Buffalo livestock plays a central role in the regional economy in some areas of southern Italy, through the production of mozzarella cheese. With about 250,000 heads per utilizable agricultural area (equal to 107,400 ha), livestock husbandry is intensive. An important issue with regard to high animal density is manure management, an activity determined by cost optimization and the laws governin...

Vermicomposts have been shown to promote the germination, growth, and yields of plants. This paper aims to demonstrate the effects of vermicomposts produced from three types of wastes on growth and flowering of petunias which are an important U.S. flowering crop. Vermicomposts, produced commercially from cattle manure, food wastes and paper wastes, were substituted at a range of different conce...

Much of land-applied manure is surface-broadcast or incorporated to a shallow depth of fields under crop Dissolved N and P transfer to runoff water may increase with residue and conservation tillage management because of surface applications and shallow soil incorporation of animal manure. Information is needed regarding water-extractable nutrient release the need to conserve stored soil water ...

The genus Arcobacter has been associated with human illness and fecal contamination by humans and animals. Here, we announce the draft genome sequences of three strains of Arcobacter species cultured from pig and dairy cattle manure tanks. This information will assist in the characterization of features related to host specificities and identify potential pathogenic health risks to humans and a...

Enterobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic food-borne pathogen causing meningitis, enterocolitis, and sepsis, primarily in immunocompromised infants. It has been suggested that stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans L., are a vector/reservoir of this pathogen. In this study, we assessed a) vector competence of adult stable flies (SF) for E. sakazakii, b) effect of E. sakazakii on SF development, and...

Supercritical Water Gasification is a promising approach to convert biogenic residues such as cattle manure, fruit/vegetable waste, and cheese whey into valuable biofuels.

Prediction of phosphorus (P) availability from soil-applied composts and manure is important for agronomic and environmental reasons. This study utilized chemical properties of eight composted and two non-composted beef cattle (Bos taurus) manures to predict cumulative phosphorus uptake (CPU) during a 363-d controlled environment chamber bioassay. Ten growth cycles of canola (Brassica napus L.)...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a zoonotic pathogen that is an important cause of human foodborne and waterborne disease, with a spectrum of illnesses ranging from asymptomatic carriage and diarrhea to the sometimes fatal hemolytic uremic syndrome. Outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 disease are often associated with undercooked beef, but there are other sources of transmission, including water, produce, ...

Agricultural practices such as cattle grazing and animal manure application can contribute to relatively high runoff concentrations of fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS). Available information, however, is inconsistent with respect to the effects of such practices as well as to measures that can discriminate among candidate sources of FC and FS. The objective of this study was to ...