A two-year comparison on nutritive value and yield of eight lucerne cultivars and one red clover cultivar

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) and lucerne (Medicago sativa) are among the most common legume species used for ruminant feeding systems. Besides the greater nutritive quality and first-year ley yield compared to lucerne, red clover decreases its yield over the years. However, under unfavourable soil conditions the persistency of lucerne can be compromised, not performing as expected. This study compared yield and chemical composition of eight lucerne cultivars and one tetraploid red clover cultivar, with similar growth capacity as lucerne, replicated over two years. In the second year, four lucerne cultivars and the red clover cultivar were analysed for crude protein (CP) fractions, dry matter and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility. A randomized block design was used with three field blocks per cultivar for the multiple comparisons within each year. There were differences in DM yield, concentrations of CP and NDF and CP fractions among the lucerne cultivars, but the differences were inconsistent between years and between growth cycles within year. The red clover cultivar had lower CP and NDF concentrations than a majority of the lucerne cultivars, and greater in vitro organic matter digestibility compared to all of the lucerne cultivars. Also, the red clover cultivar had greater rumen undegradable-to-degradable CP ratio but confirmed its lower yield persistency compared to the lucerne cultivars.     

A new standard area diagram set for assessment of severity of soybean rust improves accuracy of estimates and optimizes resource use

Soybean rust (SBR), caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is the most important yield-damaging fungal disease of soybean due to severe reduction in healthy leaf area and acceleration of leaf fall. In experimental research, SBR severity is estimated visually aided/trained by a standard area diagram (SAD) developed and validated during the mid-2000s (Old SAD). In this study, we propose a new SAD set for SBR with six true-colour diagrams following linear increments (c. 15% increments) amended with four additional diagrams at low (<10%) severities, totalling 10 diagrams (0.2%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 40%, 55%, 70%, and 84%). For evaluation, 37 raters were split into two groups. Each assessed severity in a 50-image sample (0.25%–84%), first unaided and then using either the Old SAD or the New SAD. Accuracy, precision, and reliability of estimates improved significantly relative to unaided estimates only when aided by the New SAD (accuracy >0.95). Low precision (<0.78) and a trend of underestimation with an increase in severity were the main issues with the Old SAD, which did not differ from unaided estimates. Simulation to evaluate the impact of the errors by different methods on hypothesis tests, showed that the new SAD was more powerful for detecting the smallest difference in mean control (e.g., 70% vs. 65% disease reduction) than the Old SAD; the latter required a 2-fold increase in sample size to achieve the same power. There is a need to improve some SADs, taking advantage of new knowledge and technology to increase accuracy of the estimates, and to optimize both resource use efficiency and management decisions.     

Influence of light intensity on biofilm formation and the performance of pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis juveniles reared in cages

A reduction in light intensity may increase shrimp activity, although it may also negatively affect the development of photoautotrophic organisms present in biofilm, an important natural food source for shrimp. This experiment evaluated the influence of light intensity on biofilm development and on the growth of cultured Farfantepenaeus paulensis juveniles. Six cages were deployed in a shrimp culture pond and stocked with 60 juveniles (0.72 ± 0.03 g). Three cages were randomly chosen and covered with five layers of polyamide net to reduce light incidence (shaded treatment), while the other three cages were not covered (control treatment). Biofilm chlorophyll a and microorganism abundance, as well as shrimp growth, were monitored during the experiment. Chlorophyll a concentration and the abundance of bacteria and flagellates were significantly lower in the shaded treatment (P<0.05). After 75 rearing days, shrimp stocked in control treatment achieved significantly higher (5.98 g) (P<0.05) mean weight than shrimp reared in shaded treatment cages (5.13 g). Similarly, the biomass produced was also significantly higher (P<0.05) in the control treatment (322.92 g) than in the shaded treatment (287.31 g). The results of this study demonstrate that light intensity has a huge influence on shrimp performance mainly due to the increase in natural food availability.     

Genetic divergence among gerbera accessions evaluated by RAPD

Genetic diversity was evaluated by RAPD markers and morpho-agronomic characters for a total of 42 accessions of Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) consisting of 29 commercial and 13 wild accessions. A total of 74 polymorphic bands were obtained employing a set of 12 primer pairs. The average genetic similarity coefficient for the 42 accessions, evaluated by Jaccard index was 0.55 ranging from 0.28 to 1.00. The genetic structure found among Barberton daisy accessions was evaluated by hierarchic classification analyses and UPGMA modeling, revealing six clusters of genotypes where two of them include the wild accessions and the remaining four including commercial material, except for wild genotype number 9. Shannon (H′) index was calculated using the molecular markers to investigate the genetic variation among the Gerbera accessions and showed higher values for the commercial cluster in comparison to the values obtained for the individuals from the non-commercial cluster, namely 0.34 versus 0.27, respectively. Therefore, both calculated indices (Jaccard and Shannon) indicated the presence of higher genetic variation among commercial accessions in comparison to the cluster representing non-commercial accessions, suggesting that genetic breeding programs may focus on commercial accessions to recombine interesting genotypes with commercially important and marketing-desired characteristics.     

