Blue Panic Research Articles

Hematological and biochemical indices, growth performance, and puberty of goats fed with Mombasa and blue panic as salt-tolerant alternatives to alfalfa under arid conditions

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of Mombasa or blue panic as a salt-tolerant alternative to alfalfa on growth performance, puberty, blood hematology, serum metabolites, and serum mineral profile in growing goats. Twenty-four growing goats of 4 months old age with 14.45 ± 0.6 kg average body weight were assigned to three treatment diets with 8 animals per treatment. Weights of each animal were measured at the onset of the trial and subsequently on a weekly basis until the end of the trial duration. A pair of blood samples were collected from each goat via a jugular vein puncture and were subjected to either hematological or biochemical analysis. The results showed that treatment diets had no significant effects (P > 0.05) on the final body weight and total body weight gain. However, blue panic had significantly increased (P < 0.05) neutral detergent fiber and crude protein digestibility. The diet-influenced MCV was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the Alfalfa group. The serum concentration of glucose was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the blue panic-fed group, while the urea was increased in the Mombasa-fed group. Additionally, the serum concentrations of P, Na, and Cl were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the blue panic-fed group, but Mombasa significantly increased (P < 0.05) the K concentration. In conclusion, the study indicated that blue panic ranked the best among salt-tolerant alternatives to replace alfalfa, resulting in better feed utilization, serum metabolites, and serum minerals with no adverse effects on growth performance and puberty. This study provides new insight into the shift to the cultivation of salt-tolerant plants with a high level of crude protein in arid areas as a potential approach for the sustainability of the livestock industry.

Feeds and Feeding of Dromedary Camels: A Review

Camels are remarkable animals that have evolved with a ruminant like digestive system to enable them to survive on low quality feeds. Being browsers, camels are able to select high quality diets, which they can efficiently digest. Camels are pseudo-ruminants, with a simple chambered fore-stomach, and are unlike the four chambered stomach found in cattle and sheep. Nevertheless, camels can digest high fibre feeds via fermentation pathways similar to those in true ruminants. The camel can survive on all sorts of vegetation including shrubs, weeds, grasses, tree leaves etc. and maintains their body condition. But camel usually prefers to browse (feeding tree leaves and twigs) rather than to graze particularly when green grasses are available. The crude protein content of grasses ranges from 5.9 to 10.2% except blue panic (Panicum antidotale) which had 15.6% CP contents. The dromedary camels spend 6-12 hours grazing daily under natural range conditions and plant matter intake varies from 5 to 55 kg/d depending on the season and feed availability. The camels have lower energy requirements than ruminants, and have evolved an efficient mechanism for nutrient recycling. Vitamins are included in feed supplement of livestock and poultry but in most of camel farming systems, only vitamins present in the natural diet are available for the animals. The mineral deficiencies which are widely present in domestic species notably may occur in camel both for major or minor elements. In general, the camels under rangelands feeding systems are not fed sufficiently to meet their nutrient requirements for pregnancy, lactation and growth, therefore dromedary camels should be supplemented with concentrate mixture during physiological conditions.

Growth response of blue panic grass (Panicum antidotale) to saline water irrigation and compost applications

ABSTRACT A pot experiment was conducted to examine the ability of Blue Panic grass (Panicum antidotale) to grow in slightly saline soils (2.40 dS m–1) under different levels of saline irrigation water in the presence or absence of compost. Eight treatments were set up in a randomized block design with five replicates as follows: T1 (Freshwater), T2 (Freshwater + compost at 20%), T3 (Saline water 5000 mg L–1), T4 (T3 + compost at 20%), T5 (Saline water 10000 mg L–1), T6 (T5 + compost at 20%), T7 (Saline water 15000 mg L–1) and T8 (T7 + compost at 20%). Growth parameters of Blue Panic Grass were evaluated at the end of the experimental period as plant and root length, shoot, and root fresh and dry weights, total chlorophyll, and total carbohydrates. In general, tested Blue Panic Grass appeared to be tolerant to high salt concentrations in irrigation water, and slightly significant differences were found for all the measured parameters. A remarkable growth increase occurred in plants grown in compost-amended soils, with respect to the unamended soils. The results demonstrate the possibility to stabilize the yield of blue panic grass, an important feed crop in Egypt, irrigated with saline water, which can secure animal feed resources without reducing the already limited freshwater availability.

