Narbon Vetch (Vicia narbonensis L.): A Potential Feed Legume Crop for Dry Areas in West Asia

Provision of feed supplies for the rapidly growing livestock population is essential in West Asia. Shortages can be alleviated by growing forage crops in the existing fallow lands.
Narbon vetch (Vicia narbonensis L.) is a leguminous species with high yield potential, drought tolerance and cold resistance. It could be used for grain and straw production as source for animal feed in dry areas. It is good source of protein with seeds contain 28 % protein yielding 364 kg per hectare protein, whilst straw contains 9 % protein and yields a similar amounts of digestible protein per hectare.
Nine promising lines of Narbon vetch developed at ICARDA were tested at two sites over four years under rainfed conditions. Since climatic conditions were considered to be of considerable importance, each site in each year was treated as a separate environment to give eight environments with annual rainfall varied from 195 to 504 mm.
Narbon vetch possessed high seedling vigour with rapid winter growth and negligible cold damage. Grain yield varied form 0.47 to 1.90 t/ha, with a harvest index varying from 30 to 40 %. The data indicated that below 300 mm rainfall the grain yield varied from 0.47 t/ha when rain fall was 195 mm to 1.4 t/ha when rainfall was 245 mm. Most of the lines had wide adaptation to dry areas in terms of both grain yield and stability. Climate, except early spring rains had little effect on biological and grain yields.     

Postovulatory Effect of Intravenous Administration of Lipopolysaccharide (Escherichia coli, O55:B5) on the Endocrine Status of Recently Ovulated Sows

The effects of lipopolysaccharide ( Escherichia coli , O55:B5), administered 18 h after ovulation in the second oestrus after weaning on the hormonal profiles in 14 Swedish cross-bred (Landrace × Yorkshire) multiparous sows were studied. The endotoxin group (E-group) sows were administered with 300 ng/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) whereas the control group (C-group) sows were administered 5 ml of saline intravenously via an indwelling jugular cannula. Blood samples for hormonal analyses were collected from all sows until slaughter. In the E-group, progesterone, cortisol and prostaglandin F_2α metabolite levels increased significantly (p < 0.05) following LPS compared with the C-group. It can be concluded from this study that apart from elevating cortisol and prostaglandin F_2α metabolite, LPS also elevates progesterone levels.     

Regulation of Capacitation of Canine Spermatozoa during Co-culture with Heterologous Oviductal Epithelial Cells

Progress of essential steps of the capacitation is coordinated in the oviductal isthmus, where sperm are stored in close contact with the epithelium. A crucial capacitational event is the phosphorylation of sperm membrane proteins. Regulation of the tyrosine phosphorylation by the oviduct has not been examined in dog sperm yet. The aim of this work was to study the effect of dog sperm binding to porcine oviductal epithelium on capacitation‐induced cellular and molecular changes. Epithelial cells were stripped from the oviducts of post‐puberal sows and cultured for 5–7 days at 39°C and 5% CO₂ on Biomatrix‐covered Chamber slides. Sperm washed through Percoll was co‐incubated with the oviductal epithelium cell cultures in a bicarbonate Tyrode's medium. During co‐incubation, sperm membrane changes, the state of tyrosine phosphorylation and motility were determined after 3, 30, 90, 180, 240 and 360 min. Significant increases in the percentage of capacitated and dead cells were observed in unbound sperm, while bound sperm remained uncapacitated, live and motile. An increasing tyrosine phosphorylation of tail proteins in bound, unbound and control sperm suspensions and a subsequent phosphorylation of head proteins in unbound and control sperm suspensions were observed. A significant difference regarding head phosphorylation (p < 0.05) was found between sperm bound to oviductal epithelium and unbound sperm. Binding occurred mainly in sperm with non‐ phosphorylated heads, while higher proportions of phosphorylated cells were found in unbound populations. The head phosphorylation progressed significantly during incubation in unbound spermatozoa (p < 0.05); however, it was suppressed in population of sperm attached to oviductal epithelium. Significant correlations between motility parameters related to hyperactivation and tail phosphorylation were found in unbound sperm. These observations support the hypothesis that spermatozoa with non‐phosphorylated heads preferentially attach to epithelial cells. It can be concluded that tyrosine phosphorylation of head membrane proteins and capacitation are delayed in canine spermatozoa being in closed contact with oviductal epithelium.     

The use of air‐coolers in broiler houses under subtropical conditions in Iraq

1. Under summer conditions in north Iraq, 2 000 chicks were reared for 56 d in two broiler houses. One house was provided with two air‐coolers. The birds were housed at densities of eight to 16 birds/m².

2. Differences in weight gain between birds in cooled and uncooled houses ranged from 101.5 g at eight birds/m² to 385 g at 16 birds/m². Food consumption increased gradually with increasing bird density. Food conversion efficiency, meat yield and carcass conformation were much better in the cooled house than under conventional conditions.

3. The financial return/m² ranged from 2.30 to 4.51 ID¹ in the cooled house, compared with 2.01 to 2.77 ID in the uncooled house at different floor densities.     

Mango seed kernels as an energy source for chicks1

1. Chemical analysis of a sample of ground mango seed kernels (MSK) revealed the following percentage composition: dry matter, 91.55; ash, 1.97; protein, 6.74; ether extract, 12.53; fibre, 1.30; nitrogen‐free extract, 77.46.

