Neural and chemical control of abomasal secretion in sheep.

Abomasal secretion has been collected from Grosskopftype pouches prepared in five adult Karrakul ewes. Feeding caused a marked increase in volume, acidity and pepsin activity, whereas these factors were reduced by starvation. Both insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and electrical stimulation of the vagal nerve supply to the pouch increased the volume, total acid and pepsin secretion. It is concluded that vagal activity is an important factor in the control of abomasal secretion in sheep.     

Posture and heart rate in the domestic hen

When unanaesthetised fowls were hung upside down on shackles the heart‐rate immediately rose by about 30 per cent; on re‐inverting them after 2, 4 or 6 min it returned rapidly to normal. It behaved similarly in anaesthetised birds save that the response to inversion was somewhat smaller and slower, depending on the depth of anaesthesia, and there was some over‐compensation before return to normal. It is concluded that the effect was probably a response to changes in the activity of baroreceptors in the cardiovascular system and that the data do not disclose evidence of serious distress.     

Effect of feeding frequency on forage fiber and nitrogen utilization in sheep

Four crossbred wether lambs (38 kg) with permanent ruminal and abomasal cannulae were used in a 4 X 4 Latin square arrangement of treatments to determine the effect of feeding frequency (FF) on forage fiber and N utilization. Lambs were offered 900 g of good quality (vegetative) Kentucky-31 tall fescue hay in equal portions either 2, 4, 8 or 16 times daily. Water consumption increased (P less than .05; linear) with increased FF. Apparent total tract digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter and cell wall constituents were not affected (P greater than .05) by FF, but apparent total tract digestibility of crude protein decreased (P less than .05; linear) with increased FF. Ruminal and post-ruminal digestion of acid detergent fiber (percent of total tract digestion) differed (P less than .05; cubic) among FF treatments. Although N retention was not affected (P greater than .05) by FF, increased FF decreased (P less than .05; linear) mean ruminal ammonia-N concentrations. Both the quantity of total N reaching the abomasum and the efficiency of microbial crude protein synthesis tended to increase (P greater than .05) with increased FF. In addition, the daily quantity of microbial N reaching the abomasum was affected (P less than .05; cubic) by FF. Ruminal pH was not affected (P greater than .05) by FF, whereas total volatile fatty acid concentrations (VFA) decreased (P less than .05; linear) with increased FF. Responses in molar proportions of individual VFA to FF were variable, and suggest that increasing FF elicits significant changes in the distribution of fermentation end-products.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Sampling for adults of the planthopper Myndus crudus a vector of lethal yellowing of palms 1

Abstract

Tests were made using coloured sticky traps to determine trap efficacy in catching adult Myndus crudus Van Duzee (Homoptera, Cixiidae) under field conditions. Blue traps caught more M. crudus adults than any of the other colour traps tested. Blue traps caught adults of both sexes during the day and night although significantly more adults were caught during the day. A sampling bias was shown in that blue traps caught significantly more males than expected from the field population. Blue sticky traps were more effective at sampling adult M. crudus populations than previous sampling techniques based on host plant attractiveness and should be considered for use in future sampling.     

Survival of silver catfish fingerlings exposed to acute changes of water pH and hardness

Theaim of this study was to examine the survival of fingerlings of silver catfish,Rhamdia quelen, in water with different pH and hardnessvalues. Fingerlings (1.60 ± 0.14 g; 5.67 ± 0.15cm) were randomly assigned to 35 treatments (in triplicate) andmaintained in 44 L polyethylene tanks (10 fingerlings/tank) for 96h. Fingerlings were exposed to seven solutions of varying pH (3.5,3.75, 4.0, 7.0, 9.5, 10.0, and 10.5) and five solutions of varying hardness(30,70, 150, 300, and 600 mg.l^?1 CaCO₃).Survival was assessed at 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Fingerlingmortality was 100% after 12 h exposure to pH 3.5 at all hardnesslevels, whereas mortality at pH 3.75, 10.0, and 10.5 decreased with increasinghardness. There was no mortality of fingerlings exposed to pH 4.0, 7.0, and 9.5at all hardness levels. The results allow us to conclude that the hardnesslevels studied do not affect the survival of silver catfish fingerlings exposedto pH 3.5, 4.0, 7.0, and 9.5 for 96 h. However, the increase ofwater hardness improved survival of fingerlings of this species exposed to pH3.75, 10.0, and 10.5.     

Influence oF Pseudomonas putida on nodulation of Phaseolus vulgaris

The effect of Pseudomonas putida (isolate M17) on Rhizobium phaseoli nodulation of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, was investigated under field and greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that P. putida markedly increased nodulation compared to R. phaseoli controls. Furthermore, 2-ketogluconic acid, a phosphate-solubiliring compound, was detected in P. putida M17. This could imply an increased P supply to roots of P. vutgaris, which may function to increase nodules. Bean yields and shoot fresh weight were not significantly altered by the addition of P. putida M17.