Long-term nitrogen balance for pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in an acid sandy soil of Niger

On acid sandy soils of Niger (West Africa) fertilizer N recovery by pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is often more than 100 per cent in years with normal or above average rainfall. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by N₂-fixing bacteria may contribute to the N supply in pearl millet cropping systems. For a long-term field experiment comprising treatments with and without mineral fertilizer (F) and with and without crop residue application (CR) a N balance sheet was calculated over a period of six years (1983-1988). After six years of successive millet cropping total N uptake (36-77 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) was distinctly higher than the amount of fertilizer N applied (30 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1). The atmospheric input of NH₄-N and NO₃-N in the rainwater was about 2 kg N ha_?1 yr^?1, 70 % in the form of NH₄-N. Gaseous NH₃ losses from urea (broadcast, incorporated) were estimated from other experiments to amount to 36 % of the fertilizer N applied. Nitrogen losses by leaching (15 to > 25 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) were dependent on the treatment and on the quantity and distribution of single rainfall events (>50 mm). Decline in total soil N content (0-60 cm) ranged from 15 to 48 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1. The long-term N balance (1983-1988) indicated an annual net gain between 6 (+CR-F) and 13 (+CR+F) kg N ha^?1 yr^?1. For the control (-CR-F) the long-term N balance was negative (10 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1). In the treatment with crop residues only, the N balance was mainly determined by leaching losses, whereas in treatments with mineral fertilizer application the N balance depended primarily on N removal by the millet crop. The annual net gain in the N balance increased from 7 kg ha^?1 with mineral fertilizer to 13 kg ha^?1 in the combination mineral fertilizer plus crop residues. In both the rhizosphere and the bulk soil (0-15 cm), between 9 and 45% of the total bacterial population were N₂-fixing (diazotrophic) bacteria. The increased N gain upon crop residue application was positively correlated with an increase in the number of diazotrophic and total bacteria. The data on bacterial numbers suggest that the gain of N in the longterm N balance is most likely due to an N input by biological nitrogen fixation. In addition, evidence exists from related studies that the proliferation of diazotrophs and total bacteria in the rhizosphere due to crop residue application stimulated root growth of pearl millet, and thus improved the phosphorus (P) acquisition in the P deficient soil.     

Effect of zinc deficiency in wheat on the release of zinc and iron mobilizing root exudates

The effect of Zn deficiency in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Ares) on the release of Zn mobilizing root exudates was studied in nutrient solution. Compared to Zn sufficient plants, Zn deficient plants had higher root and lower shoot dry weights. After visual Zn deficiency symptoms in leaves appeared (15–17 day old plants) there was a severalfold increase in the release of root exudates efficient at mobilizing Zn from either a selective cation exchanger (Zn-chelite) or a calcareous soil. The release of these root exudates by Zn deficient plants followed a distinct diurnal rhythm with a maximum between 2 and 8 h after the onset of light. Re-supply of Zn to deficient plants depressed the release of Zn mobilizing root exudates within 12 h to about 50%-, and after 72 h to the level of the control plants (Zn sufficient plants). The root exudates of Zn deficient wheat plants were equally effective at mobilizing Fe from freshly precipitated Fe^III hydroxide as Zn from Zn-chelite. Furthermore, root exudates from Fe deficient wheat plants mobilized Zn from Zn-chelite, as well as Fe from Fe^III hydroxide. Purification of the root exudates and identification by HPLC indicated that under Zn as well as under Fe deficiency, wheat roots of the cv. Ares released the phytosiderophore 2′-deoxymugineic acid. Additional experiments with barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Europa) showed that in this species another phytosiderophore (epi-3-hydroxymugineic acid) was released under both Zn and Fe deficiencies. These results demonstrate that the enhanced release of phytosiderophores by roots of grasses is not a response mechanism specific for Fe deficiency, but also occurs under Zn deficiency. The ecological relevance of enhanced release of phytosiderophore also under Zn deficiency is discussed.     

Activity of digestive enzymes along the gut of juvenile red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, fed natural and balanced diets

Two carbohydrases (cellulase, lysozyme), three proteases (trypsin, aminopeptidase and non-specific protease), a non-specific lipase, and semiquantitative tests of 19 digestive enzymes were assayed in different gut sections of juvenile red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, in order to identify the regions where digestion takes place and investigate the extent to which diet composition can modify the digestive capacity of abalone. The abalone were fed either fresh kelp (K) or balanced diets containing 25 or 38% crude protein for 6 months. Enzyme assays were carried out on different sections of the abalone's gut at the end of this period. On a weight-specific basis, the digestive gland was the site containing most of the enzymes. On a protein-specific basis, two main digestion regions were identified: the digestive gland-stomach region that is characterized by high activities of cellulase and lysozyme, chymotrypsin and protease, and the mouth-intestine region with a typically high activity of lipase and amino peptidase. Significant dietary effects were observed on the activity of enzymes, especially in the digestive gland. Abalone fed with 25 and 38% crude protein diets exhibited higher cellulase (39.8 ± 4.6 and 14.2 ± 0.8 mU mg^− 1 protein, respectively) and lysozyme activities (88.0 ± 20.4 and 56.6 ± 15.7 U, respectively) than those fed with fresh kelp (5.5 ± 0.7 mU mg^− 1 protein and 17.1 ± 1.8 U). In contrast, higher protease activity was found in kelp-fed organisms (234.1 ± 20.4 μg product/mg protein) than those fed the 25 and 38% crude protein diets (109.5 ± 20.7 and 119.5 ± 20.5 μg product/mg protein, respectively). Semiquantitative API ZYM assays resulted in no clear food-specific effects on the activity of carbohydrases, proteases, ester hydrolases or phosphohydrolases, yet organ-specific differences were conspicuous in various cases, and generally agreed with quantitative results. It is suggested that the increased carbohydrase activity exhibited by organisms fed the balanced diets resulted from a combination of an increased number of resident bacteria in the abalone's gut and facilitated contact between dietary substrates and digestive cells. The present results indicate that H. rufescens can adjust their enzyme levels in order to maximize the acquisition of dietary protein and carbohydrates. This characteristic can be advantageously used to search for suitable diets in abalone aquaculture.     

