Development Of Livestock Production Research Articles

Porcine intestinal antimicrobial peptide as an in-feed antibiotic alternative improves intestinal digestion and immunity by shaping the gut microbiota in weaned piglets.

Antibiotic resistance of pathogens, which is caused by the abuse of in-feed antibiotics, threatens the sustainable development of livestock production. The present study aimed to investigate the efficiency of porcine intestinal antimicrobial peptide (PIAP) as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics in terms of growth performance, intestinal morphology, digestive enzymes and immunity, and microbiota community of the post-weaning piglets. A total of 204 piglets (Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire, weaned at 28d age) with a similar body weight of 7.97±1.04kg were randomly allocated to 4 groups (51 piglets per group): (1) control group: basal diet; (2) AB group: antibiotic, basal diet+chlortetracycline (1000mg/kg from d 1 to 24; 500mg/kg from d 25 to 37); (3) P1 group: basal diet+a relatively low dose of PIAP (400mg/kg from d 1 to 24; 300mg/kg from d 25 to 37); (4) P2 group, basal diet+a relatively high dose of PIAP (600mg/kg from d 1 to 24; 500mg/kg from d 25 to 37). The results showed that serum indicators of hepatocyte damage and relative organ weight were not affected by these treatments (P>0.05). Compared with the AB treatment, the P1 treatment remarkably decreased jejunal crypt depth and increased jejunal and ileal villus height:crypt depth ratio (P<0.05). The values of jejunal maltase, lactase, sucrase, intestinal alkaline phosphatase, and secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) in the P1 group were sharply increased compared with those in the control and P2 groups (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the P1 group decreased serum concentrations of D-lactate, diamine oxidase, and endotoxin (P<0.05), and increased the abundance of Lactobacillus reuteri (P<0.05) in the colonic feces. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the abundance of L.reuteri and the concentrations of maltase, lactase, sucrase, and SIgA (P<0.05). Collectively, dietary supplementation with a relatively low dose of PIAP (400mg/kg from d 1 to 24; 300mg/kg from d 25 to 37) demonstrates beneficial effects on intestinal morphology, digestive enzymes, immunity, and permeability by shaping the gut microbiota composition in weaned piglets. This study will provide a valuable reference for using PIAP as an in-feed antibiotic alternative in swine production.

Использование в качестве удобрений азотосодержащих производственных отходов животноводческого происхождения

Currently, along with the intensive development of livestock production, there is a question of recycling waste generated as a result of its production. The aim of the study was to study the impact of industrial waste of animal origin on the quality and yield of spring wheat. The research was carried out in 2021-2022 in the conditions of the experimental field of I.A. Bunin YSU. The object of the study was the spring wheat variety Aquilon. It was found that the studied plant variants were distinguished by high rates of photosynthetic activity. The maximum values for chlorophyll a were characterized by plants in the variant where blood flour was used as fertilizer (20.68 mg/g of raw mass). Chlorophyll b was observed more in plants on variants using blood meal (18.05 mg/g) and corn meal (18.69 mg/g). The height of the plants in the variant using blood flour was the maximum, so in the phase of milk ripeness it was 70.6 cm. In the control variant , the height of plants in this phase of development was 58 cm. The highest protein values were recorded in the grain obtained in the variant where sheep wool was used as fertilizer - 16.5%, exceeding the control by 1.8%. Also, the grain obtained in this variant was characterized by high gluten levels - 31.3%. It should be noted that such indicators as gluten quality, vitreousness and the number of drops increased sharply compared to the control variant. The laboratory baking of bread from the obtained flour showed that the obtained samples of products according to organoleptic and physico-chemical parameters met the requirements of GOST. Keywords: SPRING WHEAT, PROTEIN, FERTILIZER, SHEEP WOOL, BLOOD MEAL, CORN MEAL, GLUTEN, GRAIN QUALITY

Effect of Different Irrigation Patterns on Oat-Vetch Mixed Forage Production System in Rasuwa, Mid Hills of Nepal

