The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of diets containing different levels of milk thistle (0, 100 and 200 g/kg dry matter) and grains (barley and corn) with different rumen degradation rates on rumen bacteria and whole rumen microorganisms (WRM) of Khuzestan buffalo. The gas production (GP) technique, two steps digestion and specific bacteria culture medium methods were us...

Boron (B) is essential to growth at low concentrations and limits growth and yield when in excess. Little is known regarding plant response to excess B and salinity occurring simultaneously. In this study, two models of Leibig-Sprengel (LS) and Mitscherlich-Baule (MB), originally proposed to explain plant response to nutrients only, were modified to evaluate canola yield response to combined le...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bacterial inoculation on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage and on the dry matter degradability and milk composition when fed to sheep or cows. Four male sheep were selected to measure dry matter degradability of uninoculated (UCS) and inoculated (ICS) corn silage. Milk composition was measured for 22 Holstein cows, separ...

The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of unprocessed and processed pea, canola and flax products were determined on diets, in which 30% of a reference diet was replaced by each test ingredient. Celite was used as an indigestible marker for measuring apparent digestibility coefficients indirectly. The trial was conducted in a semi-closed recirculating system using 5 tanks per diet with 4...

Salt-alkaline stress generally leads to soil compaction and fertility decline. It also restricts rice growth and phosphorus acquisition. In this pot experiment, two relatively salt-alkaline tolerant (Dongdao-4 and Changbai-9) and sensitive (Changbai-25 and Tongyu-315) rice genotypes were planted in sandy (control) and salt-alkaline soil to evaluate the characteristics of dry matter and phosphor...

Proximate composition (moisture, protein, lipid and ash content) and nutritional value (fatty acid, amino acid and mineral profile) of three macroalgae (Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus vesiculosus and Bifurcaria bifurcate) were studied. Chemical composition was significantly (p < 0.001) different among the three seaweeds. In this regard, the B. bifurcata presented the highest fat content (6.54% of d...

High densities in bunker silos minimize losses and reduce storage costs; however, the guidelines to attain high densities are based on relatively little research. The objective of this study was to determine those practices or factors most correlated with bunker silo density. Density was measured in 175 bunker silos across Wisconsin using core samples collected at chest height (1.13 m, 3.70 ft,...

Tassel traits are important in maize breeding programs aiming to reduce the size and number of branches and maintain satisfactory pollen production in order to increase grain yield. The objectives of this study were to determine the sample size (number of tassels) required to estimate the mean values for tassel traits in maize genotypes and to verify the variability of sample size among genotyp...

Molecular markers are needed for enhancing the development of elite sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) cultivars with a wide range of commercially important traits in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was conducted to estimate the heritability and determine trait correlations of storage root yield, dry matter, starch and β-carotene content in a cross between 'New Kawogo' × 'Beauregard'. The st...

Biopsy samples were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle of eight subjects after 0, 20, 60, and 120 s of recovery from intense electrically evoked isometric contraction. Later (10 days), the same procedures were performed using the other leg, but subjects ingested 20 g creatine (Cr)/day for the preceding 5 days. Muscle ATP, phosphocreatine (PCr), free Cr, and lactate concentrations were me...