Blue panic‐alfalfa combination as affected by irrigation water regimes and forage mixing ratio under subsurface drip irrigation in arid regions

AbstractA field experiment designed in a split plot with four replications was carried out at the Agriculture Research Station of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to study the response of blue panic (Panicum antidotale L. cv. Australian‐110) ‐ alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Cuf 101 USA) forage production, quality and land and water use efficiencies to three irrigation water regimes and six intercropping mixing ratios. The main plots were 100, 80 and 60% of crop water requirement (WR). Under each water regime six intercropping ratios: IC1 (1 row alfalfa: 1 row blue panic), IC2 (2 alfalfa: 1 blue panic), IC3 (3 alfalfa: 1 blue panic), IC4 (4 alfalfa: 2 blue panic), IC5 (alfalfa sole crop) and IC6 (blue panic sole crop) were investigated. Results revealed that difference in fresh and dry forage yields between the 100% WR and 80% WR treatments were minimal in all cuts. The IC5 produced the least forage yield while IC6 produced the highest compared to all treatments. The IC1 produced the highest forage yield compared with IC2, IC3 and IC4. Irrigation water use efficiency of 80% WR was higher than in 100% WR but fewer than in 60% WR. The highest land equivalent ratio was obtained from IC1. Intercropping ratios increased protein content in forage compared to blue panic sole plantation. Applying 80% WR reduced dry matter yield by 10% while saving 20% of irrigation water. Applying 60% WR reduced dry matter yield by 20.7% while saving 40% of irrigation water.

Measuring Crop Water Requirement and Crop Coefficient for Blue Panic Crop Under Arid Conditions Using Draining Lysimeters

AbstractPrevious research results of Blue Panic (Panicum antidotale Retz) in arid conditions under different irrigation methods proved an increase in forage yield and water productivity (WP) under full and water stress conditions. However, a thorough search in the literature revealed that its water requirement has not yet been determined. Therefore the objective of this research was to measure evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop coefficient (Kc) for a Blue Panic crop under arid conditions. Four draining lysimeters constructed in Jeddah (21° 48′ 3′′ N, 39° 43′ 25′′ E) were used to measure its ETc and Kc under a plentiful water supply. Results revealed that ETc varied from 141 mm in the first harvest to 292 mm in the sixth, with an average of 225 mm per harvest. The Kc value was different from one harvest to another. The average Kc over all harvests was 0.7, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.0 for the initial, development, midseason and late stages, respectively. Average fresh and dry forage yields per harvest were 30.5 and 12.6 t ha−1, respectively. Average WP was 55 kg ha−1 mm−1. The predicted ETc based on the measured crop coefficient value and ET0 show a good fit between measured and calculated ETc. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Modifications in Root and Stem Anatomy for Water Conservation in Some Diverse Blue Panic (Panicum antidotale Retz.) Ecotypes Under Drought Stress

Five ecotypes of Panicum antidotale Retz. adapted to diverse habitats were subjected to drought stress to evaluate their drought tolerance in relation to adaptive anatomical structures. The ecotype from non-stressed habitat had intensive sclerification as well as crystallization in parenchymatous cells, which help prevent water loss. The ecotype from drought-prone habitat had well-developed metaxylem vessel area for better conduction of water and nutrients, and pith area for better storage of water. The ecotype collected from salinity-affected habitat as well as that from saline and waterlogged habitat showed extensive sclerification in the vascular region, which is vital for preventing water loss. The ecotype from a salinity- and drought-prone habitat showed increased metaxylem vessel number and formation of additional metaxylem vessels in the pith region for better conduction, multi-layer exodermis and intensive sclerification for prevention of water loss, and increased parenchymatous region for better storage of water. The most promising anatomical features found in highly drought tolerant ecotypes were increased metaxylem number, multi-layered exodermis, and intensive sclerification in vascular region.

Leaf structural modifications for drought tolerance in some differentially adapted ecotypes of blue panic (Panicum antidotale Retz.)