Abstract: The scarcity of forage resources, particularly in Nepal's midhills, poses a challenge to the sustainable development of livestock production. In order to address issues, an experiment was carried out in 2020 at Kalika Municipality in Rasuwa District, Nepal, to determine the best forage combinations in terms of total dry matter productivity. With irrigation as a main plot effect, a 4*3 factorial RCB design was used with four replications. Crop species included oat (Avena sativa, Kamdhenu), common vetch (Vicia sativa), and combinations of oat and vetch within a sub plot. Irrigation treatments included none, once per month (30-day interval), twice per month (15-day interval), and three times per month (10-day interval). Temperature and precipitation data from nearby stations were taken from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The first harvest was taken after 65 days of sowing (DAS), with consecutive harvests after 35 days of the initial harvest. The experimental findings revealed that the first, second, and total dry matter production were altogether found highest in the three times irrigated plot (2.47±0.25, 1.38±0.21, 3.85±0.46 respectively) and lowest in the rainfed condition (1.37±0.22, 0.69±0.12, 2.07±0.33 ton/ha respectively) with statistically highly significant result (p&lt;0.001). The oat and vetch mixed cropping pattern had statistically higher dry matter production in the first (2.66 0.14 ton/ha), second (1.5 0.13 ton/ha), and overall average total production of (4.16 0.25 ton/ha), among the subplot effect (species). Additionally, among the subplot effects, the oat and vetch mixed cropping had the highest dry matter production in terms of first harvest yield, regrowth, and overall yield (p&lt;0.01). Oat sole cropping could be replaced with mixed cropping of oat and vetch at a ratio of 50:50 (50:10 kg ha-1) because it produced the highest yield advantage, including forage quality. These findings provide scientific support for common vetch-oat intercropping as a sustainable approach to increase forage production with 10-day irrigation interval. These mixtures appear promising for the development of sustainable crop production with low external input and higher economic yield, and they can be used as a viable option by farmers in rainfed mid-hills of Nepal

Effect of different regions on fermentation profiles, microbial communities, and their metabolomic pathways and properties in Italian ryegrass silage.

Italian ryegrass is less studied in northern China due to high-quality forage grass has not been fully utilized. Full utilization of high-quality forage grass helps to alleviate the shortage of forage grass in winter and spring season and guarantee stable development of livestock production. Consequently, this study was aimed to evaluate the effects of different regions in northern China on the fermentative products, bacterial community compositions, and metabolic pathways and metabolites of Italian ryegrass silage. The Italian ryegrass was harvested from three regions (Ordos-WK; Hohhot-AK; Ulanqab-SYK) and ensiled for 60 days. Single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) were used to analyze bacterial communities and metabolites, respectively. After 60 d of fermentation, the SYK group had the lowest pH (4.67), the highest lactic acid contents (95.02 g/kg DM) and largest lactic acid bacteria populations (6.66 log10 cfu/g FM) among the treatment groups. In addition, the SYK group had the highest abundance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (63.98%). In SYK group, isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis was the significantly enriched (p < 0.05) and high-impact value (0.0225) metabolic pathway. In AK group, tryptophan metabolism the was the significantly enriched (p < 0.001) and high-impact value (0.1387) metabolic pathway. In WK group, citrate cycle (TCA cycle) was the significantly enriched (p < 0.001) and high-impact value (0.1174) metabolic pathway. Further, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was positively correlated with cinnamic acid, tetranor 12-HETE, D-Mannitol, (2S)-2-amino-4-methylpentanoic acid L-Leucine, guanine, isoleucyl-aspartate and 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl propanoate, but negatively correlated with isocitrate and D-mannose. In conclusion, this study can improve our understanding of the ensiling microbiology and metabolomics in different regions to further regulate the fermentation products and promote livestock production.

