Herbage potassium levels in a permanent pasture under grazing

Herbage potassium levels were measured in 1986 in a permanent pasture under continuous grazing with cattle and receiving 200 kg N ha⁻¹. In April, before grazing started, K concentration in the herbage was relatively uniform across the pasture, with a value of 1·9 ± 0·038% K in the herbage dry matter. In July, a significantly lower concentration of herbage K was found in the grazed areas of the pasture (1·8 ± 0·10%) compared with the level (2·4 ± 0·088%) found in the rejected areas of the sward. The difference between the grazed and rejected areas was similar in September, with 1·6 ± 0·087% and 2·2 ± 0·172% K, respectively, in the herbage dry matter. This result suggests that herbage growth in the grazed areas might have been limited by K supply and highlights the need for more information on the K requirements of grazed grassland.     

Periodicity and gradients in dispersal ofAlternaria linicola in linseed crops

Conidia ofAlternaria linicola produced on infected linseed crops were mainly dispersed by wind. The numbers of conidia in the air above linseed crops collected by a Burkard spore sampler were greatest between 1200 h and 1300 h, when the relative humidity was lowest. Although numbers of conidia collected decreased with increasing height within and above the crop canopy, air-borneA. linicola conidia were present up to 80 cm above the crop canopy. Conidia ofA. linicola were transported by wind up to at least 40 m downwind from an artificial line inoculum source, but their numbers decreased with increasing distance from the source. In 1991, 1992, and 1993, the dispersal ofA. linicola conidia above linseed crops followed a seasonal periodicity which was influenced by weather conditions and cultural practices. The greatest numbers of conidia were collected during July, August and early September and coincided with periods favourable for sporulation and with an increase in the incidence of the disease in the senescent crop. Air-borneA. linicola conidia produced on point or line inoculum sources (naturally infected linseed stem debris) were responsible for the spread of the disease in linseed crops. In 1992 and 1993, the disease was first detected downwind from the sources, but by the end of the growing seasons, it had spread in all directions and up to 20 m and 60 m from the sources, respectively. Disease gradients were initially steep near the inoculum sources but they became flatter with time due to the secondary spread of the disease.     

Effect of cutting height and frequency on Leucaena leucocephala forage and wood production

Abstract

Leucaena leucocephala is a fast‐growing tree that can provide both high quality forage and firewood. The objective of this trial was to determine the optimum height and frequency of cutting for both wood and forage production. Cutting heights at 0.3 m, 0.6 m and 1.0 m were superimposed on 3‐month and 6‐month cutting frequencies on mature rows of L. leucocephala for three years. Effects of year or its interaction with the other factors were not significant (P≥0.10). There was an increase (P=0.07) in wood production but not forage production (P≥0.10) with the longer interval. Cutting height had an effect on forage (P<0.001) production, with 5.47 t ha^?1 a^?1 for the 0.3‐m height, 7.62 t ha^?1 a^?1 for the 0.7‐m height, and 8.71 t ha^?1 a^?1 for the 1.0‐m height. Cutting height also had an effect on wood production (P<0.001), with 7.22 t hd^?1 a^?1 for the 0.3‐m height, 9.33 t ha^?1 a^?1 for the 0.7‐mheight, and 11.55 t hd^?1 a^?1 for the 1.0‐m height. In this experiment, the six‐month interval produced more wood than the three‐month interval, but there were no differences in quantity of forage dry matter in L. leucocephala; there were advantages in both wood and forage production with the taller trunk base.     

Infection of primary cultures of mammary epithelial cells by small ruminant lentiviruses.

The caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) and Visna Maedi virus cause persistent infections with long latent periods and induce degenerative and chronic inflammatory lesions of the central nervous system, joints, lungs and udder. Monocyte/macrophage lineage is the main target cell for CAEV and Visna Maedi virus but we speculate that mammary epithelial cells may also be infected. Primary cultures of milk cells, mammary tissues of experimentally and naturally infected goats and ewes were used. Primary cultures of mammary tissue from ewes and goats were infected with the CAEV Cork strain. The lentiviral infection of the primary culture was demonstrated by a typical cytopathic effect in mammary epithelial cells and the presence of an infectious virus in coculture with permissive fibroblasts. To identify the epithelial cells in explants and demonstrate the antigenic expression of CAEV, primary cultures were immunostained with polyclonal anti-keratin and monoclonal anti-CAEV p30. Colocalisation studies under a UV fluorescence microscope and by epifluorescence microscopy showed the expression of specific viral antigens in mammary epithelial cells from the eight animals used. Infected mammary epithelial cells may act as a reservoir for the virus which may play an important role in the virus dissemination and in the pathogenesis of the mammary lentiviral disease.     

Effects of Supplementing a Basal Diet of Chloris gayana Hay with One of Three Protein-rich Legume Hays of Cassia rotundifolia,Lablab purpureus and Macroptilium atropurpureum Forage on Some Nutritional Parameters in Goats

Growth and digestibility experiments were conducted on growing East African type goats offered Chloris gayana hay supplemented with one of three high-protein (119–128 g CP/kg DM) legume hays, Cassia rotundifolia (cassia), Lablab purpureus (lablab) or Macroptilium atropurpureum (siratro), and crushed maize to investigate the feed intake, digestibility, growth and urinary excretion of purine derivatives. Goats in the supplemented groups had higher total dry matter and nitrogen intakes and higher N retention and body mass gains than unsupplemented counterparts. The digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and neutral detergent fibre were increased by protein supplementation. Animals on supplemented diets had higher fractional outflow rates of particulate matter from the rumen. The production of protein by ruminal microbes and the efficiency of microbial N production were increased by supplementation. It was concluded that a mixture of low-quality grass hay (61.9 CP/kg DM) and either cassia, lablab or siratro hay, and maize grain can provide a productive balanced diet for growing goats.     

Variation in growth rates and aggressiveness of naturally occurring self‐fertile and self‐sterile isolates of the wilt pathogen Ceratocystis albifundus

Ceratocystis albifundus is the most important fungal pathogen of black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) grown in plantations in southern and eastern Africa. It is a homothallic fungus but also undergoes unidirectional mating type switching. As a result, the ascospore progeny can be either self‐fertile or self‐sterile. The only apparent difference between these mating types is the deletion of the MAT1‐2‐1 gene in self‐sterile isolates. There is some evidence suggesting that self‐sterile isolates grow more slowly than self‐fertile isolates, but this has not been tested rigorously. The aim of this study was to determine whether self‐sterile isolates are less fit by examining growth rate, relative germination rate and pathogenicity. Five self‐sterile isolates were generated from each of five self‐fertile isolates of C. albifundus and these 30 isolates were compared. The results showed that the self‐sterile isolates grew consistently slower and were less pathogenic than the self‐fertile isolates. The germination ratio of self‐fertile to self‐sterile isolates from single ascospores collected from the ascomata of five self‐fertile isolates was on average 7:3. This could be a consequence of the self‐sterile isolates having a lower germination rate. This observation, and the lower growth and pathogenicity levels, suggests that self‐sterile isolates are not likely to compete effectively in nature, raising intriguing questions regarding their role and value to C. albifundus and other fungi having a similar mating system.     

State-of-the-art review of goat TSE in the European Union, with special emphasis on PRNP genetics and epidemiology

Scrapie is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of sheep and goats. It is also the earliest known member in the family of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases, which includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and chronic wasting disease in cervids. The recent revelation of naturally occurring BSE in a goat has brought the issue of TSE in goats to the attention of the public. In contrast to scrapie, BSE presents a proven risk to humans. The risk of goat BSE, however, is difficult to evaluate, as our knowledge of TSE in goats is limited. Natural caprine scrapie has been discovered throughout Europe, with reported cases generally being greatest in countries with the highest goat populations. As with sheep scrapie, susceptibility and incubation period duration of goat scrapie are most likely controlled by the prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP). Like the PRNP of sheep, the caprine PRNP shows significantly greater variability than that of cattle and humans. Although PRNP variability in goats differs from that observed in sheep, the two species share several identical alleles. Moreover, while the ARR allele associated with enhancing resistance in sheep is not present in the goat PRNP, there is evidence for the existence of other PrP variants related to resistance. This review presents the current knowledge of the epidemiology of caprine scrapie within the major European goat populations, and compiles the current data on genetic variability of PRNP.     

