Seasonal and Diurnal Variation in Simple Sugar and Fructan Composition of Orchardgrass Pasture and Hay in the Piedmont Region of the United States

Seasonal and diurnal changes in water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and ethanol-soluble carbohydrates (ESC), as well as in chromatographic profiles of the sugars comprising these categories, were studied in orchardgrass pastures at one location in the Piedmont region of Virginia. Grass from four experimental plots was sampled weekly in the morning and afternoon over an 8-week period (early to late spring). Tissue was air-dried to simulate hay, or frozen to preserve the sugar profiles of fresh pasture. WSC and ESC were assayed colorimetrically. To profile sugars, boiled-water extracts were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to pulsed amperometric detection. Fructan, glucose, fructose, and sucrose were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. All sugar concentrations were highest in the early spring in both fresh and dried tissue. Fructan chain length was highest in early spring as well. Significant diurnal differences were observed for WSC and fructan, on some dates (P < .0001 and P = .024, respectively), and for ESC, glucose, and sucrose averaged over the entire period (P = .0002, .004, and <.0001, respectively). Sucrose was barely detectable in fresh tissue but reached 1.6% to 12% dry matter in dried tissue. These results demonstrate changes in orchardgrass carbohydrates over a season, within a day, and between dried and fresh herbage. Understanding these changes may be helpful in the management of horses with a history of insulin resistance and laminitis.     

添加不同酶制剂对全株玉米青贮发酵品质的影响

本研究旨在探讨添加不同酶制剂对全株玉米青贮发酵品质的影响,以蜡熟期刈割的全株玉米为材料,设对照组和6个处理组,处理组分别添加5 g/kg纤维素酶、木聚糖酶、果胶酶、α-半乳糖苷酶、β-甘露聚糖酶和β-葡聚糖酶,每组3个重复,青贮56 d后对全株玉米青贮饲料的感官评定、发酵品质、营养成分进行比较分析。结果显示:纤维素酶组、木聚糖酶组和β-葡聚糖酶组全株玉米青贮饲料的青贮效果较好;与对照组相比,纤维素酶组、木聚糖酶组和β-葡聚糖酶组可显著提高青贮饲料碳水化合物(WSC)和乳酸的含量(P>0.05),同时使青贮氨态氮/总氮显著降低(P<0.05),青贮发酵品质较好;添加纤维素酶的全株玉米青贮中干物质(DM)含量高于对照组和其他处理组,添加纤维素酶和α-半乳糖苷酶处理的粗蛋白质(CP)含量较高;添加纤维素酶的酸性洗涤纤维(ADF)和β-葡聚糖酶组青贮中性洗涤纤维(NDF)、ADF均显著低于对照组(P<0.05)。综上表明:纤维素酶、木聚糖酶和β-葡聚糖酶更适于用作全株玉米青贮饲料的添加剂。     

Effect of level and source of nutrients in late gestation on subsequent milk yield and composition and fertility of dairy cows

The effect of level and source of nutrients in late gestation on food intake, milk yield, milk composition and fertility in the subsequent lactation were evaluated in a randomized block design experiment involving 76 cows. Four experimental diets, based on grass silage, were offered to provide two levels of metabolizable energy (ME) intake (80 and 125 MJ/cow/day) either from 100:0 or 40:60 forage:concentrate (F:C) ratios for the last 28 days of gestation. Post-calving all cows were offered the same grass silage supplemented with 7 kg/day concentrates. For treatments 80 ME, 125 ME and 100:0 F:C, 40:60 F:C total dry matter (DM) intakes were 6.8, 10.5, 9.0 and 8.4 kg DM/day and ME intakes were 80, 126, 102 and 104 MJ/day, respectively, during the last 4 weeks of gestation. For weeks 1-16 of the subsequent lactation, treatment 125 ME increased milk fat content and yield but had no effect on food intake, milk protein content or onset of cyclicity. Treatment 125 ME increased condition score and live weight at calving. Altering the F:C ratio of the diets in late gestation had no effect on food intake, milk yield, milk composition or on the onset of cyclicity in the subsequent lactation. Cow parity and level of nutrient intake in late gestation provided the best fit relationships for the yields of fat and fat plus protein (R² relationships=0.49 and 0.52, respectively) during weeks 1-16 of lactation. It is concluded that increasing nutrient intake in late gestation increased milk fat content and yield but had no effect on milk protein concentration. The improved milk fat content and yield observed in a previous study was due to increased nutrient intake rather than altering the F:C ratio. Furthermore there was no measurable benefit in food intake or animal performance in the subsequent lactation through feeding concentrates in late gestation.     