Spatialization method of monitoring grazing intensity: A case‐study of the Tibet Selinco basin, Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

AbstractThe problem of grassland degradation induced by livestock production at the expense of local grasses has become a serious ecological problem worldwide. To maintain livestock production and sustainable grassland development, the extent and intensity of grassland utilization needs to be better understood. In this study, a model was developed to monitor the intensity of grazing in a typical grazing area (Tibet Selinco basin) of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. Combining the number of livestock at the township scale with their matching livestock habitat area and location, the biomass consumed by livestock was assigned to a productivity supply map (NPP) using a mathematical iterative algorithm from the perspective of different foraging habits of different livestock. The objective was to accurately measure the overall grazing pressure on the pasture as well as to estimate livestock pasture utilization. The model confirmed distinct spatial differences in the intensity of grassland utilization in the Tibet Selinco basin, in which the overall intensity was significantly low except in the southwestern region. The overall grazing area was found to be 150,000 km2, of which moderate grazing area occupied 130,000 km2 and overgrazing area occupied 20,000 km2, accounting for 87% and 13% of the total grazing area, respectively. The proposed model can quantify human activities spatially and provide a reliable and accurate scientific basis for livestock production development and ecological environment management.

Comparative analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Dermacentor steini from different regions in China.

Ticks are a group of blood-sucking ectoparasites that play an important role in human health and livestock production development as vectors of zoonotic diseases. The phylogenetic tree of single genes cannot accurately reflect the true kinship between species. Based on the complete mitochondrial genome analysis one can help to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among species. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Dermacentor steini (isolate Longyan) was sequenced and compared with the mitochondrial genes of 3 other Chinese isolates (Nanchang, Jinhua and Yingtan). In Dermacentor steini 4 isolates had identical or similar mitochondrial genome lengths and an overall variation of 0.76% between sequences. All nucleotide compositions showed a distinct AT preference. The most common initiation and stop codons were ATG and TAA, respectively. Fewer base mismatches were found in the tRNA gene of D. steini (isolate Longyan), and the vicinity of the control region and tRNA gene was a hot rearrangement region of the genus Dermacentor. Maximum likelihood trees and Bayesian trees indicate that D. steini is most closely related to Dermacentor auratus. The results enrich the mitochondrial genomic data of species in the genus Dermacentor and provide novel insights for further studies on the phylogeographic classification and molecular evolution of ticks.

Financial Fasilitation to Support Commercialization of Superior Breed Innovation

Livestock products innovation, especially of those superior breed have become one of the solution in the development of livestock production, where in reality is very limited on the availability of good quality breed. Indonesian Agency of Agricultural Research and Development through Indonesian Center for Animal Research and Development Implementing Units have been responsed these needs through breeding research started in the year of 2000. This effort have been yielded some superior local breeds, i.e. beef cattle, sheep, goats, chicken, duck and rabbit that are ready to disseminate to the community, especially for farmers. The dissemination of these superior breeds may enabling to expand and reach its distribution massively to increase animal production. One of the determinant factor to develop the process of its development is availability of financial access, which most farmers in general are very much constrained by capital asset. Therefore, facilitation support is needed to increase capital capacity that is impartial and accommodates the business characteristics. Objective of the manuscript is to review of facilitation support needed of the superior breed innovative research that disseminate to maintain sustainability of its development. In recent years, the Government has launched program of People’s Busines Credit (KUR) that could be optimized to scalling up farmers’ farming with good quality breed. Bank accessibility has demanded to have economics size of scale to be financed in order to guarantee profitable business with its liability cash flow. Meanwhile, livestock farming had been dominated by small scale farmers and yet for production oriented to reach its profitability. Supervision and technical guidance need to be consistently assisted to farmers as prospectous KUR debitor program in order to accelerate the process on disbursement of credit to supply their capital asset.

