The use of air‐coolers in broiler houses under subtropical conditions in Iraq

1. Under summer conditions in north Iraq, 2 000 chicks were reared for 56 d in two broiler houses. One house was provided with two air‐coolers. The birds were housed at densities of eight to 16 birds/m².

2. Differences in weight gain between birds in cooled and uncooled houses ranged from 101.5 g at eight birds/m² to 385 g at 16 birds/m². Food consumption increased gradually with increasing bird density. Food conversion efficiency, meat yield and carcass conformation were much better in the cooled house than under conventional conditions.

3. The financial return/m² ranged from 2.30 to 4.51 ID¹ in the cooled house, compared with 2.01 to 2.77 ID in the uncooled house at different floor densities.     

Observations on the reproductive performance of three mouth-brooding tilapia species in low-salinity underground water

The reproductive performance and seed production of three mouth‐brooding tilapia species, Oreochromis spilurus (Günther), Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner) and Taiwanese red tilapia hybrid, were compared in low‐salinity underground water (3–5 g L^?1) to select species with the highest reproductive rate. Two‐year‐old males and females having average body weights of 454 and 259 g, respectively, were stocked in 2‐m³ fibreglass breeding tanks (two tanks per species) at 1:3 male to female sex ratio and at average density of three fish m^?2. Seeds (unhatched eggs; yolk‐sac fry and the swim‐up fry) were collected weekly for 112 days. The results showed O. spilurus to have significantly higher (P<0.05) mean spawning parameters expressed as total seed tank^?1 (84 154), seed kg female^?1 day^?1 (284), seed m^?2 day^?1 (190.3) and seed female^?1 day^?1 (76.3), than O. aureus and red tilapia. Monthly seed production in O. spilurus and red tilapia gradually increased from May, peaked in July and declined in August, while in O. aureus, it continued to decrease from May to August. In this study, the observed production levels of seed in O. spilurus were among the highest levels reported for tilapia; therefore, O. spilurus could be selected as a potential candidate for mass seed production in commercial tilapia hatcheries.     

Effects of maximal exercise on the blood composition of the racing camel

Haematological and blood biochemical changes were studied in nine camels after maximal exercise over 4 or 5 km. There was a lack of splenic reserve for red blood cells, indicated by a minimal increase in haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit. There were marked increases in plasma lactate (to over 20 mmol/litre), plasma ammonia and plasma glucose and a pronounced decrease in circulating free fatty acids. There were small but significant increases in plasma calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and phosphate concentrations.     

Preliminary studies on feminization and growth of Oreochromis spilurus (Günther) by oral administration of 17α-ethynyloestradiol in sea water

A study was conducted on Oreochromis spilurus (Günther) fry (9.0 mm) in sea water (38-40%o) to evaluate the effects of three doses (40, 70 and 100 ppm) of a synthetic oestrogen, 17α-ethynyloestradiol (17-EE) on the feminization, specific growth rate (SGR), food conversion efficiency (FCE), condition factor (CF) and survival rate. The fry were fed a hormone-impregnated diet for 42 days, followed by a hormone-free diet for another 77 days. At the end of the experiment (119 days), successful feminization was obtained in all groups treated with 17-EE. The dose of 100 ppm was the most potent one and induced 92.2% sex reversal. At the end of the hormone-treatment phase (42 days), all groups treated with 17-EE and the untreated controls showed no significant differences in growth, SGR, FCE, CF, and survival rate. After 119 days, a significant difference was detected only in the mean body weight and total length where the EE-100 group had the highest values. However, this was due to the low survival rate in this group (37.5%) and not to any possible anabolic effect of 17-EE. The findings of this study indicate that seawater sex reversal of O. spilurus is possible and 100% sex reversal could be achieved by slightly increasing the dose and/or duration of the treatment.     

Survival rates of tilapia, Oreochromis spilurus (Günther), fingerlings reared at high densities during winter using warm underground sea water

The study was conducted to determine the optimum stocking density for rearing tilapia. Oreochromis spilurus (Günther), fingerlings in tanks during winter using warm (21-26°C) underground sea water (37%o). Seawater-acclimated fingerlings with mean weight of 2 g were stocked in eighteen 400-1 fibreglass tanks at 750 and 1000 fish m^?3. Fish were fed at the rates of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5% day^?1 of the fish biomass. After 83 days, the mean individual daily weight gain was significantly higher (P < 0.028) at stocking of 750 fish m^?3 than at 1000 fish m^?3. Feed conversion ratio was significantly higher at stocking of 1000 fish m^?3 than at 750 fish m^?3 and at feeding rate of 3.5% day¹ than at 2.5% day^?1. However, because no significant differences were observed on survival rates between the two stocking densities and among feeding rates, it is recommended that the stocking density of 1000 fish m^?3 and a feeding rate of 2.5% day^?1 be used for optimum production of tilapia fingerlings in tanks during winter using warm underground sea water.     