Past lessons and future prospects: plant breeding for yield and persistence in cool‐temperate pastures

Pastoral‐based animal production systems are under increasing pressure to provide the high quantity and quality of feed needed for optimal ruminant performance. The capacity of farmers to increase forage yield further, solely by increasing fertilizer inputs or through improved pasture management, is limited. Emerging requirements to balance industry production targets against the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and N losses pose further challenges. Plant breeding is being asked to deliver results more urgently than at any time previously, and this review attempts to highlight issues that might limit the prospects for future progress by seeking lessons from four past examples: (i) white clover breeding gains and the need to consider the complexity of the grazed grass‐clover mixed sward, with its tendency for cycling in plant species composition; (ii) a systems field trial of new and old grass/clover cultivars, and how the complexity of growth of perennial forage crops, and the dynamic optimality required for sustainable harvesting might limit our ability to breed for ‘yield’per se; (iii) the manipulation of a physiological trait (low ‘maintenance’ respiration) and the implications of such changes for plant fitness and G × E interactions; and (iv) an hypothesis‐driven development of a trait (high‐sugar grasses) and the value of ‘proof of concept’ studies, the requirement of scientific understanding of the mechanisms of trait expression, and how one might in future go about assessing breeding achievements. We discuss the general ecological considerations around shifts in the frequency distribution of traits in new populations, whether altered conventionally or by genetic modification, and how selection for a particular trait might inadvertently reduce both fitness and persistence. A major priority for breeding, we propose, might be to revisit previously abandoned traits that affected the physiological performance of forage species, armed now with a capacity to monitor gene expression at the molecular level, and so unravel/control the G × E interactions that limited their benefits. We also discuss how a ‘loss of yield advantage’ of new cultivars, seen when tested several years after sowing, requires urgent investigation and propose this might be associated with fitness costs of perenniality. Finally, we argue for a careful reconsideration of what are realistic expectations for systems field trials and that focus on forage breeding might be shifted more to ‘proof of concept’ studies, critical experimental design, comparing ‘traits’ rather than ‘cultivars’, and the wider ecological assessment of fitness and function of traits in the plant, community and ecosystem.     

Identifying physiological traits associated with improved drought resistance in winter wheat

The association of specific target traits for drought resistance (early flowering, high accumulation of stem water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) reserves, presence of awns and high green flag-leaf area persistence) with yield performance under late-season drought was analyzed utilizing two doubled-haploid (DH) populations derived from crosses between Beaver × Soissons and Rialto × Spark in two seasons 2000/2001 and 2001/2002. The aim was to quantify associations between target traits and yield responses to drought, and to prioritize traits for drought resistance. Flowering time variation had a neutral effect on the absolute yield loss under drought, suggesting there may be a trade-off between water-saving behaviour in the shorter pre-flowering period with early flowering and a reduced capacity to access water associated with a smaller rooting system. The presence of awns also had a neutral effect on yield loss under drought amongst lines of the Beaver × Soissons population. The potential advantages of awns for increasing water-use efficiency and sensible heat transfer responsible for a cooler canopy appeared to be of less significance under moderate droughts in the UK than under severe droughts in other regions worldwide. The value of large stem soluble carbohydrate reserves for drought environments alone could not be confirmed in the UK environment. Stem WSC was positively associated with grain yield under both irrigation and drought. The genetic trait which showed the clearest correlation with the ability to maintain yield under drought was green flag-leaf area persistence. Averaged across years, the positive phenotypic correlation of this trait with yield under drought amongst DH lines of the Beaver × Soissons population (r = 0.49; p ≤ 0.001) indicated the potential use of this trait as a selection criterion for yield under drought. It is suggested that screens for this trait including marker-assisted selection would have value in future breeding programmes aimed at improving yields in high yielding, rainfed environments, but where drought can also be a problem, such as the UK.     