Production of meat and processed products in the East Kazakhstan region

The goal is to analyze the current state of meat production and processed products in the East Kazakhstan region, to determine the factors that restrain its growth. Methods – statistical and economic, computational and constructive, balance, monographic. Results – the main indicators of the livestock production development and meat industry in the region in recent years have been analyzed. In particular, the population number of livestock and poultry in all farm categories is considered; sale of meat of all types in slaughter weight, as well as in various economies, production of by-products, sausages, semi-finished products, canned meat, meat and vegetable products. On the basis of the analysis, the reasons for the decrease in the rate of intensification of meat industry were revealed, the main of which are the low efficiency of raising animals, unsatisfactory state of fodder base. The influence of the situation on the world meat market on the development of this sector within the country and the region is noted. The COVID-19 pandemic and the epidemic in livestock farms made it necessary to introduce measures, which positively affected production indicators. Conclusions – it is necessary to develop a set of measures aimed to stabilize the meat and meat products market by providing subsidies and unsecured loans at low interest rates; increasing the availability of trading places for agricultural goods; improving the taxation system; creation of large agricultural enterprises with a closed production cycle and a high level of processing; the increase in the rate of their modernization and renewal of fixed assets; organization of training centers for agricultural producers based on the research institutes, and universities.

Search for Reserves to Increase the Livestock Production Efficiency Based on the Sustainable Development Strategy

The article aims to analyse livestock production factors and search for reserves to increase efficiency in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main tasks of Ukraine in the framework of achieving the SDGs and the role of livestock in this process are identified. The world experience of sustainable livestock development has proved its contribution to overcoming world hunger. The main trends in livestock production development in agricultural enterprises of Ukraine are identified. The influence of livestock intensification on the economic and social efficiency of livestock production is determined. Ways to increase the efficiency of livestock production through innovation are substantiated. The system of factors of production efficiency is expanded, taking into account its social aspects; in particular, it is shown that the development of livestock has a significant impact on the internal social efficiency of enterprises, affecting labour demand and wages. The strengthening of specialization and concentration in livestock in Ukraine is following the same global trends. The influence of livestock intensification on the formation of the ratio "costs - production results" is proved, which made it possible to identify the possibility of increasing profitability while rising production costs per head of livestock. Increasing the production intensity can lead to increased technological, economic, and social efficiency.

Livestock production in the Urdzhar district of the East Kazakhstan region: current state and problems

The aim -is to study the current state of the development of livestock production in the Urdzhar region of the East Kazakhstan region, to identify the reasons that restrain the increase in the potential of meat and dairy industry. Methods - monographic, analysis and synthesis, statistical and economic, computational and constructive, balance. Results - the results of the activity of livestock production sector for 2016-2020 were analyzed; the dynamics of such indicators as the amount of livestock products; the population number of livestock and poultry, their productivity; structure of production by category of agri businesses, as well as their share and personal subsidiary plots in the total volume of agricultural products and the population number of livestock are presented. The paper presents the potential for growth in the output of livestock subcomplex, provision of its own resources, a steady growth in agricultural production, a leading position in milk production in the region, the creation of modernized dairy farms, organization of purchasing milk from the population and selling own dairy products to other areas of the region. On the basis of the study, the main problems in the development of animal husbandry in the region were identified, including small-scale commodity; concentration of most of the livestock products received in the household sector of the population, an insignificant share of breeding animals, a low level of livestock productivity, technical and technological equipment of the machine and tractor facilities and operating processing enterprises; lack of a developed infrastructure for the procurement and processing of leather and fur raw materials. The authors note that despite the sufficient supply of raw materials and the availability of infrastructure, the network of processing facilities (meat, milk) is poorly developed, there is a shortage of collateral, and there are no typical cattle burial grounds. Conclusions - it is necessary to master innovative technologies for production of low-cost, ecological, competitive products of the industry, which will reduce the negative impact on the environment, material costs, and effectively use land and water resources. Proposals on theoretical and practical results have been developed.

Epidemic situation on enzootic bovine leukosis in public and individual farms in the Republic of Dagestan