Some ecologically different ecotypes of Panicum antidotale Retz. were evaluated for drought tolerance in relation to growth parameters and leaf structural modifications. These ecotypes were adapted to normal non-stressed (agricultural field AF, and sludge of disposal channel SDC), drought-stressed (along roadside AR), salinity-stressed (forest plantation FP), waterlogging and salinity-stressed (inside disposal channel IDC), and drought plus salinity-stressed (barren area BA). On the basis of genetic variability in leaf structural modifications, each ecotype adopted specific strategies to tolerate the extremity of drought stress. The AF and SDC ecotypes relied on water conservation and survival rather than growth and structural modifications by developing epidermis and sclerenchyma on both leaf surfaces. The AR developed xerophytic foliar characteristics in addition to maintaining growth and development under stressed conditions like thick leaves, well-developed bulliform cells, and intensive sclerification. The FP ecotype developed efficient strategy for drought tolerance such as reduced and fibrous leaves, smaller metaxylem vessels, and highly developed bulliform cells. The ecotype IDC relied more on water conservation by increasing leaf epidermal thickness and decreasing stomatal area and density. The ecotype BA showed critical structural adaptations such as thin leaves, extremely developed bulliform and reduced metaxylem area, and parenchyma extensions above vascular bundles. Based on the strategies adopted for drought tolerance, the tolerance level of these ecotypes were rated as BA > AR > FP > IDC > SDC > AF.

Nutritive Value Assessment of Some Saudi ArabianFoliages by Gas Production Technique in vitro

Chemical composition, microbial rumen fermentation, energetic values and microbial mass of some Saudia Arabia foliages were investigated in comparison with alfalfa as high quality roughage using the Hohenheim gas test. A gas test technique was performed using buffered rumen fluid collected from three rumen fistulated sheep. Cumulative gas production was recorded at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of incubation in vitro. The investigated browses were Blue panic (Panicuma antidotale), Moringa oleifera, Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), Canary grass (Phalaris spp.) and Millet (Eleusine coracana) leaves. The browses were collected at the wet season in Saudi Arabia. Alfalfa and moringa leaves had the highest crude protein (CP) content, while the canary grass and blue panic had the lowest CP content. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were higher in blue panic, canary grass, millet and alfalfa, while the moringa leaves showed the lowest content of the fiber constituents. The secondary compounds analyses showed negligible contents of these feeds for total phenol (TP), total tannins (TT) and condensed tannins (CT) except jojoba leaves. Alfalfa, blue panic, moringa, canary grass and millet had negligible CT content, while jojoba leaves had the highest CT content (30.04 eq-g leucocyanidin kg-1DM). The potential gas production was highest (p jojoba > millet > blue panic > canary grass. In conclusion, significant variations in in vitro fermentation and degradation were observed among different browse species collected from Saudi Arabia through the wet season. The results suggest that moringa leaves are promising alternative feed resource and could be incorporated in ruminants feed mixtures to replace conventional roughage sources (alfalfa) without major problems.

Sowing Depth and Soil Water Effects on Seedling Emergence and Root Morphology of Three Warm‐Season Grasses

AbstractGreater seed burial has been suggested as a way to increase the time of water availability to seeds and seedlings in revegetation of semiarid rangelands. The effects of sowing depth on seedling emergence and root development of ‘Vaughn’ side‐oats grama [Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.], ‘A‐130‘ blue panic (Panicum antidotale Retz.), and ‘Cochise’ atherstone Iovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees × E. tricophora Coss. &amp; Dur.) were measured in relation to water availability on a sandy loam soil in the greenhouse. Side‐oats grama and blue panic were sown at depths of 0, 10, 20, and 30 mm, while Cochise lovegrass was sown at 0, 5, 10, and 15 mm. Pots were subirrigated every 3 d, on Days 1 and 7 after sowing, or on Day 1 only. Soil water contents in the greenhouse were initially higher and decreased more rapidly than those of field seedbeds. Seedling emergence was generally highest from surface‐sown seeds and decreased with depth of sowing, possibly due to lack of aeration. All three warm‐season grasses elongated their subcoleoptile internodes to place the coleoptilar node and site of adventitious root initiation near the soil surface, regardless of sowing depth. Adventitious roots required 9 to 13 d of available water to initiate. Seminal root growth and depth were not increased with increased sowing depth. Seminal root elongation rates from 5.8 to 8.7 mm d−1 are not fast enough to stay ahead of a typical drying front of 15 to 20 mm d−1 during the summer rainy season on sandy loam soils in southern Arizona. Frequent rainfall is apparently necessary to permit adventitious root development and establishment of these species.

