Cell signalling compound improves pasture and livestock productivity and the environment

Abstract

A biogenic agricultural compound enables pasture to synthesise more soluble sugars and delivers benefits attributable to bioactive molecules: phenylpropanoids. Phenylpropanoids are plant secondary compounds that help plants overcome biotic and abiotic stress to increase pasture quality and yield. When consumed by ruminants, phenylpropanoids improve the conversion efficiency of pasture protein to milk and meat. The effect of this compound, trademarked Biozest™, on pasture and ruminant efficiency was evaluated via split block trials followed by full scale, full life cycle, on-farm trials. Aspects measured include pasture resilience, quality and productivity, livestock productivity and urea excretion. Biozest™ improved pasture resilience, quality, and yield by over 75%. Soluble sugar content of the pasture increased (18%). When livestock grazed Biozest™ treated pasture, urea excretion was reduced (20–48%), and milk and meat production increased (30%). The pasture, livestock productivity and urea benefits of Biozest™ have been established. Trial results support the following inferences. First, the fermentation of the increased soluble carbohydrates in Biozest treated pasture would result in increased propionates and less acetoclastic methanogenesis. Second, the reduction in urea excretion and increase in livestock productivity would result from a reduction in the proportion of dietary protein digested to ammonia and reduced deamination of some of the ammonia to urea. Further, due to the reduced deamination, fewer carbonyls and hydride moieties would be available for methylotrophic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Future work may include quantification or modelling of increased carbon dioxide sequestration and quantification of the reduction in nitrous oxide and methane emissions.