The spread of the bovine leukemia virus impedes the development of livestock production and causes considerable losses. Despite the measures implemented, the problem of bovine leukosis eradication remains relevant in different regions of Russia. The article presents data on distribution of enzootic bovine leukosis in the Republic of Dagestan. Over the past five years, the lowest level (1.02%) of leukemia virus infection in cattle in the Republic was recorded in 2020. Laboratory tests for bovine leukosis were carried out in 41 raions and 7 municipal districts: no disease was diagnosed in 12 raions and 4 municipal districts, and the animal seropositivity index in the rest of areas was less than 1%. A high level of animal infection with the leukemia virus was recorded in the following raions: Dakhadaevsky (10.3%), Shamilsky (7.9%), Tarumovsky (3.1%), Kizlyarsky (2.3%), Babayurtovsky (2.2%), as well as in the town of Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk (3.8%). In other districts, the parameter’s values ranged from 1 to 2%. In total, 524,930 animal sera samples were serologically tested using the immunodiffusion method, out of which 5,362 samples were seropositive in 2020. 1,265 sera samples from animals infected with the leukemia virus were tested using the hematological method, 251 animals (19.8%) with persistent leukocytosis were identified, which is the average for the past years. Comparative analysis of the morbidity rate for bovine leukemia virus in farms of different categories showed that in public farms of the republic the percentage of infection level was higher (3.3%) than in the individual sector (0.7%). Thus, bovine leukemia infection level in the republic tends to decrease. Nevertheless, the infection and morbidity rates in cattle remain high in some raions and municipal districts, in particular, in the public sector.

Study on life histroy traits of Stellera chamaejasme provide insights into its control on degraded typical steppe

The increase of unpalatable Stellera chamaejasme plants has become commonplace in degraded grasslands of China, which can hinder the establishment and growth of palatable plants and have an impact on sustainable development of livestock production. Controlling S. chamaejasme is thus a necessary, yet usually problematic step towards the degraded grassland. Various measures have been implemented to control S. chamaejasme but relatively little is known about the growth and development of S. chamaejasme in degraded grassland. Therefore, focusing on the life history traits of S. chamaejasme can provide theoretical support underpinning its management. In this study, different age classes of S. chamaejasme plants were surveyed and studied from a degraded typical steppe in China, and the variation of the phenotypic traits, biomass increasement, biomass allocation, reserves and nutrient content were described. These analyses could be of great importance in identifying the management practices of S. chamaejasme that are most consistent with the development of S. chamaejasme in degraded grasslands. We found that most of the phenotypic traits and biomass of all organs increased by different patterns with age class. Like many other species, there has been three developmental phases in S. chamaejasme, however, previous researches only focus on the S. chamaejasme in the adult reproductive phase, therefore leading to a delay between the time of S. chamaejasme′s seedling and the time when it begins to establish. Our findings demonstrate that S. chamaejasme mainly distributes the biomass to belowground part (RMF and SMF), which is conducive to the survival of S. chamaejasme on degraded grasslands, making mowing fail to eradicate S. chamaejasme in practice. Partial least squares path modeling suggested that nutrient content (N) played a key role in flowering of S. chamaejasme, but the indirect effect was greater than direct effect. The results from this study highlight that control efforts and the management of S. chamaejasme should not only focus on the S. chamaejasme individual in unreproductive phase, but also on the belowground part of plant in reproductive phase.

Livestock subcomplex of the East Kazakhstan region: evaluation of the state and target benchmarks

The research aim is to study the current state of development of livestock production in the East Kazakhstan region, consider the main problems and prospects. The article provides a detailed analysis of livestock production activities in the East Kazakhstan region in the period from 2016 to 2020 by comparing the indicators of number of livestock and poultry population, their productivity, production volume of livestock production industry. The structure of production by farm categories is shown in dynamics. The indicators are presented taking into account the indicative parameters of the State Program on Development of AIC RK for 2017-2021. The main problems of the livestock sub-complex of the East Kazakhstan region are identified, including low level of provision with forage base, lack of high-quality animal nutrition, which, in turn, contributes to reduction of productivity of animals and poultry, small proportion of breeding stock. The author notes that a significant shortage of livestock production industry is weak technical equipment, unjustified technological processes and lack of a single production organization scheme. Emphasis on public support as a result of the successful implementation of the longterm sectoral program on development of dairy farming for 2018-2027 will contribute to stimulating the activities of personal subsidiary farms, their increase through the creation of family farms, which will increase the efficiency of livestock farms. In the future, strict observance of sanitary and hygienic requirements, timely implementation of full-fledged veterinary and pedigree work will increase the breeding cattle population in this region.

