Nutritive value of sorghum silage for sheep

This study compared ensiled sorghum (ES) from two varieties (first and second cuts) with corn silage (CS) for chemical analysis, total-tract nutrient digestibility, ruminal variables and blood biochemistry metabolites in sheep. Five experimental silages representing first cut ES var. Pegah (PS1), second cut ES var. Pegah (PS2), first cut ES var. Speedfeed (SS1), second cut ES var. Speedfeed (SS2) and CS were assessed for chemical analysis, silage fermentation and anti-quality compounds. Diets consisted of lucerne hay, silage and a premix (at the ratio of 53.5:46:0.5 on a dry matter [DM] basis). Feed consumption, total-tract nutrient digestibility, microbial nitrogen supply (MNS), ruminal variables and blood biochemistry metabolites were determined in a Latin square design of five periods with five male sheep. Compared to sorghum, CS had lower (p < 0.01) concentrations of ash, water-soluble carbohydrates and crude protein, but higher starch, lignin (sa), non-structural carbohydrates and apparent nutrient digestibility. The measurements of pH, lactic acid, NH₃-N and volatile fatty acids (VFA) confirmed that all silages were well-preserved. The anti-quality compound levels in the silages were below the safe limits for ruminants. No differences were observed in feed consumption (p > 0.05) and total-tract digestibility of DM and nutrients (p > 0.05). Rumen pH, NH₃-N, VFA concentrations and acetate to propionate ratio showed no difference among treatments (p > 0.05). Sheep fed on sorghum silage showed a decrease (p < 0.01) in total protozoa, and particularly in the Entodiniae population. There were no differences in cellulolytic bacteria counts (p > 0.05) among treatments. Urinary N, MNS and blood biochemistry metabolites showed no difference among treatments (p > 0.05). Silages from both cuts of sorghum had comparable total-tract nutrient digestibility to CS, therefore, these varieties could be used as a more drought resilient silage source in the feeding of sheep.     

Influence of storage and drying methods on invertebrate elemental and isotopic measurements

Optimised pre-analytical methods for measuring the chemical properties of soil macro-organisms are needed. We tested the effects of ethanol immersion, freezer storage, and drying method on the reliability of estimates of key stoichiometric elements (carbon [C], nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P]) and abundances of ¹³C and ¹⁵N in samples of crickets (Acheta domestica), cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) and mealworms (larval Tenebrio molitor). Ethanol immersion tended to increase A. domestica C and N, and reduced A. domestica P, relative to the reference treatment (deep freezing and oven drying). For N and P these effects were only present after 28-day ethanol immersion. Nauphoeta cinerea and T. molitor samples were generally unaffected by storage treatments, while δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N were not affected by any storage treatment for any species. Thus, five days of ethanol immersion may be acceptable prior to elemental and stoichiometric analyses of hard-bodied soil invertebrates in comparative studies.     

Genomewide association study reveals novel quantitative trait loci associated with resistance towards Septoria tritici blotch in North European winter wheat

Fungal diseases are a major constraint for wheat production. Effective disease resistance is essential for ensuring a high production quality and yield. One of the most severe fungal diseases of wheat is Septoria tritici blotch (STB), which influences wheat production across the world. In this study, genomewide association mapping was used to identify new chromosomal regions on the wheat genome conferring effective resistance towards STB. A winter wheat population of 164 North European varieties and breeding lines was genotyped with 15K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) wheat array. The varieties were evaluated for STB in field trials at three locations in Denmark and across 3 years. The association analysis revealed four quantitative trait loci, on chromosomes 1B, 2A, 5D and 7A, highly associated with STB resistance. By comparing varieties containing several quantitative trait loci (QTL) with varieties containing none of the found QTL, a significant difference was found in the mean disease score. This indicates that an effective resistance can be obtained by pyramiding several QTL.     

Response of industrial hemp to Salsola kali subsp. tragus densities under organic and conventional fertilisation

A 2-year field study was conducted to determine the effects of different nutrition systems and Salsola kali subsp. tragus densities on industrial hemp yield and its components. Experiments were conducted as a split plot in a randomised complete block design with three replicates. Factors were fertilisation (poultry manure, vermicompost and nitrogen fertiliser) as the main plot and weed density (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 plants/m²) as the subplot. Results indicated that the maximum number of racemes per plant, seeds per raceme, 1000-seed weight, biomass, grain yield and harvest index (HI) of industrial hemp were obtained using vermicompost and were reduced with nitrogen fertiliser application. All measured properties in hemp plants decreased due to increasing S. kali subsp. tragus density, especially at 15 and 20 plants/m². The most significant reduction in hemp grain yield and its components was observed by increasing weed density with the application of nitrogen fertiliser. The application of vermicompost at high weed densities resulted in greater hemp grain yield and its components compared with nitrogen fertiliser. It is recommended to apply organic fertilisers, especially vermicompost at high S. kali subsp. tragus densities.     

Wide hybridization and introgression breeding in safflower: Effectiveness of different selection methods

Possibility of using interspecific hybridization to increase genetic diversity of drought tolerance in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) and effectiveness of different selection methods is poorly understood. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of (a) interspecific hybridization to expand genetic diversity in safflower for agronomic traits and drought tolerance in advance generations and (b) different selection methods (direct vs. indirect) for improving seed yield. Interspecific hybridizations were performed between species of C. tinctorius × C. palaestinus (TP), C. palaestinus × C. oxyacantha (PO) and C. tinctorius × C. oxyacantha (TO). Based on the field screening of genotypes in F3 generation, four groups of selected genotypes (derived from combination of direct and indirect selection under both drought and normal environments along with selection based on drought tolerance index (STI)) were evaluated in F4 and F5 generations. Indirect selection for seed yield was significantly more efficient than direct selection. Selection in stress environment resulted to more efficiency than selection in normal environment. No significant difference was observed between direct selection and selection based on STI. The result showed that TP was the best population to combine high seed yield and drought tolerance in safflower.     

Cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) sperm: effects of cryoprotectants,antioxidant, membrane stabilizer,equilibration time and dilution ratio on sperm motility and fertility

Three experiments were performed to develop protocols for cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus, sperm. In the first experiment, sperm from six males was individually split in three subsamples and cryopreserved using Modified Tsvetkova's extender (mT) supplemented with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), glycerol (Gly) and ethylene glycol (EG) at concentration of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. In the second set of experiments, the effects of six equilibration times (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min) and dilution ratios (volume sperm: volume extender 1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:5 and 1:10) and the additive advantage of bovine serum albumin (BSA; 0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg mL^?1) and ascorbic acid (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 U mL^?1), on the post‐thaw survival of sperm (triplicate set of six fish) were evaluated. Then, sperm was diluted in 1:1 mT extender with 10 mg mL^?1 BSA with selected cryoprotectants (15% MeOH and 10% DMSO) for 5 min. After a month of storage in liquid nitrogen, post‐thawed sperm motility; fertilization and hatching rate and viability of derived larvae were measured (Exp.3). Evaluation of cryoprotectants efficiency showed that MeOH 15% and DMSO 10% were suitable for cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon sperm. Gly and EG resulted in very low post‐thaw motility rates even at lowest concentration. No significant difference was observed among the four different equilibration times (0, 5, 10, 20 min) (P > 0.05) although higher equilibration times than 20 min resulted low post‐thaw motility (P < 0.05). The motility of frozen–thawed sperm did not significantly change when dilution ratio was increased from 1:0.5 to 1:3 (P > 0.05). However, higher dilution ratios (1:5 and 1:10) reduced the percentage of motile sperm. Supplementation of the cryoprotectant solution with 10 mg mL^?1 BSA significantly improved post‐thaw motility (P < 0.05), but ascorbic acid did not improve post‐thaw motility (P > 0.05). The results of experiment 3 showed that the highest fertilization (30.2 ± 5.75) and hatching rates (28.2 ± 5.25) were observed when samples were frozen with 15% MeOH (P > 0.05). Our study indicates that the use of mT extender consisting of 10 mg mL^?1 BSA in 15% MeOH diluted with sperm at 1:1 ratio for 5 min can be recommended cryopreservation method for Persian sturgeon sperm.     

Effects of Water Hardness and Calcium: Magnesium Ratios on Reproductive Performance and Offspring Quality of Macrobrachium rosenbergii

This study evaluated the effect of specific calcium and magnesium ratios at two hardness values on reproductive performance and offspring quality of Macrobrachium rosenbergii brood‐females. Hatchery water containing 110.5 mg/L CaCO3 hardness was considered baseline as it has been used successfully to hatch and rear larvae and was used as the control treatment. At each hardness value of 150 and 190 mg/L CaCO₃, four experimental water treatments were made in triplicate. Each treatment was adjusted using soluble salts (CaCl₂·H₂O, MgSO₄·7H₂O, and MgCl₂·6H₂O) to provide the hardness and calcium to magnesium ratios of 0:20, 20:80, 50:50, and 80:20 needed. Each of the experimental tanks (140 L) were stocked with six females and one male. The results indicated that both hardness and Ca:Mg ratios affect brood‐female reproductive qualitative parameters such as intermolt period, egg hatchability, egg dry weight, and egg‐clutch somatic index (ESI) parameters (P < 0.05) but not fecundity and eggs per spawn. The results revealed that brood‐females at 150 mg/L hardness showed greater reproductive performance than at 190 and 110.5 mg/L hardness. The findings also demonstrated that the treatment 50Ca50Mg at 150 mg/L hardness with 38.8 mg/L calcium and 12.9 mg/L magnesium had optimum reproductive performance and offspring quality for M. rosenbergii brood‐females.     

Assessment of vitamin C different levels in aquaponic system on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and saffron (Crocus sativus): growth performances,hematology, serum biochemistry,and digestive enzyme activity

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of improving the growth and physiological indices of plant and fish by adding different levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to water in the aquaponic system using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and saffron plant (Crocus sativus). 240# fish (12.5?±?0.21 gr) and 120# saffron corms (2.8?±?0.12 gr) were randomly assigned to 15 experimental units and underwent treatments of adding 0 (control), 2, 4, 6, and 8 mg L^?1 ascorbic acid to water, every 6 days, for 8 weeks. The fish final weight and subsequently other growth performance indices increased in the treatment of 4 mg L^?1 vitamin C compared to other treatments (P?≤?0.05). Some growth performances of saffron plants such as saffron production, in treatment of 6 mg L^?1, were significantly higher than the control group and reached from 17.34?±?0.27 mg flower^?1 in the control group to 25.4?±?1.61 mg flower^?1 in treatment of 6 mg L^?1. Measuring the serum biochemical parameters of the fish showed that, in the treatment of 8 mg/L ascorbic acid, the cortisol content in the blood reached its maximum (21.49?±?2.42 µg dL^?1). The trypsin activity in proximal intestine and mid-intestine significantly increased in treatments of 2, 4, and 6 mg L^?1, respectively. The current experiment showed that, by adding 4–6 mg/L ascorbic acid to the aquaponic system water (every 6 days), the optimal levels of Nile tilapia and saffron plant growth performances would occur.