Enteropathogenicity of Plesiomonas shigelloides and Aeromonas spp. in experimental mono- and coinfection with Cryptosporidium parvum in the intestine of neonatal BALB/c mice

Enteropathogenicity of Plesiomonas shigelloides, Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae and A. sobria was studied both in monoinfections and in coinfections with coccidium Cryptosporidium parvum in neonatal BALB/c mice. In monoinfection experiments, neonatal BALB/c mice were orally infected with 7 x 10(7) or 7 x 10(8) CFU, respectively, of a strain of P. shigelloides or a strain of an Aeromonas spp. In coinfection experiments, the neonatal mice were, in addition to being orally infected with one of the four bacterial species, orally infected with an inoculum containing 10(5) oocysts of C. parvum. Results from monoinfections with P. shigelloides revealed long-term colonisation of the neonatal mouse intestine by this pathogen, along with associated pathological lesions. The lesions varied in severity from atrophy to necrosis of the mucosal inner surface of the ileum and colon, with predilection to the colon and brush border of colonic enterocytes. The effects of coinfection of P. shigelloides with C. parvum were characterised by bacteremia and heavy colonisation of the intestine by P. shigelloides. In addition, extensive necrotising inflammatory changes in the ileum and colon were accompanied by diarrhoea and deaths of coinfected mice. In contrast, the results from monoinfections of neonatal mice with Aeromonas spp. showed only a short-term colonisation of the intestine by the pathogen. However, when mice were coinfected with A. hydrophila and C. parvum, then the growth of the bacterial species was prolonged, and occurred in both the spleen and intestine. However, no substantial clinical or histopathological changes were observed in mice, whether monoinfected with Aeromonas spp. or coinfected with C. parvum. Our study suggests that experimental monoinfections of neonatal BALB/c mice with P. shigellodes, Aeromonas spp. and C. parvum, together with coinfections (each bacterial species with the protozoan C. parvum), may serve as a useful model to study the initial steps of gastrointestinal colonisation and diarrhoeal disease syndromes caused by enteropathogenic bacteria and protozoa, individually and in combination.     

Secretion of dopamine and norepinephrine in hypophyseal portal blood and prolactin in peripheral blood of Holstein cattle

The objective was to test the hypothesis that dopamine regulates prolactin (PRL) secretion by determining acute changes in catecholamine concentrations in hypophyseal portal blood of cattle, and their relation to peripheral blood concentration of PRL in hypophyseal stalk-transected (HST) and sham-operated controls (SOC). Holstein heifers (606 +/- 21 kg BW; mean +/- SE) were subjected to neurosurgery for 8 h to collect hypophyseal portal blood with a stainless steel cannula designed with a cuff placed under the pituitary stalk and peripheral blood via a jugular vein catheter. PRL plasma concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay, and dopamine and norepinephrine in portal plasma by radioenzymatic assay. During anesthesia before HST or SOC, PRL plasma concentration ranged from 20-40 ng/ml throughout 255 min. PRL abruptly increased and remained above 90 ng/ml after HST compared with a steady decrease to <20 ng/ml in SOC heifers throughout 440 min. Within 5 min after severing the hypophyseal stalk, dopamine in portal blood (>8 ng/ml) was significantly increased (P < 0.05) compared with peripheral blood (<2 ng/ml). Norepinephrine concentration in portal blood was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than in peripheral blood during the first 60 min. The sustained high PRL level in peripheral plasma after severing the hypophyseal stalk stimulated hypothalamic dopamine secretion from hypophyseal portal vessels during the prolonged period of blood collection. Norepinephrine concentration in these cattle was greater in hypophyseal portal than in peripheral blood, implicating both an important hypothalamic source of the catecholamine as well as an adrenal gland contribution during anesthesia.