Altitude effects on technology and productivity of small bovine farms (milk meat) in Veracruz (Gulf of Mexico)

The dual-purpose bovine system represents 98.4% of the bovine livestock of Veracruz, the main cattle-producing state of Mexico. This system supplies calves to meat companies, a sector in which Veracruz has been the national leader in the last decade. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effect of the altitudinal zonation of farms on livestock technology and productivity in a microbasin of the Gulf of Mexico where small farms predominate. Structured interviews were applied to producers located in three altitudinal zones (at average altitudes of 50, 140, and 450 m, respectively, for lower, middle, and upper zones). Sample size was 135 farms having similar land surface (within a range of 15–22 ha). The results indicated multiple differences among farms located in the three zones. Farms in the middle and lower zones presented higher productive indicators than those in the upper zone. Differences in herd structure and management resulted in important differences in productivity, income, and profits in milk and calf production. We concluded from this study that altitudinal zonation in Veracruz had a clear effect on the differentiation of small farms, which are representative of dual-purpose cattle. The upper zone performs cattle activity under conditions with greater disadvantages in the analyzed region.     

Effects of protein-energetic supplementation frequency on growth performance and nutritional characteristics of grazing beef cattle

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate reduced supplementation frequencies for grazing beef cattle in rainy season. In experiment 1, evaluating the nutritional parameters, four rumen-cannulated Nellore bulls (BW = 410 kg) were used. In experiment 2, evaluating animal performance, 48 Nellore bulls (BW = 358 kg) were used. The treatments were as follows: mineral supplement (MS) alone and MS plus protein-energy supplement provided 3×, 5× and 7×/week. Supplementation frequency did not affect (P > 0.05) intake and digestibility. Average daily gain was greater (P < 0.001) to supplementation compared with MS. The supplementation 5×/week resulted in greater weight gain per hectare (9.24) and higher economic returns during the study period (1.64%) compared to other supplementations. Supplementation 5×/week increased animal performance and positively influenced economic returns.     

Methyl donors dietary supplementation to gestating sows diet improves the growth rate of offspring and is associating with changes in expression and DNA methylation of insulin‐like growth factor‐1 gene

The study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal dietary methyl donors on the performance of sows and their offspring, and the associated hepatic insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) expression of the offspring. A total of 24 multiparous sows were randomly fed the control (CON) or the CON diet supplemented with methyl donors (MD) at 3 g/kg betaine, 15 mg/kg folic acid, 400 mg/kg choline and 150 μg/kg VB₁₂, from mating until delivery. After farrowing, sows were fed a common lactation diet through a 28‐days lactation period and six litters per treatment were selected to be fed until at approximately 110 kg BW. Maternal MD supplementation resulted in greater birthweight (p < 0.05) and increased the piglet weights (p < 0.01) and litter weights (p < 0.05) at the age of day 28, compared with that in CON group. The offspring pigs in the MD group had greater ADG (p < 0.05) and tended to lower F:G ratio (p = 0.07) compared with that of CON group from day 28 to 180 of age. The offspring pigs from MD group had greater serum IGF‐1 concentrations and expressions of hepatic IGF‐1 gene and muscular IGF‐1 receptor (IGF‐1r) protein at birth (p < 0.05), and greater hepatic IGF‐1 protein (p = 0.03) and muscular IGF‐1r gene expressions (p < 0.05) at slaughter, than that from the CON group. Moreover, the methylation at the promoter of IGF‐1 gene in the liver of newborn piglets and finishing pigs was greater in the MD group than that of the CON group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, maternal MD supplementation throughout gestation could enhance the birthweight and postnatal growth rate of offspring, associated with an increased expression of the IGF‐1 gene and IGF‐1r, as well as the altered DNA methylation of IGF‐1 gene promotor.     

Polyarthritis secondary to septic thrombophlebitis in an Arabian mare

A 3‐year‐old Arabian mare presented with diarrhoea and depression. During hospitalisation, the mare developed septic thrombophlebitis associated with a jugular catheter. One week later, she developed secondary bilateral tarsocrural joint septic arthritis. Following surgical intervention and intensive medical therapy, the mare recovered successfully. The case highlights an unusual and previously unreported complication of septic thrombophlebitis.     

Pedotransfer functions to assess adsorbed phosphate using iron oxide content and magnetic susceptibility in an Oxisol

Adsorbed phosphate in soils can be chemically extracted; however, this process is both time‐consuming and not cost‐effective if large numbers of samples have to be analysed. Indirect assessment of adsorbed phosphate by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) can help optimize fertilizer strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of adsorbed phosphate (P_ads), iron oxides and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in oxisols and to calibrate PTFs to predict P_ads. A total of 308 soil samples were collected from Hapludox and Eutrudox soils formed from sandstone in Brazil. The contents of clay (196–607 g/kg), iron oxides (40–165 g/kg), MS (1.2–29 × 10^?6 m³/kg) and P_ads (327–842 mg/kg) were in the range of typical values for these highly weathered soils. This study showed that the attributes studied were spatially dependent. Geomorphic surfaces enabled understanding of spatial variability and helped to develop a more efficient sampling scheme to calibrate PTFs. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate in these oxisols could be predicted by a PTF using iron oxides and MS as predictors. The MS attribute enabled the most accurate prediction (concordance coefficient = 0.95, root‐mean‐square error = 46 mg/kg and relative improvement in root‐mean‐square error = ?4.12) of spatial variability through PTF compared to other predictors.     

