Inclusion levels and modes of whole grain incorporation into wheat-based rations differentially influence the performance of broiler chickens

1. The objective was to compare three whole grain (WG) inclusion levels (7.5, 15 and 30%) offered to broiler chickens by three modes of WG incorporation: (i) pre-pellet WG inclusion, (ii) post-pellet WG inclusion as a blend of WG and pelleted concentrate and (iii) post-pellet WG inclusion where WG and pelleted concentrate were provided in separate feed trays against a ground-grain, wheat-based control diet.

2. Ten dietary treatments were offered to 6 replicate cages (6 birds per cage) of male Ross 308 chickens from 7 to 28 d post-hatch. The effects of treatment on relative gizzard weights, gizzard contents, pancreatic weights and pH of gizzard digesta were monitored. Parameters of growth performance, nutrient utilisation (apparent metabolisable energy [AME], metabolisable to gross energy [ME:GE] ratios, nitrogen [N] retention and N-corrected AME [AMEn]), apparent starch and protein (N) digestibility coefficients and disappearance rates in for small intestinal segments and concentrations of free amino acids in plasma taken from the anterior mesenteric vein were determined.

3. Whole grain feeding (WGF) did not influence weight gain, but 30% post-pellet blended and 15 and 30% post-pellet separated treatments significantly depressed (P < 0.05) feed intakes while the 30% post-pellet separated treatment improved (P < 0.01) feed conversion ratios (FCR). WGF regimes significantly increased relative gizzard weights.

4. Overall, WGF generated profound responses in AME, ME:GE ratios, N retention and AMEn that were highly correlated with relative gizzard weights. In general, WGF improved starch and protein (N) digestibilities and again there were some correlations with these outcomes and relative gizzard weights.

5. Post-pellet WG inclusions where WG and pelleted concentrate were offered separately provided chickens with the opportunity to choice feed. Birds showed a preference for the relatively high-protein pelleted concentrate and at 30% WG, this resulted in an improvement in FCR of 7.69% (1.260 versus 1.365; P < 0.001) relative to the ground-grain control diet.     

Effect of gut stress induced by oxidized wheat gluten on the growth performance,gut morphology and oxidative states of broilers

This study was to investigate the effect of oxidized wheat gluten (OG) on growth performance, gut morphology and its oxidative states of broilers. One hundred and eighty‐day‐old male broilers (10 chicks/pen) were randomly allocated into three dietary treatments: control diet (CON), diet with 8% wheat gluten (WG) and diet with 8% OG with six pens/treatment. Body weight (BW) (21 and 35 days) and average daily gain (ADG) (1–21 days and 22–35 days) decreased (p < .05) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (1–21 days and 22–35 days) increased (p < .05) in OG treatment. Feed intake (FI) decreased (p < .05) in WG and OG treatments during 22–35 days. However, FI was not influenced by dietary treatments during 1–21 days (p > .05). The OG‐fed broilers had a lower faecal pH value (p < .05) and higher faecal moisture content (p < 05) at 14, 21, 28 and 35 days. Villus height, crypt depth and V/C value were not different (p > .05) among treatments at 21 and 35 days. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) (21 and 35 days) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (35 days) content in crop of OG treatment increased (p < .05). Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) (21 days), LPO (21 and 35 days) and MDA (21 and 35 days) content in ileum of OG treatment increased (p < .05). The reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) (21 days) and (GSH) (35 days) in ileum of OG treatment decreased (p < .05). The present findings indicate that OG might be a stressor for broiler gut, which could induce oxidative stress both in crop and in ileum, and the diarrhoea as well. The growth performance of broiler was consequently depressed.     

Yield Performance of Wheat Isolines with Different Dosages of the Short Arm of Rye Chromosome 1

