Chinese oats in temperate Bhutan: Results of field experiments

Seven varieties of forage oats from China were evaluated in the temperate environment of Bhutan for morphological traits, dry matter production, and forage quality. The oat variety Qingyin No. 1 provided a greater plant height (61 cm) and the largest number of tillers per plant (five tillers per plant). The leaf-stem ratio (LSR) was highest for Longyan No. 2 (LSR 0.73). During harvest in late winter, Longyan No. 2 had a greater plant height (64 cm) and the highest number of tillers per plant (seven tillers per plant), followed by Qingyin No. 1. The top three varieties with high LSRs of 1.49, 1.31, and 1.35 were Longyan No. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In both summer and winter, Longyan No. 2 had the highest forage yields of around 5.00 and 4.00 DM t/ha, respectively. Qingyin No. 1 was the second largest forage producer, with under 5.00 DM t/ha in summer and under 3.00 DM t/ha in winter. For forage quality, Longyan No. 2 and Longyan No. 3 had the highest levels of crude protein (15%) in summer. However, during late winter, the Linna variety had the highest crude protein content (13%). The overall results of the field experiments suggest that Longyan No. 2 and Qingyin No. 1 are promising new oat varieties for winter fodder production in the temperate environments of Bhutan.

Seven varieties of forage oats from China were evaluated in the temperate environment of Bhutan for morphological traits, dry matter production, and forage quality. The oat variety Qingyin No. 1 provided a greater plant height (61 cm) and the largest number of tillers per plant (five tillers per plant). The leaf-stem ratio (LSR) was highest for Longyan No. 2 (LSR 0.73). During harvest in late winter, Longyan No. 2 had a greater plant height (64 cm) and the highest number of tillers per plant (seven tillers per plant), followed by Qingyin No. 1. The top three varieties with high LSRs of 1.49, 1.31, and 1.35 were Longyan No. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In both summer and winter, Longyan No. 2 had the highest forage yields of around 5.00 and 4.00 DM t/ha, respectively. Qingyin No. 1 was the second largest forage producer, with under 5.00 DM t/ha in summer and under 3.00 DM t/ha in winter. For forage quality, Longyan No. 2 and Longyan No. 3 had the highest levels of crude protein (15%) in summer. However, during late winter, the Linna variety had the highest crude protein content (13%). The overall results of the field experiments suggest that Longyan No. 2 and Qingyin No. 1 are promising new oat varieties for winter fodder production in the temperate environments of Bhutan.

The planting of oat varieties is influenced by factors such as their inherent traits, ecological regional climate, altitude conditions, and resistance differences, resulting in a decrease in both forage yield and quality. It is crucial to carefully select appropriate oat varieties for different ecological regions in order to enhance forage yield and quality, thereby facilitating the advancement of the grass industry. The correlation between the indices and the relationship between the indices and varieties were investigated through rigorous correlation analysis and principal component analysis. By employing gray correlation analysis, the 21 indices were transformed into 15 independent comprehensive indices. Subsequently, based on a comprehensive analysis, oat varieties suitable for cultivation in different ecological regions were identified. In this study, fifteen domestic and foreign oat varieties were cultivated in the semi-arid region of Weiqi Town and the alpine region of Damaying Town in Shandan County throughout 2023. Among the yield traits, Everleaf 126 exhibited a significantly lower plant height while possessing the largest leaf area, the highest number of effective tillers, and achieving the highest hay and seed yields (p < 0.05), which were 13,199 kg/ha and 5136 kg/ha, respectively. The plant height of Longyan No.3 in Damaying Town was significantly higher than that of other varieties. This variety also demonstrated the highest number of effective tillers, along with the greatest hay yield (7783 kg/ha) and seed yield (5033 kg/ha). Among the evaluated quality traits, Everleaf 126 in Weiqi Town exhibited the highest leaf–stem ratio, crude protein content, and crude fat content (p < 0.05). In contrast, Mengshi in Damaying Town had the highest leaf–stem ratio, while Longyan No.3 demonstrated the highest levels of crude protein and crude fat content. Furthermore, Molasses displayed the highest soluble sugar content in both locations (p < 0.05). The resistance of 15 oat varieties to pests and diseases was found to be lower in Weiqi Town compared to Damaying Town. Notably, Everleaf 126 exhibited the highest resistance to powdery mildew, red leaf disease, leaf spot disease, and aphids among the varieties tested in Weiqi Town. In contrast, Longyan No.3 demonstrated superior resistance in Damaying Town. In conclusion, based on a comprehensive analysis of the gray correlation degree, in the semi-arid region, Everleaf 126 exhibited the most superior performance, followed by Molasses and Longyan No.3. In the alpine region, Longyan No.3 demonstrated the highest overall performance, followed closely by Molasses and Mengshi. These varieties exhibit significant potential for promotion as high-yield, high-quality forage oats in semi-arid and alpine environments.