Induced expression of selected plant defence related genes in pot azalea, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhododendron simsii</Emphasis> hybrid

A set of putative marker genes to study plant defense responses against Polyphagotarsonemus latus, a key pest in the production of Rhododendron simsii hybrids, was selected and validated. Genes belonged to the biosynthetic pathway of phytohormones jasmonic acid (JA) (RsLOX, RsAOS, RsAOC, RsOPR3 and RsJMT) and salicylic acid (SA) (RsPAL and RsICS). Furthermore, RsPPO, a putative marker gene for oxidative stress response was successfully cloned from R. simsii. A CTAB-based extraction protocol was optimized to assure excellent RNA quality for subsequent RT-qPCR analysis. The RT-qPCR protocol was extensively tested and RsRG7 and RsRG14 were selected as reference genes from a geNorm pilot study. Validation of the marker genes was done after application with elicitors [methyl jasmonate (MeJA), coronatine, β-aminobutyric acid and acibenzolar-Smethyl] or wounding. Both 100 μM MeJA and 0.1 μM coronatine had a significant effect on the expression of all marker genes. Foliar application of MeJA on the shoots resulted in a significantly earlier response when compared to root application and subsequent sampling of the shoots. Expression patterns after MeJA treatment were generally the same in six R. simsii genotypes: ‘Nordlicht’, ‘Elien’, ‘Aiko Pink’, ‘Michelle Marie’, ‘Mevrouw Gerard Kint’ and ‘Sachsenstern’. Wounding resulted in the same expression patterns as MeJA treatment except for RsJMT. None of the genotypes showed a significant induction of the latter gene 6 h upon wounding. Findings of these experiments indicated that the tolerant genotype ‘Elien’ has low basal expression levels of RsPPO. This might be the first step towards the breeding of mite-tolerant genotypes.     

Terrestrial-marine continuum of sedimentary natural organic matter in a mid-latitude estuarine system

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Humic acids (HA) have several environmental roles, but are particularly important in aquatic environments, being recognized as redox active natural organic matter...     

浙江省商品有机肥中重金属含量变化趋势及风险管控对策

  【目的】  有机肥是农业生产的重要肥源，了解有机肥质量安全现状，可为有机肥合理施用和管控提供参考。  【方法】  于2017年采集浙江省96家有机肥生产企业共99个商品有机肥样品，研究分析其Hg、As、Cd、Pb、Cr、Cu、Zn和Ni 8种重金属含量、分布特征、污染成因及施用风险。并与2013年文献进行比较，分析重金属含量的变化。  【结果】  1) 商品有机肥中Hg、As、Cd、Pb、Cr、Cu、Zn、Ni的平均含量分别为0.17、5.5、0.63、17.3、33.2、213.8、660.5、17.7 mg/kg，变异系数为54.9%～151.3%，含量差异较大。相比2013年，Cd、Pb、Cr、Hg和As含量在2017年均有所降低，降幅为23.0%～72.7%，其中Hg和As含量大体呈逐年下降趋势，2017年较2009年平均含量分别下降74.2%和51.8%，Cr和Pb平均含量较2010年分别下降74.9%和54.4%，Cd平均含量在近4年降幅明显，2017年较2013年下降72.7%。但商品有机肥中As仍有8.1%超标，Cu、Zn含量偏高，Ni含量有增加趋势。Cu、Zn、Ni是浙江省商品有机肥主要风险因子。2) 主成分和相关性分析表明，Cu-Zn、Cr-Ni-Hg、Cd-Pb重金属污染来源具有同源性。Cu、Zn、As以饲料添加来源为主，Cr、Hg、Ni主要来源于饲料原料本身，Cd、Pb则以饲料原料本身、生产粘结剂或生产环境来源为主。3) 商品有机肥成分配方复杂，猪粪原料占比较大，其次为鸡粪和牛粪。根据NY 525—2012有机肥重金属限量标准，以猪粪为主要原料的有机肥As超标率9.6%，以鸡粪、羊粪为主要原料的有机肥未出现重金属超标，根据德国腐熟堆肥重金属限量标准，以猪粪和鸡粪为主要原料的有机肥Cu、Zn超标样品较多，Ni只在以猪粪和鸡粪为主要原料的有机肥中出现超标。4) 长期施用含重金属商品有机肥，存在土壤重金属积累风险。按有机肥年施肥量30 t/hm2推算，Cu、Zn和Cd风险相对较大，安全使用年限分别为14、18、34 年。  【结论】  浙江省商品有机肥总体质量安全程度较高，有机肥中Cr、Pb、Hg、As、Cd含量近年来得到较好的控制，但Cu、Zn、Ni含量偏高，部分As含量超标，长期施用条件下存在土壤重金属累积风险，因此需加强对有机肥中重金属的管控，制定商品有机肥中Cu、Zn、Ni限量标准，以保障土壤长期可持续利用。