Influence of Seedbed Microsite Characteristics on Grass Seedling Emergence

Successful germination and establishment of grass seedlings from surface-sown seeds requires a microsite which provides adequate soil water and temperature conditions, among other species-specific requirements. The microsite where these requirements are met has been termed a safesite. Safesites may occur naturally as cracks and depressions in the soil surface, gravel, and plant litter, or be prepared by seedbed equipment and livestock trampling. A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the influence of seedbed microsite characteristics and soil water treatments on seedling emergence of 'Vaughn' sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.), 'A-130' blue panic (Panicum antidotale Retz.), and 'Cochise' Atherstone lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees X E. tricophera Coss and Dur.). Although there were several interactions, in general, emergence of all 3 species was highest from gravel, followed by litter, cracks, and finally the bare soil surface. Bare surface sites decreased in water content more quickly than the other sites. Cochise lovegrass had high emergence in gravel under all water treatments. Small-seeded species such as Cochise lovegrass broadcast on coarse-textured surface soils may establish with minimal seedbed preparation, provided summer precipitation is adequate.

Effects of Cattle Trampling and Mechanical Seedbed Preparation on Grass Seedling Emergence

Cattle trampling has been recommended to bury seeds and encourage seedling establishment but has not been compared with traditional seedbed preparation techniques. We compared seedling emergence of broadcast-seeded 'Vaughn' sideoats grams [Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr], 'A-130' blue panic (Panicum antidotale Retz.), 'A-68' Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees), and 'Cochise' atherstone lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees X E. tricophera Coss and Dur.) on lightly and heavily trampled seedbeds with that on undisturbed, land imprinted, and root-plowed or ripped seedbeds. We seeded and applied the treatments prior to summer rains on a sandy loam soil in southern Arizona for 3 years. In a wet year (1987) when surface soil water was estimated to be available for at least 24 consecutive days, heavy trampling and land imprinting increased emergence of blue panic and land imprinting increased emergence of Cochise lovegrass. In that year, lovegrass emergence was high even on undisturbed plots. In a moderately wet year (1988), surface soil water was available for periods of 6-9 days during seedling emergence and greater disturbance, either by heavy trampling, land imprinting and/or root plowing or ripping produced higher emergence than light trampling and nondisturbance. In a dry year (1989), surface soil water was available for periods of 2-3 days and seedling emergence was low and generally similar for all treatments. Sideoats grama emergence was low all 3 years, but was highest in 1988 when initial thunderstorms were followed closely by subsequent storms. Seedbed disturbance by cattle and mechanical methods may enhance revegetation in the Southwest in years of moderate precipitation but may be unnecessary in wet years or futile in dry years, depending on species and soils.

Effects of Seedbed Preparation and Cattle Trampling on Burial of Grass Seeds

Location of seeds in the seedbed may affect germination and seedling establishment of range grasses. Our objective was to determine the effects of trampling by livestock and mechanical seedbed preparation on burial of grass seed on a sandy loam seedbed. Plots were root plowed or ripped then broadcast seeded, or broadcast seeded then lightly or heavily trampled by cattle or land imprinted before summer rains. Seedbeds were sampled by extracting soil plugs with plastic vials, splitting the plugs, and determining seed location with a dissecting scope. Sampling occurred after treatment, after summer thunderstorms, and after seedling emergence. An average of 75, 42, 17, and 7% of seeds found were buried immediately after heavy trampling, land imprinting, light trampling, and no disturbance, respectively. After summer thunderstorms an average of 78, 72, 63, 40, and 29% of seeds found were buried on plots root plowed or ripped, heavily trampled, imprinted, lightly trampled, and undisturbed, respectively. Although high percentages of seeds were buried on plots heavily trampled, imprinted, and root plowed or ripped, many of these seeds were too deep for seedling emergence. Smaller-seeded blue panic (Panicum antidotale) and the lovegrasses (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees and Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees XE. trichophera) were buried by treatment and rain better than sideoats grama [Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx) Torr.].

Early Root and Shoot Elongation of Selected Warm-Season Perennial Grasses

Early Root and Shoot Elongation of Selected Warm-Season Perennial Grasses

Floral Malformation in Panicum antidotale caused by a Species of Eriophyses

DURING March–April in 1958 and 1959 a peculiar malformation of flowers (Fig. 1) of blue panic (Panicum antidotale Retz.) was observed at the Institute of Agriculture, Anand. Individual flowers were malformed into false grains similar to smut sori (Fig. 2). When few flowers in an ear-head are infected and malformed, the disease is difficult to be noticed in the field (Fig. 1b). However, when the whole inflorescence is involved, it becomes quite prominent (Fig. 1c). The disease is quite prevalent in the vicinity of Anand. Malformation of panicles in mango1 (Mangifera indica L.) more or less similar to above has been described. However, in case of mango malformation, invariably, whole inflorescence is involved and no fertile flowers are ever borne on such panicles1 and gives the appearance of witch's broom2.