Effect of substitution of concentrate mix with Sesbania sesban on feed intake, digestibility, body weight change, and carcass parameters of Arsi-Bale sheep fed a basal diet of native grass hay

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of substitution of concentrate mix with Sesbania sesban on feed intake, digestibility, average daily gain (ADG), and carcass parameters of Arsi-Bale sheep. The experiment employed 25 male sheep with mean (±standard error) initial body live weight (BLW) of 19.1?±?0.09 kg. The experiment consisted of 7 days of digestibility and 90 days of feeding trials followed by carcass evaluation. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design with five treatments and five blocks. Treatments comprised of grass hay alone fed ad libitum (GHA; control), GHA?+?100 % concentrate mix (CM) consisting of wheat bran and noug seed cake at a ratio of 2:1 (0 S. sesban), GHA?+?67 % CM?+?33 % S. sesban (33 S. sesban), GHA?+?33 % CM?+?67 % S. sesban (67 S. sesban), and GHA?+?100 % S. sesban (100 S. sesban). Total dry matter intake (DMI) was higher (p?<?0.001) for sheep in 0 S. sesban–100 S. sesban (800–821 g/day) compared to sheep in control (611 g/day). However, the effect of S. sesban inclusion (0 S. sesban–100 S. sesban) on total DMI was quadratic, and DMI declined after 67 S. sesban. Digestibility of DM, organic matter (p?<?0.01), and crude protein were higher (p?<?0.001) in supplemented group compared to the control. ADG, feed conversion efficiency (ADG/DMI), slaughter BLW, hot carcass weight, and total edible offals were higher (p?<?0.05–0.001) for sheep in 0 S. sesban–100 S. sesban than those in control. Increased level of S. sesban inclusion, in general, reduced growth and carcass parameters in this study. However, there was no difference between 0 S. sesban and 33 S. sesban in most parameters studied. Thus, it can be concluded that S. sesban could substitute a concentrate when it accounted for up to 33 % of the mix.     

First confirmation of foot and mouth disease virus serotype SAT-1 in cattle and small ruminants in Ethiopia in 2007/08

The study was conducted in three regional states of Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, and the Southern Nations Nationalities and people regional state from August 2007 to April 2008 with the objective of identifying the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotypes circulating in the region. Two serotypes were recorded from epithelial tissue and oesophageal–pharyngeal (OP) fluid that were taken from outbreaks in study regions of Ethiopia. Serotype O FMDV was identified in Girar Jarso, Yabello, and Ankesha Guagusa districts while SAT-1 was isolated in Surma and Maji districts from tissue samples and this was the first report of the FMDV serotype in Ethiopia. Similarly, the OP fluid samples were found positive for SAT-1 FMDV in Maji and Surma districts.     

Effects of zinc on tissue uptake and toxicity of lead in Sprague Dawley rat

Lead (Pb) exposure occurs together with other metals including zinc (Zn). This study investigated the impact of Zn on Pb tissue accumulation and Pb-induced toxicities. Animals (n=6 rats per group) were exposed to lead acetate (PbAc) or a combination of PbAc and zinc acetate (ZnAc) under the following groups: control (deionized water), low PbAc [12 mg/kg PbAc (3 mg PbAc/rat/day)], low PbAc–ZnAc [12 mg/kg PbAc (3 mg PbAc/rat/day) + 0.2 mg ZnAc/rat/48 hr], high PbAc [120 mg/kg (30 mg PbAc/rat/day)], and high PbAc–ZnAc [120 mg/kg (30 mg PbAc/rat/day) + 1 mg ZnAc/rat/48 hr] for 8 weeks. A significant reduction in body weight gain was observed in the high PbAc group relative to the control group. Muscles and testes both had reduced and increased Pb uptake in low PbAc–ZnAc and high PbAc–ZnAc groups compared to PbAc only groups, respectively. Bone Pb levels in the high PbAc–ZnAc group were lower than the high PbAc group. Zinc co-administration attenuated Pb-induced inhibition of delta aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase enzyme and enhanced catalase enzyme activity at a high level of exposure. Moreover, ZnAc seems to have minimized the effects of Pb-induced mRNA dysregulation in antioxidant and antiapoptotic enzymes encoding genes. Heme oxygenase-1 was downregulated in the kidney and brain in the low PbAc group. Liver glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase-1 were downregulated in the high PbAc group. These findings suggest that zinc co-administration with lead may partially mitigate against Pb-induced toxicities.     