Social and Economic Aspects of Sustainable Development of Livestock Production and Meat Consumption in the Czech Republic

The aim of this article was to express social and economic aspects of the sustainable livestock production in relation to meat consumption in the Czech Republic and to predict the possibilities of further development of livestock production in the conditions of Czech agriculture. With the accession of Czechia to the EU (2004), the structure of Czech agriculture changed to the detriment of livestock production. The decisive sectors of livestock production are pig breeding, cattle breeding and poultry farming. This article (contribution) analyzes trends in the development of production in the basic categories of livestock, and it evaluates the degree of self-sufficiency of the economy in the given sector of agricultural production and the consumption of individual types of meat in Czechia. Using Holt’s model of statistical analysis, it then predicts the future consumption of meat and its individual types in the Czech Republic in the years 2020–2024. As research has shown, the sustainable development of livestock production and meat consumption in the Czech Republic depends not only on the mutual size of meat production and consumption or its quality, but also significantly on the market prices of meat (including world prices), as well as changes in eating habits of the population.

ЭФФЕКТИВНОЕ КОРМЛЕНИЕ В ЖИВОТНОВОДСТВЕ

Lack of feed resources is a common problem that limits the development of livestock production. Various cataclysms, such as floods, droughts, lead to a shortage of food and feed. Among all cataclysms, drought is the main destructive natural disaster, leading to significant loss of vegetation. On average, about 30-40% of the cultivated area in areas affected by drought. Also, drought causes another type of loss when the growth rate of plants is limited. In such conditions in the regions, there is an acute shortage of feed and fodder. Therefore, there is a need to develop feeding strategies for keeping animals to ensure their development and productivity. Feeding strategies during times of scarcity depend on the specific conditions prevailing in any particular area. In general, the farmer must make decisions based on economics, knowledge of nutrition, availability of forage resources in difficult climatic conditions. Technological issues of feed preparation cannot be considered in isolation from the processes of digestion and metabolism in the animal body. Canned and treated with chemicals and other substances have specific nutritional properties and affect the animal's body, milk production and weight gain in different ways. However, if used incorrectly, they have a negative impact on the physiological state of the animal organism, productivity and viability. When characterizing feeds in this work, considerable attention is paid not only to the concentration of various substances in the feed, but also to their effect on the productivity of animals.

CHARACTERIZATION OF FARMING AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS AND NEED IDENTIFICATION IN DEBUB ARI AND BENATSEMAY DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA.

The study was conducted in two districts of South Omo zone namely, Benatsemay and Debub ri districts. The study was implemented through a multidisciplinary team of livestock researchers, which comprising of socio-economist, veterinarians, animal breeders and development workers. The objectives of the survey were: to describe the nature of the livestock farming system and production practices; analyze and priories the major constraints that hinder the development of livestock production; identify the opportunities and constraints of livestock production in the study area; collect the socio-economic characteristics and to use the information as a baseline data for future intervention. Data were collected by semi-structured interview, focus group discussion and secondary data was collected from different sources. Livestock has a multifunction in the study areas and helping as a source of draft power, income generation, and milk and meat production. Although there are accesses to vast fertile land for feed and forage development, huge livestock number and presence of enough family labour force in the areas, there are several constraints in livestock husbandry such as shortage of grazing land/feed, disease, market problem, water problem, lack of technological supply. However, little attention has been given to identify and characterize these livestock production constraints in the districts. It is with this understanding that the present study was initiated and conducted..

Socio-Technical Objects at the Crossroads Between 'Universal' Policy Models for Livestock Production Development, Local Practices and Dynamics of Change

Abstract Relationships between public policy, resource management and the larger economic contexts remain poorly understood in the African drylands. A better understanding of changes in pastoral systems requires shifting the focus from a static and linear analysis to a dynamic one encompassing processes, relationships and contexts. A three-year fieldwork research experience on three different case studies in Senegal has led to the identification of three material objects at the interface between pastoral systems and development interventions: cattle breeds, feeding and milk. Such objects are at the heart of pastoral systems, and are typically crucial to policymakers’ attempts to intensify pastoral production. By raising the example of cattle feeding in Northern Senegal, I suggest that a methodological and analytical framework focusing on the socio-political dimensions of technical objects can be useful to analyse the encounter between the linear and universal input/output rationality of livestock development models and those of pastoralists, based on the embeddedness of socio-political, economic and environmental variability. Such an approach, I thus argue, can be used to deconstruct production models, highlighting the context of production and the modes of operation of the social actors. This could open up a space to describe social and technical change beyond abstract and ‘universal’ development models, and to promote more inclusive and empirically based policy-making.