酵母菌发酵玉米秸秆试验研究

室温条件下用酵母菌对玉米秸秆进行发酵试验。发酵完成后,测定其粗蛋白(CP)、粗脂肪(EE)、粗纤维(CF)和可溶性糖(WSC)含量并进行比较。研究表明,原料配方麸皮∶酵母∶秸秆=2∶2∶100发酵效果好,发酵后CP提高1.93%,EE提高0.51%,且差异极显著(P＜0.01);发酵10～15 d,CP可达到6.49%～6.61%,EE为0.82%～0.95%,与其他组差异极显著(P＜0.01);切短长度对发酵效果有明显影响,秸秆粉碎后发酵效果显著,但会增加发酵成本;水分含量应掌握在60%～70%,可以取得较好的发酵效果;酵母菌发酵对玉米秸秆粗纤维作用甚微。     

黄土高原高糖黑麦草的产量和品质预测

为探明黄土高原高糖黑麦草(Lolium perenne)粗蛋白、粗脂肪、中性洗涤纤维、酸性洗涤纤维、粗灰分、可溶性碳水化合物等指标及产草量与其生长时间、株高、分蘖之间的关系,本研究采用田间试验结合预测模型的方法,利用生长时间、株高、分蘖对高糖黑麦草在模拟轮牧和收获干草两种利用方式下的牧草产量及品质进行预测。结果表明,收获干草的Aberavon、Aberstar、Premium和Abermagic黑麦草生长时间、株高和分蘖均与各营养指标显著相关(P0.05);模拟轮牧的Aberavon、Aberstar、Premium和Abermagic黑麦草株高与各营养指标均不相关(P0.05),生长时间、分蘖与粗蛋白、粗灰分之外的其它品质指标均显著相关(P0.05)。利用生长时间、株高、分蘖对4个黑麦草品种的产草量和饲用成分建立一元回归预测和多元回归预测模型,经预测值与实测值对比,预测结果准确度均较高,可为高糖黑麦草在黄土高原栽培和利用提供科学依据。     

干旱胁迫条件下小麦各器官可溶性碳水化合物积累转运相关性状遗传分析

以小麦自然群体196个品种(系)为研究材料,研究了干旱胁迫(DS)和正常灌溉(WW)条件下,小麦不同发育阶段各器官可溶性碳水化合物(WSC)含量、转运率及其对籽粒贡献率,以及主穗粒重的遗传特性及各目标性状之间的相关性。结果表明:在两种水分条件下,小麦自然群体各目标性状表型变异广泛,变异系数在7.11%~68.55%(DS)和9.50%~57.37%(WW),多样性指数在0.61~0.93(DS)和0.62~0.88(WW),遗传力在0.24~0.53。各目标性状表型受发育阶段、器官和水分环境的显著影响(F=1.95~(**)~32 775.74~(**))。其中,WSC含量受发育阶段和器官的影响显著(F=32 775.74~(**),11 223.18~(**)),WSC转运率受水分环境的影响显著(F=245.07~(**),274.61~(**)),而WSC转运对籽粒的贡献率受器官显著影响(F=1 482.96~(**),390.15~(**))。灌浆中期WSC含量与主茎穗粒重之间均表现出显著或极显著正相关(r=0.15~(**)~0.36~(**)),且干旱胁迫条件下相关系数更高(r=0.21~(**)~0.36~(**))。倒二节WSC相关性状表型变异系数、多样性指数,以及与其他性状表型的相关系数均达到最高。通过对灌浆期倒二节WSC积累转运相关性状表型值聚类分析,得到15个灌浆期WSC含量、花前转运率及贡献率较高的品种(系)。