Genetic variability of faba bean genotypes for chocolate spot (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Botrytis fabae</Emphasis>) resistance and yield

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) has high utility as a food and soil fertility improving crop. One of the major fungal pathogens of faba bean is Botrytis fabae, the causative agent of chocolate spot. The disease affects significantly the leaf, stem, pod and seed of faba bean compromise its productivity in the smallholder farming sector. Nonetheless, there are limited resistant/tolerant faba bean varieties available and disease control technology options. Therefore, it was prudent to evaluate faba bean landraces for chocolate spot resistance. Fifty landraces together with ten improved varieties were evaluated both in the field and in the greenhouse under natural and artificial inoculation with previously selected aggressive Botrytis fabae isolate (Iso-016) from West Gojjam, in Ethiopia. There were highly significant differences (p?<?0.001) among the landraces for reaction to the disease and agronomic traits. Significant positive correlation was recorded between reaction of genotypes in the field and greenhouse disease data. The overall mean disease epidemics varied from 92.5 to 697.5 for the area under disease progress curve (AUDPC). The highest level of resistance was found in the ICARDA lines, ILB-4726, ILB-938 and BPL-710. Of all 18 landrace collections displayed significantly lower disease reaction than the susceptible check. However the resistance was moderate. The selected eighteen landraces will be recommended for use in breeding for chocolate resistance. Overall, resistance was highly heritable, suggesting that phenotypic selection can be exploited to improve chocolate spot resistance in faba bean varieties.     

Home garden system dynamics in Southern Ethiopia

Home gardens in southern Ethiopia are regarded as efficient farming systems, allowing interactions and synergies between crop, tree and livestock components. However, these age-old traditional home gardens are evolving rapidly in response to changes in both the socio-economic and biophysical environment. Altered cropping patterns, farm size and component interactions may affect the systems’ sustainability. Home gardens exhibit a huge diversity in farms and farming systems, which needs to be understood in order to design interventions for improvement. Dynamics of home gardens were studied over two-decades (1991–2013) based on a survey of 240 farm households and focus group discussions. Farms were grouped into five types: Khat-based, Enset-cereal-vegetable, Enset-based, Enset-coffee and Enset-livestock. Farm trajectories revealed a shift from food-oriented Enset-based and Enset-livestock systems to (1) cash crop oriented khat-based systems, and (2) combined food and cash crop oriented Enset-cereal-vegetable systems. In densely populated, market proximate areas a major trend was expansion of khat, from 6 to 35% of the area share per farm, while the combined area share of enset and coffee decreased from 45 to 25%. Concurrently, the cattle herd size fell from 5.8 TLU to 3.9 TLU per household. In medium populated, less accessible areas the trend was consolidation of combined production of food and cash crops. Enset and coffee together maintained a share of over 45%. Easy transport and marketing of the perishable cash-generating khat compared with traditional crops favoured its cultivation among smallholders located close to markets. The insights in home garden change in response to increasing population pressure, decreasing farm size and market development may help to design interventions to increase system sustainability.     

Physoderma,not Olpidium,is the true cause of faba bean gall disease of Vicia faba in Ethiopia

Faba bean gall (FBG) is a devastating disease of faba bean (Vicia faba) in Ethiopia. Studies were undertaken first to compare and contrast similarities between FBG disease symptoms and morphology in Ethiopia with those reported earlier in China and, secondly, to identify definitively the FBG causal agent, previously considered as Olpidium viciae, through molecular studies. Morphological studies confirmed an epibiotic phase of zoosporangia for dispersing zoospores, characteristic of Physoderma but not Olpidium, and did not show critical diagnostic characteristics of Olpidium such as presence of numerous short zoosporangial discharging tubes, or binucleate resting sporangia. Recognizing this epibiotic phase is a foundation for comprehending FBG epidemiology and will allow forecasting of zoospore release to highlight best timings for applications of chemical sprays to reduce reinfection cycles. Sequences of partial ITS1-5.8S-partial ITS2, the 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-part of 28S rRNA, and LSU (28S rRNA) derived from tissue with symptoms confirmed Physoderma, and not Olpidium, as the causal agent. Sample sequences were either close to Physoderma or the contaminant ascochyta pathogen Didymella. From symptom, morphological, and molecular data, the causal agent of FBG disease in Ethiopia is Physoderma. From observations of symptoms that Physoderma can cause, it was determined that this Physoderma crosses over between different legume host genera (e.g., Vicia, Pisum, Trifolium), highlighting the significant biosecurity risk for countries currently free of FBG.     

