates of heritability were high for plant height at 3rd cut in the two seasons, plant height at the 1st and 2nd cuts, and seasonal dry yield in the second season. High heritability values coupled with high genetic advance were recorded for plant height at 2nd and 3rd cut in the two seasons, at 4th cut in the first season, and 1st cut in the second season. Genetic advance as percent of the mean (GAM) was found to be the highest for plant height at 1st cut in the second season (21.78 %) followed by seasonal dry yield in 2nd season (16.07 %).

Evaluation on dry forage yields and nutritional characteristics of introduced herbaceous legumes in Myanmar

The study was carried out to evaluate the forage yields, nutritive values and in vitro fermentation parameters of herbaceous legumes. Five varieties of introduced herbaceous legumes; Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Ubon stylo, Macrotyloma axillare cv. Archer, Centrosema brasilianum cv. Ooloo, Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Stylo 184 and Macroptilum bracteatum cv. Cadarga were evaluated at the research farm, University of Veterinary Science, Yezin, Myanmar. No fertilizer and no irrigation were applied for cultivation to test drought resistance. Dry forage yield, nutritive values and gas production at four harvesting times were measured with 4×5 factorial arrangement (5 legumes and 4 harvesting time) in randomized complete block design. There was no interaction between legumes and harvesting time on forage yield, nutritive values and fermentation parameters but they were affected by the main effects of legume types and harvesting time. Among the legume forages, the highest dry forage yields were found in Ooloo, Ubon stylo, and Stylo 184, and followed by the DM yield of Archer and Cadarga. The DM yield of the second harvest was significantly higher (p<0.05) than those of the first, third and fourth harvest which were not significantly different from each other. As a chemical composition, the DM content of Archer was lower (p<0.05) than those of other varieties. Among the legumes forages, the lower CP content was found in Cadarga. The higher NDF was observed in Ooloo. Ooloo, Ubon stylo and Cadarga showed higher ADF in comparison with the other two varieties. Among the harvesting time, the lowest DM content was found at the first harvest. The highest CP content was found at third harvest. The NDF content was not significantly different. The lowest ADF content was found in fourth harvest. According to the dry forage yield, Ubon stylo and Ooloo had the highest dry forage yield and in term of nutritive values, Stylo 184 and Archer had higher nutritive values. As the main effect of forages, Stylo 184 and Archer had higher gas production in comparison with the other varieties. As the main effect of harvesting time, the fourth harvest had the highest gas production in comparison with other harvesting time. It could be better for cultivation by application of fertilizer and irrigation to get more forage yield and quality.

The 4R management for nitrogen fertilization in tropical forage: A review

Most of the tropical soils that are intended for pastures are degraded or are at a certain stage of degradation. In this context, the use of nitrogen fertilization increases the quantity as well as the quality of the fodder produced and also accelerates growth, tillering, leaf production, and consequently, expansion of the aerial region and the root system. The present review of the literature aims to determine how the control of the source, location, time, and the application of a right dose of nitrogen fertilizer influences and benefits the entire ecosystem in tropical pastures with the correct use of 4R management, along with increasing the forage yields in these areas. The results showed that in tropical pastures, the recommended N dose varies with the cultivar used and the expected forage production and ranges from 50 to 500 kg N ha–1 year–1, irrespective of division in grazing cycles, with distribution in the entire pasture area