Maize stover is beginning to be used as a cellulosic biofuel feedstock in the Midwestern United States; however, there are concerns that stover removal could result in increased soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter. Use of a winter cover crop following maize harvest has the potential to mitigate these impacts and may have additional benefits by providing continuous living cover in annua...

This study investigated the effects of the dietary supplementation of Zizyphus mauritianaleaf meal (ZLM) on the performance of Yankasa lambs. Twenty five lambs aged between 6 and 8 months were randomly divided into five groups of five animals each in a completely randomized design to receive supplementary diets containing 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% ZLM as replacement for cotton seed cake in concentr...

A new maize (Zea mays L.) simulation model, Hybrid-Maize, was developed by combining the strengths of two modeling approaches: the growth and development functions in maize-specific models represented by CERES-Maize, and the mechanistic formulation of photosynthesis and respiration in generic crop models such as INTERCOM and WOFOST. It features temperature-driven maize phenological development,...

The in sacco dry matter (DM) degradability of diets based on maize stover harvested at three stages of maturity and supplemented with graded levels of desmodium (Desmodium intortum cv. Greenleaf) hay were estimated from degradability of the individual feeds and their corresponding DM intake. The estimated DM degradability of the diets was used for prediction of DM intake (DMI), digestible DM in...

Field measurements were conducted to determine the characteristics of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) emitted from open burning of wheat straw and maize stover, two major agricultural residues in China. The headfire ignition technique was used with sampling downwind from the agricultural fire. Fifty-two NMHC species were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A carbon mass bala...

Changes in dry weights, reduced N, nitrate, and nitrate reductase activity of various plant parts of the above ground vegetation (stover) and ears of field grown maize were measured at intervals between anthesis and grain maturity. Nonstructural carbohydrate contents were also measured in some instances. Changes in dry weight and reduced N content were used to approximate net in situ photosynth...

Maize (Zea mays L.) stover can be harvested for multiple uses or left in the field to sustain soil organic carbon (SOC), cycle essential plant nutrients, and protect health. This 13-yr study quantified effects of no (0 Mg ha–1 yr–1), low (1.0–1.4 moderate (3.5–4.0 high rates (4.7–5.4 yr–1) harvest from either continuous maize maize–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation on grain yield, nutri...

this study investigated the effects of the dietary supplementation of zizyphus mauritianaleaf meal (zlm) on the performance of yankasa lambs. twenty five lambs aged between 6 and 8 months were randomly divided into five groups of five animals each in a completely randomized design to receive supplementary diets containing 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% zlm as replacement for cotton seed cake in concentr...

BACKGROUND Improvement of biofeedstock quality for cellulosic ethanol production will be facilitated by inexpensive and rapid methods of evaluation, such as those already employed in the field of ruminant nutrition. Our objective was to evaluate whether forage quality and compositional measurements could be used to estimate ethanol yield of maize stover as measured by a simplified pretreatment ...