Soil protection for a sustainable future: options for a soil monitoring network for Ireland

The increased recognition of the importance of soil is reflected in the UN Post‐2015 Development Agenda with sustainable development goals that directly and indirectly relate to soil quality and protection. Despite a lack of legally binding legislation for soil protection, the European Commission remains committed to the objective of soil protection. However, the achievement of a legally binding framework for soil protection relies on the implementation of a soil monitoring network (SMN) that can detect changes to soil quality over time. As beneficiaries do not pay for the provision of soil information, the options for soil monitoring are limited. The use of existing data sets should be considered first. Using Ireland as an example, this research explored the opportunities for a SMN for Ireland considering three existing national data sets. The options for a SMN are considered in terms of their spatial and stratified distribution, the parameters to be measured and an economic analysis of the options proposed. This research finds that for Ireland, either a 10 or a 16 km² grid interval stratified by land use and drainage class offers the best potential in relation to the spatial distribution of existing data sets to reflect local data at a national level. With existing data, the stratified SIS data using the 16 km² grid offers the best value for money, with baseline costs for analysis, excluding field costs, of between €706 481 and €2.8 million. Acknowledging the impossibility of measuring all parameters with ideal frequency, this study proposes a two‐tier system for optimized monitoring frequency. Parameters must anticipate future policy requirements. Finally, the implementation of a SMN must be accompanied by standardized methods, defined thresholds and action mandates to maintain soil quality within allowable limits.     

Two-year study of bovine hepatic abscessation in 10 abattoirs in County Cork, Ireland

The livers from 6337, 12- to 16-month-old heifers slaughtered in 10 domestic abattoirs over a period of two years were examined; 368 (5.8 per cent) had gross lesions, of which 120 (1.9 per cent) had abscesses, 74 (1.17 per cent) had only scarring, and 44 (0.7 per cent) had telangiectasis (so-called 'sawdust' liver). Of the 120 livers in which abscesses were detected, 53 (44 per cent) had a single large abscess (>4 cm diameter), 44 (36.6 per cent) had a single small abscess (<4 cm), and 23 (19 per cent) had more than two abscesses; in 20 of them (16.6 per cent) the abscesses were resolving, and in 10 (8.3 per cent) the abscesses were ruptured. Forty-three (35.8 per cent) of the livers with abscesses had adhesions to the diaphragm and diaphragmatic lung lobes, three (2.5 per cent) had adhesions to other abdominal organs, 12 (10 per cent) also had scarring and two (1.7 per cent) also had lesions due to liver fluke. There was no significant association between the liver fluke lesions and the abscesses. In 46 (38.3 per cent) of the livers the abscesses were located in the mid-dorsal diaphragmatic or dorsocranial area of the liver; 28 (23.3 per cent) were adjacent to the posterior vena cava and could as a result have caused thromboembolic disease. Clinical signs attributable to the abscesses were observed in only one animal.     

The prevalence and distribution of gastric ulceration in 345 racehorses

OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence and distribution of gastric ulceration within a group of racehorses and to describe the endoscopic appearance of gastric antrum and pyloric ulceration. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. PROCEDURE: Medical records from gastroscopic examinations of 345 racehorses (331 Thoroughbreds and 14 Standardbreds) were reviewed. Prevalence, distribution and severity of gastric ulcers were recorded. Lesions involving the squamous mucosa and the glandular mucosa of the antrum and pylorus were graded and compared. RESULTS: Gastric ulceration was found in 86% of racehorses. The squamous mucosa around the margo plicatus was most commonly affected. The pylorus was examined in 175 horses and 47% were ulcerated. No association was found between presence of lesions of the squamous mucosa and those of the pylorus. Low correlation was found between grade and location of lesions, with the pyloric lesion score being significantly less than the squamous mucosal lesion score. CONCLUSION: Gastric ulceration was present in a large proportion of racehorses. The pylorus was also an important site of ulceration. There was no association between presence of lesion at one site and the other, although there was a low correlation between grade of lesion and location, with the pyloric ulcer grade being lower.     