Translocations of the short arm of rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome 1 (1RS) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Pavon 76) are known to increase root biomass. Such an increase enhances water and nutrient uptake and may improve grain yield. Two greenhouse experiments and a field experiment were carried out at the University of California, Riverside, in 2012 and 2013 under well‐watered and terminal drought treatments to evaluate phenotypic characters associated with varying dosages of 1RS, including grain yield. The genotypes used were cultivar Pavon 76 (R₀), Pavon 76/Pavon1RS.1AL (F₁ hybrid) with a single dosage of 1RS (R₁A), Pavon 1RS.1AL with two dosages of 1RS (R₂A), Pavon 1RS.1DL (R₂D) also with two dosages of 1RS and Pavon 1RS.1AL‐1RS.1DL (R₄AD) with four dosages of 1RS. There was a significant positive correlation between number of dosages of 1RS and root biomass. However, no correlation was found between root biomass and grain yield per plant. Drought in the field experiment reduced grain yield significantly. Under well‐watered field conditions, grain yield of R₂A (215.9 g plant^?1) was significantly greater than those of R₂D (191.8 g plant^?1) and R₄AD (161.7 g plant^?1). Also, grain yield of R₄AD was significantly less than those of F₁, Pavon 76 and R₂D under well‐watered conditions. Under drought field conditions, no significant differences were found among the genotypes for grain yield was found between F₁ (14.7 g plant^?1) and R₄AD (12.4 g plant^?1). Harvest index was significantly greater in well‐watered (44.2 %) than in drought (34.6 %) field conditions. On average, genotypes F₁ (42.3 %) and R₂A (40.6 %) had higher harvest index than R₂D (38.3 %) and R₄AD (35.5 %) in the field. Also, Pavon 76 (40.2) and R₂D (38.3) had higher harvest index than R₄AD. Drought tolerance was lowest for R₄AD due to its relatively lower grain yield potential. In general, Pavon 1RS.1AL carrying two dosages of 1RS showed higher grain yield under wet treatments. Pavon 1RS.1AL‐1RS.1DL carrying four dosages of 1RS produced the largest shoot and root biomasses, but the least grain yield.     

地理探测器与Tobit模型在粤西地区粮食生产效率及影响因子分析中的比较应用

为明晰粤西地区粮食生产效率及其关键影响因子，实现优化资源配置效率和推进粮食生产转型升级，基于1999—2018年粤西地区茂名、阳江、湛江3市粮食生产数据，采用交叉效率DEA模型测算区域粮食生产效率，揭示近20年粮食生产效率的时空变化特征，并利用Tobit模型和地理探测器模型比较分析粮食生产效率的关键影响因子。结果表明：粤西地区粮食生产效率平均值为0.77，其中，茂名市粮食生产效率最高（0.88），阳江市次之（0.78），湛江市最低（0.65）。Tobit模型和地理探测器测算粤西地区粮食生产效率影响力（贡献力）最大的投入因子是农业机械总动力，分别为-1.082和0.942。Tobit模型测得的7个投入因子仅化肥施用量（0.015）与粮食生产效率呈显著正相关，有效灌溉面积、粮食播种面积、农药使用量3个因子与粮食生产效率相关性不显著，农用塑料薄膜使用量、从业人口、农业机械总动力3个因子呈显著负相关。而地理探测器测得所有因子均对粮食生产效率产生显著影响。阳江市投入因子贡献力与粤西地区大致相同，但化肥施用量贡献力高出有效灌溉面积0.008。湛江市与茂名市化肥和农药投入的贡献力仅次于农业机械总动力，有效灌溉面积贡献力均最低。但茂名市粮食播种面积的贡献力依次大于从业人口和农用塑料薄膜使用量，湛江市则相反。研究表明，20年来粤西地区粮食生产效率不高，整体呈中等效率水平，粮食生产效率先降后升的变化趋势显著；地理探测器测度结果无不显著因子存在，探测因子影响力比Tobit模型所得结果更稳定且偏误小；农业机械总动力是影响粤西3市粮食生产效率的主导因子，但不同城市粮食生产效率的因子贡献力差异较大，湛江和茂名对化肥、农药等污染较大的生产要素依赖性更强。     

Evaluation of Cold Tolerance in NERICAs Compared with Japanese Standard Rice Varieties at the Reproductive Stage

New Rice for Africa (NERICA) is a general name for interspecific rice varieties derived from a cross between the high‐yielding Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) between locally adapted African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.). Eight NERICAs were evaluated for cold tolerance (CT) at the reproductive stage and compared with their O. sativa parents and three Japanese standard rice varieties over 3 years. Cold tolerance was evaluated based on the filled grain ratio (FGR) after cold water irrigation. The FGR was greatly reduced by cold water irrigation. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 had higher FGR (51.9–57.9 %), while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 had lower FGR (6.2–14.5 %). NERICA 1, 2 and 7 were less affected by cold stress, with a 31 % mean reduction in FGR, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 were greatly affected, with their FGRs being reduced by more than 80 %. NERICA 3 and 4 were moderately affected by cold stress, with about 45 % reduction rate in FGR. FGR significantly influenced the grain weights of the varieties with strong positive correlations (r = 0.83–0.91; P < 0.001), and thus, similar trends in grain weights were observed. Grain weights were reduced by 61.7–96.4 % under cold stress. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 showed significantly better performance than NERICA 3 and 4, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 performed poorly under cold water irrigation. The Japanese varieties Koshihikari (very tolerant) and Ozora (moderately tolerant) were more affected by cold water irrigation than NERICA 1, 2 and 7. On the basis of the mean reduction rate (%) in FGR under cold stress, the varieties were classified as follows: NERICA 1, 2 and 7 as tolerant; NERICA 3 and 4 as moderately tolerant; and NERICA 6, 15 and 16 as susceptible to cold stress. However, NERICA 7 grain yields were lower under cold stress due to both greatly reduced number of panicles per plant and number of spikelets per panicle. Therefore, NERICA 1 and 2 are suitable candidates for production in the highland regions of East Africa and should be promoted for production.     

