Feed consumption,diet digestibility and mineral utilization in captive blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra) fed different levels of concentrates

A feeding trial was conducted to know the level of concentrates in the diet of Antelope cervicapra at which diet digestibility and mineral utilization were optimum. Fifteen blackbucks (25–33 kg BW) were distributed into three groups of five each. Fresh oat (Avena sativa) and berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) fodders were offered ad libitum to all the animals. In addition, animals in groups II and III received concentrate mixture at the rate of 0.5 and 1% of BW, whereas animals in group I received no concentrates. As the level of concentrates increased, consumption of fodder decreased resulting in decreased consumption of neutral detergent fibre (NDFom), acid detergent fibre (ADFom), hemicellulose and cellulose. However, overall total dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intake was not significantly different between the groups. Digestibility of DM, OM and gross energy (GE) increased while that of NDFom and ADFom decreased with increased level of concentrates in the diet. Intake of P, Zn, Cu and Mn increased with increased level of concentrate supplementation; however, consumption of Ca and Fe followed the reverse trend. Absorption of P and Zn increased with increased level of concentrate supplementation. Serum concentration of Zn increased when concentrate was supplemented at the rate of 0.5% BW beyond which there was no further improvement. Increasing the level of concentrates in the diet was resulted in increased serum glucose and cholesterol levels. Forage‐only diet was inadequate in supply of energy, P and zinc. Supplementation of concentrates at the rate of 0.5% BW was able to meet the requirement of these nutrients. Supplementation at the rate of 1% BW supplied energy and P in excess of requirement. It was concluded that the feeding of concentrates to the captive blackbuck fed forage‐based diets should be restricted to 0.5% of BW.     

Protein quality evaluation of sprouted maize

Protein, lysine, tryptophan, crude fibre (CF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) of sprouted, normal and hard endosperm opaque-2 (QPM) kernels increased, whereas in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) decreased substantially up to five days of germination. Following the removal of radicles alone or both radicles and plumules from sprouted kernels, IVPD improved at all the stages of germination. However, the contents of lysine and tryptophan were not affected significantly. For some stages of germination, these amino acids decreased slightly. In sprouted normal kernels, IVPD was higher whereas protein, lysine and tryptophan content was lower than that of sprouted QPM kernels respectively at all the stages of germination. In four days old sprouted normal kernels, after the removal of both radicles and plumules biological value (BV), net protein utilization (NPU) and utilizable protein (UP) increased over non-sprouted kernels whereas true digestibility (TD) reach at par with non-sprouted kernels.     

Simultaneous determination of kaempferol and quercetin in Heteropogon Contortus (L.) Beauv. by validated high-performance thin layer chromatography

Presently, the fingerprint analysis of kaempferol and quercetin has been developed simultaneously via High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) from leaves, stem, and inflorescence of Heteropogon contortus. The HPTLC method for kaempferol and quercetin was optimized with the elution of toluene: ethyl acetate: formic acid (7:3:0.5 v/v) as a mobile phase. The fingerprint analysis of kaempferol and quercetin was developed at R_f values of 0.39 and 0.24, respectively, and densitometric evaluation was done at 254 nm. The linear regression data for the calibration curve of both the compounds show a good linear relationship in the concentration range of 2–12 nanogram spot^?1. The suggested method has been validated in terms of limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy. Present results show that maximum amount of kaempferol and quercetin is found in leaf extracts (35.80 and 17.01 milligram/gram of dry weight, respectively) of H. contortus.     

Development and utilization of novel SSRs in foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.]

Although the foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] is recently regarded as a model crop for studying functional genomics of biofuel grasses, its genetic improvement to some extent was limited due to the non‐availability of molecular markers, particularly the microsatellite markers and the saturated genetic linkage map. Considering this, we attempted to generate a significant number of microsatellite markers in cultivar ‘Prasad’. Two hundred and fifty‐six clones were sequenced to generate 41.82‐kb high‐quality sequences retrieved from genomic library enriched with dinucleotide repeat motifs. Microsatellites were identified in 194 (76%) of the 256 positive clones, and 64 primer pairs (pp) were successfully designed from 95 (49%) unique SSR‐containing clones. The 67.4% primer designing ability, 100% PCR amplification efficiency and 45.3% polymorphic potential in the parents of F₂ mapping population established the efficacy of genomic microsatellites. All the 64 microsatellite markers displayed high level of cross‐species amplification (~67%) in 10 millets and non‐millets species. These experimental findings suggest the utility and efficacy of SSRs in diverse genotyping applications, resolving QTLs, phylogenetic relationships and transferability in several important grass species.     

Effect of feeding forest foliages, rice straw and concentrate-based total mixed ration on nutrient utilization and growth in mithun (Bos frontalis)