Acclimation of citrus to water stress

Alemow (Citrus macrophylla Wester) seedlings were subjected to moderate or severe water stress by watering them at different intervals for several irrigation cycles. Transpiration rate was measured after irrigation was resumed. Severe water stress reduced transpiration but increased leaf water potential (ψ_leaf), while moderate water stress reduced transpiration less and did not affect ψ_leaf. This suggests that moderate water stress influences only stomatal conductance and not root and shoot resistance.     

The Effect of Providing Feed Supplementation and Anthelmintic to Donkeys during Late Pregnancy and Lactation on Live Weight and Survival of Dams and Their Foals in Central Ethiopia

Anthelmintic treatment (A), feed supplementation (F), anthelmintic and feed supplementation (A + F) or traditional management (Control) was given to 166 pregnant female donkeys in three localities (Holetta, Debre Zeit and Adami Tulu) in Ethiopia during an on-farm study. Treatments started during the last trimester of pregnancy and continued until 6 months after parturition when the foals were weaned. The same treatments were administered to foals once they reached 1 month of age. Live weights of adults and foals were measured throughout the study along with work output of adult donkeys and survival to weaning of the foals. Faecal worm egg counts (FEC) and blood packed cell volumes (PCV) were recorded monthly. When applied alone, anthelmintic treatment (A) or feed supplementation (F) had no significant effect on live weight gain or foal survival. However, when combined, anthelmintic and feed supplementation (A + F) significantly (p < 0.05) improved both live weight gain in adults and foals and foal survival. Workout was not affected by any of the treatments. Treatments A and A+F resulted in a highly significant (p<0.001) reduction in FEC in all three localities during the course of study and for at least 6 months after the last dose of anthelmintic in one of the study areas (Holetta). None of the treatments had any significant effect on PCV. Donkey owners in Ethiopia should be encouraged to adopt both anthelmintic treatment and feed supplementation if they expect tangible benefits in animal performance.     

Growth of sheep fed tannin-rich Albizia gummifera with or without polyethylene glycol

Twenty-four intact male Bonga lambs were studied in a 100-day experiment to evaluate the effect of feeding tannin rich leaves of Albizia gummifera (AG) on nutrient utilization, growth performance, and carcass composition. The dietary treatments consisted of hay alone (T₁, control), AG at 30 % of control diet + T₁ (T₂), and T₂ + polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) (T₃, 40 mg PEG, 1 kg AG/head on a dry mass (DM) basis. The lambs were individually fed at 50 g DM/kg live weight. In the last 10 days of the experiment, all animals from each treatment were harnessed with feces collection bags. At the end of the experiment, lambs were slaughtered after overnight fasting for measurements of carcass characteristics. Crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and condensed tannin contents of AG were 300, 586, and 108 g/kg DM, respectively. Lambs fed AG with PEG had higher (P?2 were able to utilize AG, the efficiency of its utilization was lower (P?相似文献   

Genetic Diversity Among Traditional Ethiopian Highland Maize Accessions Assessed by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers

Over the past three centuries, maize has become adapted to complex environmental conditions in the highlands of Ethiopia. We analyzed 62 traditional Ethiopian highland maize accessions, using 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and 15 morphological traits, to assess genetic diversity and relationships among these accessions and to assess the level of correlation between phenotypic and genetic distances. The accessions varied significantly for all of the measured morphological traits. The average number of alleles per locus was 4.9. Pair-wise genetic dissimilarity coefficients ranged from 0.27 to 0.63 with a mean of 0.49. Ward minimum variance cluster analysis showed that accessions collected from the Northern agroecology were distinct from the Western and Southern agroecologies. However, there was no differentiation between the Western and Southern accessions. This suggested gene flow between these regions. The relationship between morphological and SSR-based distances was significant and positive (r = 0.43, p = 0.001). The high genetic diversity observed among these set of accessions, suggests ample opportunity for the development of improved varieties for different agroecologies of Ethiopia. From conservation perspective, sampling many accessions from all agroecologies would be an effective way of capturing genetic variation for future collections and conservation.