Genomewide association study reveals novel quantitative trait loci associated with resistance towards Septoria tritici blotch in North European winter wheat

Fungal diseases are a major constraint for wheat production. Effective disease resistance is essential for ensuring a high production quality and yield. One of the most severe fungal diseases of wheat is Septoria tritici blotch (STB), which influences wheat production across the world. In this study, genomewide association mapping was used to identify new chromosomal regions on the wheat genome conferring effective resistance towards STB. A winter wheat population of 164 North European varieties and breeding lines was genotyped with 15K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) wheat array. The varieties were evaluated for STB in field trials at three locations in Denmark and across 3 years. The association analysis revealed four quantitative trait loci, on chromosomes 1B, 2A, 5D and 7A, highly associated with STB resistance. By comparing varieties containing several quantitative trait loci (QTL) with varieties containing none of the found QTL, a significant difference was found in the mean disease score. This indicates that an effective resistance can be obtained by pyramiding several QTL.     

TFSQ型高效环保组合式粮食杂质清理筛的研制

通过对振动筛理、垂直风选、旋风分离与沉降系统的研究,研制出集振动筛理、风选、旋风分离沉降、含尘气流循环再利用为一体的TFSQ型高效环保组合式粮食杂质清理筛。经应用测试和专家鉴定:该设备具有清理效率高、清理过程粉尘污染小,使用维护方便、可靠性强等优点,具有广阔的市场推广前景。     

Volatile profile,fatty acids composition and total phenolics content of brewers' spent grain by-product with potential use in the development of new functional foods

Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is the insoluble residue generated from the production of wort in the brewing industry. This plant-derived by-product is known to contain significant amounts of valuable components, which remain unexploited in the brewing processes. Therefore, it is essential to develop a more detailed characterization of BSG in order to highlight its potential in developing new value-added products and simultaneously solve the environmental problems related to its discharge. The content of BSG in several biologically active compounds (fatty acids, polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity) as well as its volatile fingerprint were assessed and compared with the composition of barley, malt and wheat flour samples. The obtained results emphasized the importance and the opportunities of the re-use of this agro-industrial by-product.     

优化施肥对春小麦产量、氮素利用及氮平衡的影响

2009 ～ 2010年,在宁夏引黄灌区分别以宁春11号和宁春16号小麦为供试作物,利用田间试验研究了优化施肥(OPT)和习惯施肥(CON)对春小麦产量、氮素吸收利用和土壤硝态氮累积的影响,表观评估了土壤—小麦体系氮素平衡.结果表明,相对于CK处理,OPT和CON都显著提高春小麦籽粒产量地上部生物量,并促进籽粒N和地上...     

磷硫配施对冬小麦硒吸收及转运的影响

为了探讨磷硫配施对冬小麦产量、硒的吸收及转运的影响，为生产富硒小麦或合理调控小麦硒含量提供理论依据，采用盆栽试验，设置不同磷、硫水平，在小麦成熟期测定产量及植株各部位硒含量。结果表明：硫磷的配合施用能显著提高冬小麦产量，S0.1P0.4处理下冬小麦产量最高。除颖壳外，冬小麦各部位硒含量最高值都出现在S0P0处理。不论施硫与否，施磷均能显著降低冬小麦各部位硒含量，提高小麦植株硒累积量，促进冬小麦茎叶向颖壳的硒迁移，降低根向茎叶、颖壳向籽粒的硒迁移系数，还会减小籽粒的硒分配。单独施硫会降低植株的硒累积量，促进冬小麦根向茎叶、茎叶向颖壳的硒迁移，降低颖壳向籽粒的硒迁移系数，低硫处理能增加小麦籽粒的硒分配，高硫处理则降低了籽粒的硒分配。S0P0.2处理能显著提高籽粒硒累积量，而高浓度的磷硫配施会降低籽粒硒累积量；S0.1P0和S0.1P0.2处理籽粒硒分配较大,分别是45.3%和44.8%。因此，硫磷的合理配施能显著提高小麦产量，低硫（S0.1）高磷（P0.4）处理增产最显著。低硫（S0.1）低磷（P0.2）处理能更有效地增加植株硒累积量，增强硒在籽粒中的累积。