Nutrient Digestibility of Cereal Grain Products and By‐products in Extruded Diets for Nile Tilapia

Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) provide estimates of nutrient availability in feedstuffs and can be used as a tool for selecting ingredients to compound cost‐effective diets for fish. Extrusion process is one factor that could influence ADC values. Thus, a digestibility trial was undertaken to evaluate ADC of protein, energy, and dry matter, and apparent amino acid availability (AAAA) in five cereal grain products/by‐products (corn, wheat middlings, broken rice, rice bran, and sorghum) in compounded diets for Nile tilapia. Chromic oxide was used as an external inert marker. The digestibility values of energy and dry matter in ingredients, in decreasing order, were highest for broken rice (95.34 and 96.45%), sorghum (82.37 and 87.29%), corn (67.34 and 82.21%), rice bran (57.58 and 55.59%), and wheat middlings (48.94 and 45.88%). Protein digestibility value was higher for corn (72.86%) and the lowest value was observed for sorghum (56.77%), while broken rice, wheat middlings, and rice bran presented values ranging from 63.01 to 66.88%. AAAA values were higher for corn (70.05%) and the lowest methionine and cystine availability values were recorded for wheat middlings and broken rice, respectively. Broken rice appears as one of the most indicated ingredient for using in Nile tilapia diets because of its highest values of nutrient digestibility when compared to the other energetic sources. The use of this information should aid more precise and economic diet formulation for Nile tilapia.     

Soybean molasses as an organic carbon source in the farming of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) in a biofloc system

Soybean molasses was evaluated as a partial replacement for sugarcane molasses as a carbon source for biofloc development in the superintensive culture of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). A 50‐day study was conducted with juvenile (3.2 g) shrimp stocked in 16 800 L tanks at a stocking density of 250 shrimp m^?3. Control of total ammonia concentration was performed by the addition of combined mixtures of soybean and sugarcane molasses to the culture water. Three different molasses treatments were evaluated using different soybean‐to‐sugarcane molasses ratios: 15–85%, 38–62% and 60–40% respectively. The control group was treated only with sugarcane molasses. Water quality, chlorophyll a concentration, heterotrophic bacterial load, Vibrio spp. concentration and zootechnical indexes were all evaluated. Total ammonia concentration was controlled by heterotrophic and chemotrophic pathways. Biofloc formation, as quantified by measuring the total suspended solids, was not altered. The Vibrio spp. concentration showed a significant reduction in treatments with soybean‐to‐sugarcane molasses ratios of 38–62% and 60–40%. All combined mixtures of soybean and sugarcane molasses could maintain water quality and productivity in the superintensive culture of L. vannamei using the biofloc system. Thus, the potential use of a residue from agroindustry as a carbon source in a biofloc culture is demonstrated.     

Proximal sensor-enhanced soil mapping in complex soil-landscape areas of Brazil

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry and magnetic susceptibility (MS) via magnetometer have been increasingly used with terrain variables for digital soil mapping. However, this methodology is still emerging in many countries with tropical soils. The objective of this study was to use proximal soil sensor data associated with terrain variables at varying spatial resolutions to predict soil classes using the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. The study was conducted on a 316-ha area featuring highly variable soil classes and complex soil-landscape relationships in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The overall accuracy and Kappa index were evaluated using soils that were classified at 118 sites, with 90 being used for modeling and 28 for validation. Digital elevation models (DEMs) were created at 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-m resolutions using contour lines from two sources. The resulting DEMs were processed to generate 12 terrain variables. Total Fe, Ti, and SiO₂ contents were obtained using pXRF, with MS determined via a magnetometer. Soil class prediction was performed using the RF algorithm. The quality of the soil maps improved when using only the five most important covariates and combining proximal sensor data with terrain variables at different spatial resolutions. The finest spatial resolution did not always provide the most accurate maps. The high soil complexity in the area prevented highly accurate predictions. The most important variables influencing the soil mapping were MS, Fe, and Ti. Proximal sensor data associated with terrain information were successfully used to map Brazilian soils at variable spatial resolutions.