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding Borrena hirticulata (BH), Ficus hirta (FH), rice straw (RS) and concentrate-based total mixed ration (TMR) on nutrient utilization, rumen fermentation and growth in mithun. Growing male mithun calves were randomly allotted to 2 feeding groups (6 in each), TMR₁ and TMR₂. The TMRs consisted of RS 300 g kg^− 1, concentrate 400 g kg^− 1 and BH 300 g kg^− 1 (TMR₁) or FH 300 g kg^− 1 (TMR₂) on a dry matter (DM) basis. Both TMRs were fed ad libitum to the animals for 121 d and a digestibility study was conducted during the last 7 d of the experiment. To assess rumen fermentation, rumen fluid was collected at 2 h interval for 24 h. Apparent digestibility of DM, crude protein (CP) and crude fibre (CF) did not differ significantly between the TMRs. Nevertheless, apparent digestibility of ether extract was found to be significantly (P < 0.01) greater in TMR₂ (0.59) compared to TMR₁ (0.54). Body weight gain (BWG; g d^− 1), DM intake (kg d^− 1), CP intake (g d^− 1) and feed efficiency (kg feed kg^− 1 gain) were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) greater in TMR₁ (548, 5.14, 713 and 9.28) compared to TMR₂ (496, 4.91, 703 and 10.03). An insignificant positive association (r = 0.35) between DM intake and BWG, but a significant (P < 0.01) positive association (r = 0.74) between CP intake and BWG were evident. Rumen pH (5.71 to 7.18) and ammonia-nitrogen (8.0 to 25.0 mg/dl) did not differ significantly between the TMRs, but differed significantly (P < 0.01) at different h post-feeding. In contrast, rumen total volatile fatty acid (42 to 105 mM) and total nitrogen (40.4 to 90.3 mg/dl) differed significantly (P < 0.05) between the TMRs and at different h post-feeding. The study revealed that BH, FH, RS and concentrate-based TMRs may be fed to mithun for satisfactory growth.     

Processing of maize germ oil cake into edible food grade meal and evaluation of its protein quality

The commercial oil cake produced during expeller pressing of maize germ, was extracted with n-hexane and 80 percent ethanol followed by seiving to remove undesirable materials. In defatted maize germ oil cake (DMGOC): protein, starch, fat, crude fiber (CF) and ash were respectively 24.69, 36.55, 5.68, 7.56 and 3.90 percent and they decrease after processing except ash, which increased slightly. It contains better quality protein having only 3 percent zein and 47 percent albumin. Its amino acids like lysine and tryptophan and biological value (BV) were higher than that of whole maize grain, and was comparable with that of the amino acid requirement of preschool children and casein diets both. Its digestible energy (DE) was lower compared with whole maize grain as well as the casein diets. After processing albumin, globulin and zein decreased whereas glutelin and the residual fraction increased. Not much differences were observed in chemical composition and different amino acids, in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD), true digestibility (TD), BV and DE improved after processing.     

Comparative morphometrical studies on the skull bones of barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)

The present study reports data on the skull bone morphometry of barking and sambar deer. The skulls of adult barking deer (n = 6) and sambar deer (n = 6) of either sex (n = 3 males and n = 3 females) were collected from the Aizawl Zoological Park, Aizawl, Mizoram, India, with official permission from the Government of Mizoram. Anatomically, barking and sambar deer's skulls were elongated, pyramid-like, dolichocephalic and consisted of thirty-two cranial and facial bones. The cranial bones were eleven (three single and four paired), comprising of occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid, frontal, interparietal, parietal and temporal. The facial bones were twenty-one (one single and ten were paired), consisting of the maxilla, premaxilla (incisive), palatine, pterygoid, nasal, lacrimal, zygomatic (malar), vomer, turbinates, mandible and hyoid. In the present study, altogether 41 different measurements were taken morphologically and 6 different indices were applied. The obtained morphometrical parameters were significantly (p < .01, p < .05) higher in males than females of both species. Species wise, all obtained parameters were higher in sambar deer than barking deer. The obtained 41 different skull parameters and 6 indices showed statistically significant differences (p < .01 and p < .05) between both sexes of barking and sambar deer; however, practically these differences were meagre. The present morphometrical study on the skull of both species can help the wildlife professionals and zoo veterinarians determine the sex of these animals and differentiate it from other domestic and wild small ruminants for solving veterolegal cases. This study's findings will also motivate and assist other comparative studies with various domestic and wild small ruminants.     

Influence of in-house produced biochars on cracks and retained water during drying-wetting cycles: comparison between conventional plant,animal, and nano-biochars

Purpose

Biochars produced from different feedstocks (such as wood, pig manure) possess varying physical and chemical properties, which have influence on crack and evaporation rate of biochar-amended soil (BAS). Furthermore, influence of compaction state and drying-wetting cycles on evaporation rate and cracking of BAS has not been investigated comprehensively. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar types, compaction state of BAS, and drying-wetting cycles on crack propagation and retained water (or evaporation rate).

Material and methods

An animal and plant feedstock-based biochars were produced in-house from pig manure (PM) and wood (W), respectively. In addition, nano structured chalk and wheat biochar (CWB) were also produced. Soil amended with individual biochars was compacted in petri-glass discs at two densities. Disc specimens were subjected to multiple drying-wetting cycles, and evaporation rate of specimens and crack area were monitored throughout the experimental period (70 days). Images were captured after every 24 h and processed using image processing technique to obtain the crack intensity factor (CIF).

Results and discussion

The results show that plant-based W BAS showed the high water retention, i.e., low evaporation rate and low CIF. Furthermore, the crack potential of CW BAS was seen to be higher. In dense compacted soil, maximum CIF% can be reduced from 3.9 to 0.4% for W BAS, from 3.9 to 1.7% for PM BAS, and from 3.9 to 1.6% for CW BAS.

Conclusion

WB was able to resist cracking more efficiently than other types of biochar. Evaporation was found to be minimal for plant-based W BAS at 10% biochar percentage. Higher biochar content in soil was seen to increase the water retention of BAS significantly. Dense state of BAS at high biochar content (i.e., 10%) was effective in reducing evaporation rate and crack progression.