Root development of winter wheat in erosion‐affected soils depending on the position in a hummocky ground moraine soil landscape

Agricultural soil landscapes of hummocky ground moraines are characterized by 3D spatial patterns of soil types that result from profile modifications due to the combined effect of water and tillage erosion. We hypothesize that crops reflect such soil landscape patterns by increased or reduced plant and root growth. Root development may depend on the thickness and vertical sequence of soil horizons as well as on the structural development state of these horizons at different landscape positions. The hypotheses were tested using field data of the root density (RD) and the root lengths (RL) of winter wheat using the minirhizotron technique. We compared data from plots at the CarboZALF‐D site (NE Germany) that are representing a non‐eroded reference soil profile (Albic Luvisol) at a plateau position, a strongly eroded profile at steep slope (Calcaric Regosol), and a depositional profile at the footslope (Anocolluvic Regosol). At each of these plots, three Plexiglas access tubes were installed down to approx. 1.5 m soil depth. Root measurements were carried out during the growing season of winter wheat (September 2014–August 2015) on six dates. The root length density (RLD) and the root biomass density were derived from RD values assuming a mean specific root length of 100 m g^?1. Values of RD and RLD were highest for the Anocolluvic Regosol and lowest for the Calcaric Regosol. The maximum root penetration depth was lower in the Anocolluvic Regosol because of a relatively high and fluctuating water table at this landscape position. Results revealed positive relations between below‐ground (root) and above‐ground crop parameters (i.e., leaf area index, plant height, biomass, and yield) for the three soil types. Observed root densities and root lengths in soils at the three landscape positions corroborated the hypothesis that the root system was reflecting erosion‐induced soil profile modifications. Soil landscape position dependent root growth should be considered when attempting to quantify landscape scale water and element balances as well as agricultural productivity.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus use in maize sole cropping and maize/cowpea mixed cropping systems on an Alfisol in the northern Guinea Savanna of Ghana

Summary The use of N and P by mixed and by sole cropping (crop rotation) of maize and cowpeas were compared in a field experiment on an Alfisol at the Nyankpala Agricultural Experiment Station in the northern Guinea Savanna of Ghana, using two levels of N (0 and 80 kg N ha^-1 year^-1 as urea) and P application (0 and 60 kg P ha^-1 year^-1 as Volta phosphate rock). Maize grain yields were significantly reduced in the mixed cropping system. This yield difference became smaller with the application of N and P fertilizer. The N and P concentrations in maize ear leaves at silking indicated that a deficiency in N and P contributed to the maize yield depression in mixed cropping. Competition for soil and fertilizer N between maize and cowpeas was suggested by: (1) A similarity in total N uptake between the two cropping systems; (2) efficient use of soil nitrate by the cowpeas; and (3) low N₂ fixation by the cowpeas, calculated with the aid of an extended-difference method. In general, N₂ fixation was low, with the highest values in the sole cropping (53 kg ha^-1) and a substantial reduction in the mixed cropping system. The application of N fertilizer further reduced N₂ fixation. This was substantiated by nodule counts. The lower N₂ fixation in the mixed cropping system was only partly explained by the lower density of cowpeas in this system. In addition, dry spells during the cropping season and shading by the maize component could have reduced the nodulation efficiency. No N transfer from the legume/rhizobium to the non-legume crop was observed. Impaired P nutrition in the mixed compared with the sole-cropped maize might have been due to less P mobility in the soil. This was indicated by lower soil moisture contents in the topsoil under mixed cropping, especially during the dry year of 1986. The results show that mixed cropping of maize and cowpeas did not lead to improved use of soil and fertilizer N and P or to an enhanced N₂ fixation. On the contrary, an annual rotation of maize and cowpeas was clearly superior.     

Origin and distribution of facial nerve anatomy in van cats

This study aims to reveal the morphological properties of facial nerve and the middle ear in Van cats. Study material was composed of 6 female Van cats. Dissections were performed under a Zoom Stereo Microscope. There was no plexus buccalis in Van cats. The chorda tympani was observed to pass through an opening in the tympanic cavity, emerge through a small opening just behind the retroarticular process, and join the lingual nerve. A rounded anatomical formation with a size of 2.75 ± 0.3 mm was found to be located within the mastoid process of the temporal bone between the facial nerve and the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. The stapes nerve was not present. The geniculate ganglion was very prominent and about 1.00 mm high. The deep petrosal nerve was observed to emerge from the plexus tympanicus. The bulla tympanica was 18.96 ± 0.10 mm long, 13.03 ± 0.20 mm wide and 13.16 ± 0.20 mm high. After leaving the mandibular nerve, the n.tensoris tympani coursed caudally around the a.maxillaris, formed an ansa, entered the tympanic cavity through the canalis musculotubarius and reached an end in the m. tensor tympani. Due to the scarcity of studies on the middle ears of Van cats, it is thought that this study will fill a gap in the field of veterinary anatomy.