Research was initiated in 1965 to identify and incorporate genes for high tiller number into midwestern six‐rowed barley, Hordeum vulgare L. The objective of this paper is to report on the performance, especially yield, of barleys with high tiller and head number from this program. Cyclic crossing, primarily backcrossing, and selection were used to develop high tillering lines that had agronomic promise. When the source of high tiller number was a two rowed barley, XH‐263, lines were evaluated after four cycles (Exp. 1) and seven cycles (Exp. 2) of breeding and when the source of high tiller number was six rowed Sel. 6194‐63, lines were evaluated after four Cycles of breeding (Exp. 2). Good progress in incorporating the genes for high tillering into a good genetic background was achieved using cyclic crossing and selection. High tillering lines developed in Exp. 1, had better agronomic performance than XH‐263, but they were lower yielding than the checks. However, in Exp. 2, the high tillering parents, Minn 73‐129 and Minn 75‐61, were nearly equal to the checks, Minn 34 and Minn 38, in yield and mean yields of individual high tiller number lines exceeded the checks, although not significantly. In Exp. 2, four groups of lines which differed in tiller number had similar yields. In both experiments, high tillering lines were high in head number and tiller mortality, low in kernel number per head and kernel weight, and susceptible to lodging. Because of high tiller mortality, breeding for increased tiller number was only 36% effective in terms of adding additional heads. We plan to continue this breeding effort since improvement in yield was achieved in the high tillering lines during the several cycles of breeding.

Solomon sengon is a provenance of sengon that grows faster than other local sengon species. The species is often cultivated in an agroforestry system, which can be combined with rice as the staple food in Indonesia. Competition between those two components to obtain the sunlight and nutrients is getting higher as sengon grows. LIPI and IPB have discovered several rice varieties. However, there has not been much research done on agroforestry between Solomon sengon (Falcataria moluccana) and rice (Oryza sativa) varieties. This study aimed to analyze the growth of Solomon sengon at 14 months old and the productivity of several rice varieties. This study used a completely randomized factorial design with two factors, namely the tree spacing factor of Solomon sengon type F2 (1.5 m × 3 m and 1.5 m × 1.5 m) and the factor of upland rice varieties (LIPI Go 1, LIPI Go 2, and IPB 9G) also lowland rice (IPB 3S). Parameters observed were sengon growth and rice productivity. Data were analyzed statistically using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and the Duncan test with a confidence interval of 95%. The results showed that the 14-month-old Solomon sengon with a tree spacing of 1.5 m × 3 m has a higher diameter, height, and canopy area than a tree spacing of 1.5 m × 1.5 m. The rice varieties of LIPI Go 1, LIPI Go 2, IPB 9G, and IPB 3S planted under 14-month-old sengon with a tree spacing of 1.5 m × 3 m have higher productivity than rice planted under sengon with a tree spacing of 1.5 m × 1.5 m. Rice varieties significantly affected several rice growth parameters. IPB 3S has the optimum growth and production in this study. IPB 3S is the variety with the highest number of tillers per clump and the highest number of productive tillers per clump. IPB 3S is the variety with the highest number of tillers per clump and the highest number of productive tillers per clump. Keywords: agroforestry, rice, Solomon sengon, tree spacing

A 3 x 3 factorial study was conducted in the southern foothills of Bhutan to compare 3 cultivars of Napier hybrid grass (Pennisetum purpureum x P. glaucum: Pakchong-1, CO-3 and Giant Napier), at 3 cutting intervals (40, 60 and 80 days), in terms of forage growth, dry matter (DM) yield and crude protein (CP) concentration. The effects of cultivar x cutting interval were significant only on tiller number per plant and leaf:stem ratio (LSR). CO-3 consistently produced the highest tiller number per plant, leaves per plant and LSR, while Pakchong-1 produced the lowest. Pakchong-1 plants were taller, had bigger tillers and basal circumference and higher stem DM production than CO-3 and Giant. Leaf CP for all cultivars was about 17%, while stem CP concentration was lower for Pakchong-1 than for the other cultivars (3.6 vs. 5.3%, P<0.05). While 40-day cutting intervals produced high quality forage, yields suffered marked-ly and the best compromise between yield and quality of forage seemed to occur with 60-day cutting intervals. Pakchong-1 seems to have no marked advantages over CO-3 and Giant for livestock feed, and feeding studies would verify this. Its higher stem DM yields may be advantageous for biogas production and this aspect should be investigated.Keywords: Bhutan, CO-3, crude protein , dry matter, Giant Napier, Pakchong-1.DOI: 10.17138/TGFT(3)142-150

An experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India. The treatments were laid out in factorial randomized block design. Different NK ratios (60:30, 120:60, 120:90, 140:70 and 140:105) and two time of sowing (one week after the commencement of SW monsoon, 2019 and two weeks after the commencement of SW monsoon, 2019) were studied and evaluated statistically on growth characters like plant height (30 DAS, 60 DAS and at harvest), number of tillers m-2 (60 DAS) leaf area index (60 DAS) and dry matter production (60 DAS and at harvest). The results revealed that there is significant difference in biometric observations. The treatment l6 (140:105 kg ha-1 of NK at 2:1.5 ratio) recorded the maximum plant height (99.23 cm), highest number of tillers m-2 (378.83) and dry matter production (5073 kg ha-1). Regarding time of sowing, s1 (sowing one week after the commencement of S-W monsoon, 2019) produced the tallest plants (96.77 cm), highest number of tillers m-2 (345.00) and dry matter production (4618 kg ha-1). Among the treatment combinations, l6s1 (140:105 kg ha-1 of NK at 2:1.5 ratio and time of sowing one week after the commencement of S-W monsoon, 2019) produced the tallest plants (101.70 cm), highest number of tillers m-2 (415.67) and the maximum dry matter production (5256 kg ha-1).

Elephant grass plays important role in dairy cattle production and has received special attention due to its potential in bioenergy and phytoremediation, as well as to its medicinal properties. The aim was investigating the effects of thermotherapy and meristem culture on elephant grass (Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone) forage production and nutritional value. Cultivars “Mineiro”, “Taiwan A-147” and “Pioneiro” were subjected to the methods: thermotherapy plus meristem culture, meristem culture and mature stems (control). The experiment assessed the tiller number (TN), tiller height (TH), number of leaves/tiller (NLT), leaf/stem ratio (LSR), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), at three cuts performed every 60 days for 180 days. It was observed beneficial influence on the evaluated traits, which indicated how cleaning methods work. Cultivar “Mineiro”, with more than 20 years of use, was more sensitive to the cleaning methods showing than cultivars “Taiwan A-147” (15 years of use) and “Pioneiro” (less than 10 years). It was observed that methods have affected the NT, TH, SDM, LSR, LDM, CP, and NDF. And, that the cultivars genotype effect in a different way the NT, TH, NLT, SDM, LSR, and CP. Overall, Cleaning methods produced an increase in the evaluated parameters over 100% for the cultivars Mineiro and Taiwan when compared with the traditional method and presented low or negative effect for Pioneiro cultivar This evidenced that the traditional propagation method affects forage production and quality over generations in vegetative propagated species. Basic biotechnology techniques such as meristem culture associated or not with thermotherapy can restore the productive potential being recommended for old asexually propagated cultivars with more than fifteen years of cultivation.

Seashore paspalum is a halophytic, warm-season grass with wide applications. It is noted for its superior salt tolerance in saline environments; however, the nutritive value of seashore paspalum and the effect of salinity remains to be determined. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between agronomic traits and forage quality and identified the effects of short-term high-salt stress (1 week, 700 mM NaCl) on the growth and forage nutritive value of 16 ecotypes of seashore paspalum. The salt and cold tolerances of the seashore paspalum ecotypes were assessed based on the survival rate following long-term high-salt stress (7 weeks, 700 mM NaCl) and exposure to natural low temperature stress. There were significant genetic (ecotype-specific) effects on plant height, leaf–stem ratio, and survival rate of seashore paspalum following salt or low temperature stress. Plant height was significantly negatively correlated with the leaf–stem ratio (r = −0.63, P<0.01), but the heights and leaf–stem ratios were not significantly correlated with the fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) of the shoots. High salinity decreased the FW and DW of the shoots by 50.6% and 23.6%, respectively, on average. Seashore paspalum exhibited outstanding salt tolerance and forage quality at high salinity. The survival rate of the different ecotypes of seashore paspalum varied from 6.5% to 49.0% following treatment with 700 mM NaCl for 7 weeks. The crude protein (CP) content of the control and treatment groups (700 mM NaCl) was 17.4% and 19.3%, respectively, of the DW on average, and the CP content of most ecotypes was not significantly influenced by high salinity. The average ether extract (EE) content ranged from 4.6% to 4.4% of the DW under control and saline conditions, respectively, indicating that the influence was not significant. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of the control group were 57.4% and 29.8%, respectively, of the DW on average. Salt stress reduced the content of NDF and ADF to 50.2% and 25.9%, respectively, of the DW on average. Altogether, the results demonstrated that stress did not have any significant effects on the CP and EE content of most ecotypes, but reduced the NDF and ADF content and improved relative feed value (RFV). The results obtained herein support the notion that seashore paspalum is a good candidate for improving the forage potential of saline soils and can provide useful guidelines for livestock producers.