Grass silage versus maize silage effects on retail packaged beef quality

The effects of three preslaughter diets on heifer beef quality were investigated. Heifers (n = 45) were divided into three groups and fed for ad libitum consumption either maize silage, grass silage, or a 50:50 mixture of maize silage and grass silage. Meat quality was determined by measuring color, lipid oxidation, alpha-tocopherol levels, and fatty acid composition. Beef from the maize silage group had poorest color stability (P < 0.05), whereas beef from the grass silage diet had best (P < 0.05) color stability. The visual panel least preferred the maize silage group after 2 or more days of display, and lipid oxidation was significantly (P < 0.001) higher in this group compared to the 50:50 maize:grass silage and grass silage groups. There was a significant (P < 0.001) difference in the alpha-tocopherol levels detected in the meat from the three dietary groups. Alpha-tocopherol levels increased in the order: maize silage < 50:50 maize:grass silage < grass silage, at levels of 2.08, 2.95, and 3.84 microg/g meat, respectively. Fatty acid analysis indicated 18:3 was significantly (P < 0.001) lower in the maize silage-fed group than in the maize:grass silage and grass silage groups. However, 18:3 was significantly (P < 0.001) higher in the grass silage group than in the other two groups. There were no significant differences in all other fatty acids among the three dietary groups. It was concluded that beef from grass silage-fed animals had better overall quality in terms of color, lipid oxidation, and alpha-tocopherol levels than beef from maize silage fed animals.     

Plasma protein levels as potential marker traits for resistance to furunculosis

Abstract. The feasibility of including individual records on correlated traits in a family selection programme which aims to increase resistance to furunculosis in Atlantic salmon was studied; markers were selected because of their potential role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Fibrinogen and α₂-antiplasmin both show genetic variation; both are correlated with survival after challenge with Aeromonas salmonicida , the correlation being 0·44 and 0·37 ( P < 0·05), respectively, and it is possible to measure both on a large scale at low costs. Contrary to α₂-antiplasmin, fibrinogen was negatively correlated with survival due to furunculosis within the 10 most resistant families and within the 10 most susceptible families in contrast to an overall positive correlation. This inconsistency could be attributable to the presence of different allelic phases in different families, and of major linked loci influencing survival and fibrinogen levels. Thus, only α₂-antiplasmin fulfils the requirements for a marker trait for resistance to the disease suitable for individual selection at the population level, whereas the use of fibrinogen would be restricted to within family selection. The full statistical model explained 51% of the variation in resistance to furunculosis, and α₂-antiplasmin contributed 15% to this variation when considered as a separate entity. Thus, the additional gain from including individual records on α₂-antiplasmin in a family selection programme could be significant.     

Cultivation and nitrogen requirements for continuous winter barley on a gleysol and a cambisol

Long- and short-term direct-drilling and seed broadcasting plus rotovation were examined as possible quick and cheap alternatives to conventional mouldboard ploughing and drilling. The experiment was the continuation of an existing long-term tillage experiment for spring barley. The conventional ploughing and long-term direct-drilling treatments continued on the same plots. The broadcasting and the short-term direct-drilling treatments were applied to previously chisel-ploughed and deep mouldboard-ploughed treatments, respectively. Autumn nitrogen treatments of 30 or 60 kg ha⁻¹ and spring nitrogen treatments of 150 or 225 kg ha⁻¹ were applied. The experiment is located on a cambisol (15% clay in topsoil) and on a gleysol (17% clay in topsoil) in south-east Scotland. Straw was removed by baling and the stubble remained when the treatments were applied.

Long-term direct-drilling yielded most over the 3 years of the experiment and was particularly successful after the unusually wet autumn and winter of the third season. Short-term direct-drilling was the lowest yielding treatment in the first season only. The success of the long-term direct-drilling treatment was associated with the development of a stable, protective surface tilth as a result of organic-matter accumulation. This was associated with some soil structural improvement deeper in the profile in the long-term direct-drilled gleysol as shown by measurements of air permeability. Crop performance apparently was not related to soil compactness or cone resistance. The relatively high rates of nitrogen applied, both autumn and spring, gave worthwhile crop responses except for the third season, when the crop lodged. Short-term direct-drilling, broadcasting with rotovation and ploughing with drilling gave similar average yields on the gleysol, but on the cambisol broadcasting with rotovation outyielded the other two treatments by an average of 0.3 t ha⁻¹.     

CEREBELLAR HYPOPLASIA OF GENETIC ORIGIN IN CALVES

Within 2 years, following the introduction of 2 Shorthorn bulls from the same stud into an Australian Illawarra Shorthorn (AIS) herd, 16 calves were born with cerebellar hypoplasia. All affected calves were the progeny of one bull mated to the daughters of the other. All other progeny of these bulls, most of which were from AIS dams, were normal. Affected calves exhibited severe ataxia, consistent head movement and abduction of the forelimbs. Microscopic changes in the cerebellum included sparsity of cells of the granular layer, loss of Purkinje cells and narrowing of the molecular layer. Observations on the frequencies of normal and abnormal calves are consistent with the hypothesis that the condition is caused by an autosomal recessive gene for which affected calves were homozygous and which was introduced into the herd in heterozygous condition by both of the Shorthorn bulls. Evidence is given for an unusually high frequency of the gene in the stud of origin of the Shorthorn bulls and a procedure for reducing its frequency is outlined. The possibility of a viral or toxic aetiology is discussed but is considered to be an unlikely explanation for the condition in this herd.