Potentialities and soil impact analysis of rock phosphorus fertilization of perennial and annual legume crops

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impacts of the direct use of natural rock phosphates on two forage legumes, Vicia sativa, and Medicago sativa. Crops were grown in pots containing two P deficient soils and fertilized with Tunisian rock phosphate (TRP) or chemical triple superphosphate (TSP). TRP amendment significantly increased shoot dry yield (+53% to +162%), P-content, protein content, and chlorophyll content mainly at the rate of 150 kg P ha^?1. No significant effects were observed on mycorrhization and antioxidant enzyme activities. However, TSP negatively affected the frequency of root mycorrhization and stimulated antioxidant enzyme activities. TRP amendment induced an increase in fluorescein diacetate activity, alkaline phosphatase activity, and species richness. The stimulation involved mainly Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes with higher stimulation of Actinobacteria in the case of vetch. The present work indicated a better P-use efficiency of vetch. It suggested also that at least a part of the enhancement observed in plant-growth parameters following TRP fertilization is driven by changes in the structure of rhizosphere microbial communities. Nevertheless, the correlation between changes in microbial composition and phosphorus uses efficiency needs to be investigated further.     

Preliminary evaluation of growth performance and immune response of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus supplemented with two putative probiotic bacteria

This study evaluated the effect of two bacteria, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and the dairy yogurt (DY) Lactobacillus sp., on improving the growth performance, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and some immunological and haematological parameters. Nile tilapia (19.1 g) were stocked in 0.42 m³ tanks at 67 fish m^?3 and fed with two probiotic‐incorporated diets and a control diet for 99 days, followed by a normal diet for another 61 days. At the end of the probiotic feeding, the mean weight, FCR and production rate showed no significant difference among the treatments. However, after 61 days of feeding of the normal diet, the B. amyloliquefaciens fish showed significantly superior growth and better FCR than the control. The DY group had the lowest growth and the poorest FCR. Significantly higher serum lysozyme activity, head‐kidney superoxide dismutase, total immunoglobulin and serum bacterial agglutination titres were recorded in the probiotic groups than the control. Haematological parameters showed no difference between treatments. The B. amyloliquefaciens fed fish showed that the gut microflora was dominated by B. amyloliquefaciens even after the withdrawal of the probiotic. On the contrary, the probiotic bacterial species isolated from the dairy yoghurt did not persist longer in the gut. These results indicate the beneficial effect of administering the bacteria isolated from fish gut microflora, B. amyloliquefaciens, in improving growth, FCR and immunological parameters. The high persistence of B. amyloliquefaciens indicates that the probiotic colonization in the gut is essential for the best responses and economics.     

Efficacy of some rhizospheric and endophytic bacteria <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> and as seed coating for the control of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium culmorum</Emphasis> infecting durum wheat in Tunisia

Sixty two rhizospheric and endophytic bacterial strains were evaluated for their biocontrol effect on two aggressive Fusarium culmorum isolates (Fc2 and Fc3). We observed that 35 % and 23 % of the tested strains inhibited the in vitro growth of Fc2 and Fc3 respectively. The observed antagonism was due to inhibition by contact (13–19 % of the strains) or at distance (10–16 % of the strains) for both fungal isolates. Some of the antagonistic bacteria showed the ability to produce diffuse and/or volatile compounds that inhibit the growth, the sporulation and macroconidia germination of F. culmorum. None of the tested antagonistic bacteria showed chitinase activity on synthetic medium. The sequencing of the 16S rDNA genes of some antagonistic bacteria showed that they belong to the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Microbacterium. The double inoculation of durum wheat seeds by the antagonistic bacterial strains (B13, B18, BSE1, BSE3 and B16E) and the two F. culmorum isolates showed that germination and seedling vigor were generally improved in vitro. The percentage of infected seeds was also reduced. In greenhouse trials, the biocontrol effectiveness of F. culmorum was dependant from the virulence of the fungal strain and the specificity of the antagonistic interaction between bacterial and fungal strains. The bacterial strains B18 and B16E reduced F. culmorum infection on durum wheat plants probably due to their antagonistic and plant growth promoting activities and they may be used in a mixture as seed biopriming inoculum for plant growth bio-promoting and Fusarium wheat diseases biocontrol.