The research was conducted to determine the morphological characteristics, productivity andquality of Napier grass cultivars Taiwan, King and Mott harvested at 8 and 13 after planting. Effect ofcultivar and harvest arranged in a nested design (3x2). The variables were observed consisting ofmorphological characteristics, dry matter production and forage quality. The results showed that themorphological characteristics, leaf stem ratio, fiber content, crude protein content and in vitro dry matterdigestibility of Napier grass Taiwan and King cultivar were not different, but both morphologicalcharacteristics, fiber content was higher (P &lt;0.05) compared to Mott cultivar, whereas leaf stem ratio,crude protein content and in vitro dry matter digestibility Mott cultivar was higher (P &lt;0.05) comparedto Taiwan and King cultivars. In general, an increase in plant height and fiber content at the age of 13weeks, whereas crude protein content and in vitro dry matter digestibility decreased. It was concludedthat the highest dry matter production found in Taiwan and the King cultivars, whereas highest qualityfound in Mott cultivar. Dry matter production was highest harvested at 13 weeks, whereas the highestquality harvested at 8 weeks after planting for all cultivars tested.

This research was conducted in Parippung Village, Barebbo District, Bone Regency, South Sulawesi Province from January to June 2022. This study aims to determine the effect of gamma ray radiation on changes in the characteristics of the local rice plant Ase Buluh generation M5 and determine the best dose to obtain plant mutant which has the shortest stem height and produces high yields. This research was carried out in the field in the form of an experiment consisting of 3 replications and 3 treatments, namely 0 Gray, 200 Gray, 300 Gray with irradiated gamma rays. Each treatment was repeated 3 times so that there were 9 experimental units and arranged based on a randomized block design where the parameters were plant height, number of tillers, number of productive tillers, flowering age, harvest age, panicle length, number of grains, dry grain weight. per plot and dry grain weight per hectare. The results showed that the use of gamma ray radiation with various doses could significantly affect changes in the characteristics of plant height, flowering age, harvest age, but had no significant effect on the number of tillers, number of productive tillers, panicle length, number of grains, dry grain weight per plot and dry grain weight per hectare. In the 300 Gray treatment, the shortest plant height was 176.41 cm, the fastest flowering age was found in the 200 Gray treatment, which was 72 days and the fastest plant harvest age was in the 200 Gray treatment, which was 102 days. The highest number of tillers were found in the treatment of 200 Gray, namely 16.67 tillers, the number of productive tillers was 15.47 tillers, for the longest panicle was found in treatment of 300 Gray which was 64.73 cm. In treatment 300 Gray had the highest number of grains, namely 223 grains. Meanwhile, the highest yield of dry grain weight per plot and dry grain weight per hectare was found in the 0 Gray treatment, respectively, namely 1.369.6 grams and 6.85 tons.