2. The ME content of MSK was 1.82 kcal/g.

3. The percentage retention of the crude fat content of MSK was only 3.38%.

4. Substituting MSK for corn at 10 or 20% led to reduced growth rate and poorer food consumption and a reduced efficiency of food utilisation in the period 0 to 4 weeks.     

Détection moléculaire spécifique de la région vir du plasmide pTi d'Agrobacterium tumefaciens dans les sols et plants au Maroc

Le meilleur moyen de contrôle du crown gall ( Agrobacterium tumefaciens ) est la prévention et donc la détection de la bactérie pathogène dans les sols prévus pour les pépinières. Pour cela nous avons essayé une approche moléculaire utilisant la PCR pour caractériser le plasmide pTi par le couple des amorces spécifiques F14/F44 dans les sols de diverses régions marocaines. Cette technique de détection représente un indicateur potentiel d'avertissement sur l'état d'infection des sols et plants par A. tumefaciens qui permet ainsi de déclencher la lutte biologique par le NoGall, produit commercial australien, hébergeant l'antagoniste K₁₀₂₆.     

In situ provision of drinking water to grazing dairy cows improves milk production

AIMS: To determine the effect of providing water within the area grazed by dairy cows on milk yield and quality, compared to requiring cows to walk to a distant water trough, on a dairy farm in the Pampa region of Argentina during summer.

METHODS: Holstein dairy cows were allocated to two herds with similar parity, days in milk and milk production. They were grazed in one paddock that was divided in two, with a fixed water trough at one end. Cows were moved twice daily to grazing plots within the paddock. Control cows (n=66) could only access water from the fixed trough, whereas supplemented cows (n=67) also received water from a mobile trough within the grazing plot. Milk production of each cow, and water consumption of the two herds were measured daily over 62 days. Milk composition for each herd was determined weekly from Days 18 to 60 of the study, and grazing behaviour was observed between 08:00 and 16:00 hours on Days 11–15, 19–22 and 39–43.

RESULTS: Over the 62 days of the study, supplemented cows produced 1.39 (SE 0.11) L/cow/day more milk than Control cows (p=0.027). Estimated mean daily water intake was 50.4 (SE 2.1) L/cow/day for supplemented cows and 58.2 (SE 2.7) L/cow/day for Control cows (p=0.004). Percentage total solids in milk was higher for supplemented (12.5 (SE 0.06)%) than Control (12.4 (SE 0.04)%) cows (p=0.047). During the periods of behavioural observation, a higher percentage of cows in the water supplemented than the Control herd were observed in the grazing area (p=0.012).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This preliminary study demonstrated that provision of water to dairy cows within the grazing plot was beneficial for milk production and composition, and may be associated with longer periods spent within the grazing area, during hot weather in the Pampa region of Argentina.     

Pharmacokinetics of cefquinome in healthy and Pasteurella multocida‐infected rabbits

The pharmacokinetics of cefquinome were studied in healthy and Pasteurella multocida‐infected rabbits after a single intramuscular (IM) injection at 2 mg/kg of its sulfate salt. Twelve female New Zealand white rabbits (2.0–2.5 kg) were used; six of them served as controls, and the other six had been infected with P. multocida; the experiments were conducted 1–2 days after nasal inoculation of P. multocida when rabbits showed the signs of respiratory infection. Plasma concentrations of cefquinome were determined using high‐performance liquid chromatography. The values of elimination half‐life, area under the curve, area under the first moment curve, and mean residence time were significantly lower in infected rabbits (0.48 hr, 4.54 hr*μg/ml, 3.63 hr* hr*μg/ml and 0.8 hr, respectively) than healthy rabbits (0.72 hr, 9.11 hr*μg/ml, 9.85 hr* hr*μg/ml and 1.1 hr, respectively), whereas total body clearance was significantly higher in infected than healthy rabbits. Therefore, P. multocida infection caused significant changes in some of the pharmacokinetic parameters of cefquinome in rabbits. These pharmacokinetic changes may affect dose regimen when used in P. multocida‐infected rabbits.     

Redox halopriming: A Promising Strategy for Inducing Salt Tolerance in Bread Wheat

New strategies to enhance growth and productivity of food crops in saline soils represent important research priorities. This study has investigated the role of certain priming techniques to induce salt tolerance of bread wheat. Wheat grains were soaked in 0.2 mm sodium nitroprusside as nitric oxide donor (redox priming), diluted sea water (halopriming) and the combination of both (redox halopriming). Grains were also soaked in distilled water (hydropriming); in addition, untreated grains were taken as control. Our results indicated that priming treatments significantly improved all growth traits and increased leaf pigments concentration as compared to the control. Priming treatments markedly enhanced membrane stability index, proline, total soluble sugars and K⁺ concentration with simultaneous decrease in the concentration of Na⁺ and malondialdehyde (MDA). Furthermore, yield and yield‐related traits such as plant height, spike length, total number of tillers, 1000‐grain weight, straw and grain yield considerably affected by priming treatments. Moreover, the grain yield of both genotypes was positively affected by redox halopriming treatment. However, the extent of enhancement was more prominent in Gemmiza‐9 (salt sensitive) than that in Sakha‐93 (salt‐tolerant). Overall, this study clearly indicated that redox halopriming treatment is a promising and handy technique to induce salinity tolerance of wheat genotypes.