Perennial grasses can be grown in subtropical areas of the world having little frost damage, but, in many areas low temperatures (1 to 10 C) at higher elevations and lack of moisture may restrict growth of most subtropical forages and create critical feed shortages for livestock. A study of the seasonal distribution of forage production of subtropical grasses was conducted to determine production and quality and to develop improved management practices. Sixteen grasses (four Cynodons, three Paspalums, eight Digitarias, and one Brachiaria) were grown with and without irrigation and harvested at two stubble heights (5 and 10 cm) at 30‐day intervals for 30 consecutive months (March 1973 through August 1975). The experiment was conducted at the Immokalee Research Center in south Florida on a sandy siliceous, hyperthermic, Arenic Haplaquod (Immokalee fine sand) soil. Winter forage production (October through March) was highest for Cynodon spp (27% of total annual yield) and lowest for Paspalum spp. (14% of total annual yield). Plants cut at a 5‐cm stubble initially outyielded plants harvested at 10 cm. However, after 2.5 years little difference was observed in dry matter yield between stubble heights, except for the Paspalum spp. and Brachiaria sp. which continued to produce more forage at the 5‐cm stubble height. Little difference was observed in percentage crude protein and IVOMD between grass entries harvested during the summer growth period with the exception of Brachiaria which was significantly higher in IVOMD. Both crude protein and IVOMD were much lower in forage harvested during the summer than the winter for all grasses, again with the exception of the IVOMD for Brachiaria which had a summer‐winter range of 58 to 64%. This entry was one of the highest in dry matter yield, crude protein, and IVOMD percentage, but produced 83% of its dry matter during the summer. Irrigation had little effect on dry matter production at any season. Higher IVOMD was obtained from cut short with no irrigation. These data indicated that Cynodons harvested at a 5‐cm stubble produced highest dry matter production during the cool winter season, containing high crude protein and IVOMD levels. Dry matter yields in summer were 200 to 300% higher than in winter, however, forage quality was much lower during the summer.

ObjectiveThis experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of reducing dietary metabolic energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on growth performance, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs.MethodsA total of 240 crossbred pigs (Duroc×[Landrace×Yorkshire]) with an average body weight of 8.67±1.13 kg were used for a 6-week feeding trial. Experimental pigs were allotted to a 2×3 factorial arrangement using a randomized complete block design. The first factor was two levels of dietary ME density (low ME level, 13.40 MJ/kg or high ME level, 13.82 MJ/kg) and the second factor was three dietary CP levels based on subdivision of early and late weaning phases (low CP level, 19.7%/16.9%; middle CP level, 21.7%/18.9%; or high CP level, 23.7%/20.9%).ResultsOver the entire experimental period, there were no significant difference in body weight among groups, but a decrease in diet energy level was associated with an increase in average daily feed intake (p = 0.02) and decrease in gain-feed ratio (G:F) ratio (p<0.01). Decreased CP levels in the diet were associated with a linear increase in average daily gain (p< 0.05) and quadratic increase in G:F ratio (p<0.05). In the early weaning period, blood urea nitrogen concentration tended to increase when ME in the diet decreased and decrease when CP level in the diet decreased (p = 0.09, p<0.01, respectively). Total protein concentration tended to increase when CP level was reduced (p = 0.08). In the late weaning period, blood urea nitrogen concentration decreased linearly as CP level decreased (p<0.01). The CP and crude fat digestibility decreased when ME was decreased by 0.42 MJ/kg (p = 0.05, p = 0.01, respectively). The CP digestibility increased linearly as CP level decreased (p = 0.01).ConclusionA weaning pig diet containing high ME level (13.82 MJ/kg) and low CP level (19.7%/16.9%) can improve pig growth performance and nutrient digestibility.

The interaction between lactose level and crude protein concentration on piglet post-weaning performance, nitrogen metabolism, selected faecal microbial populations and faecal volatile fatty acid concentrations

Machine traffic and conventional tillage can cause structural degradation of the soil, affecting the physical attributes and, consequently, the production and longevity of the sugarcane field. The objective of this study was to evaluate the production components of sugarcane cultivars (RB965902, RB985476, RB966928, RB855156, RB975201, RB975242, RB036066 and RB855536) and physical attributes of a Dystroferric Red Latosol (Oxisol) under no-tillage and reduced-tillage systems. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized experimental design in an 8 × 2 factorial arrangement, with four replicates. The soil attributes evaluated were density, total porosity, macroporosity, microporosity and penetration resistance. The production components evaluated were stalk length and diameter, number of tillers (NT), tons of cane per hectare (TCH), sucrose content (Pol), tons of sucrose per hectare (TPH), soluble solids content (Brix), total recoverable sugars (TRS) and plant fiber. Cultivars RB965902, RB966928, RB855156 and RB985476 have productivity and technological attributes that are superior to the other cultivars, whereas these are lower for RB036066 in both soil tillage systems. Cultivars RB966928, RB855156, RB975242 and RB855536 exhibited higher TCH and TPH in the no-tillage system, and all cultivars displayed equal or higher performances than those observed in the reduced-tillage system. In the no-tillage system, which exhibits lower penetration resistance values between wheel tracks and in the subsurface layer of the planting row (0.20–0.40 m), cultivars RB985476 and RB975242 had a higher NT, and RB855156 had higher stalk lengths and NT.