Common vetch cultivars improve yield of oat row intercropping on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau by optimizing photosynthetic performance

Sustainable development of livestock production is challenged by the shortage of forage resources on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP). Common vetch-oat intercropping is used on the QTP and in other alpine regions to obtain substantial forage yield, but few common vetch cultivars have been evaluated in intercropping systems. A three-year field experiment in the eastern QTP was carried out to compare plant growth, photosynthetic rate (Pn), radiation use efficiency (RUE), aboveground biomass, land equivalent ratio (LER), and competition ratio of oat row intercropping with three new common vetch cultivars (Lanjian No. 1, Lanjian No. 2, Lanjian No. 3) under low-input conditions. Compared to sole cropping at seed densities of 141 and 667 plants m–2, for common vetches and oats, respectively, alternate row intercropping with each species at half these densities significantly increased the Pn (by 15–19%) of oat, and reduced the Pn (by 12–26%) of common vetch. Moreover, row intercropping significantly increased intercepted photosynthetically active radiation and RUE (by 44%) for oat but significantly decreased these for common vetch (by 34%). Among common vetch cultivars, at both flowering and maturity stages, Lanjian No. 2 (1.21, 1.15) and Lanjian No. 3 (1.27, 1.21) had greater LER than the later-maturing Lanjian No. 1 (1.07, 1.01) when intercropped. Oat row intercropping with Lanjian No. 2 and Lanjian No. 3 increased forage production compared to sole cropping oat or common vetch on the QTP. These findings provide scientific support for common vetch-oat intercropping as a sustainable approach to increasing forage production from cropland in alpine regions.

Industrial livestock production: A review on advantages and disadvantages

Development of livestock production in many parts of the world has shown to be growing more towards an industrialised type of farm animal rearing operations. These involve raising farm animals in densely populated environment, commonly termed as a factory livestock farming. Such an operation is actually aimed at yielding a very large scale of farm animal products by means of intensification in animal rearing systems. This is becoming a global trend in practicing farm animal productions nowadays. The transformation of livestock production from a family small scale animal husbandry to a large scale of corporate business has been mainly driven by three major interrelated factors, these are i) a prediction on a rapid world‘s human population growth, ii) demographic factors, particularly age structure and urbanization, and iii) socio-economic status improvement. The total world‘s population has been estimated to reach 9.1 billion in 2050, where 70 percent of rural inhabitants are going to shift mostly living in urban areas and with their better incomes than previously earned and are also predicted to increase by 2 percent annually. Indications in changing urban lifestyle has then been shown affecting on shifted food consumption patterns more to semi-processed and/or pre-prepared-ready to eat foods of which their main component deriving from livestock product origin. As the trend has been commonly shown in many urban areas, where their working hours are becoming longer than there used to be. In an actual fact, that has been happening for the last two decades, particularly in regions used to be identified as developing countries, such as in Southeast Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, West Asia and North Africa. Consequently, an increase rate in meat consumption has been estimated at over 4 percent per annum. Moreover, that change has become a sequential driving factor for the rapid growth in the meat production sector. As higher consumer preference in chicken meat than that in other types, global broiler production is holding supremacy over the other meat complex. A special highlight on Brunei Darussalam poultry industry development will also be addressed here, particularly to focusing on an industry dynamic based on data posted in country‘s agricultural statistics for the year of 2013 [1]. At that time when the country was reported to fulfil its self-sufficiency in chicken meat with a consumption per capita per year reached 58.5 kg. The figure was accounted as being the second highest chicken meat consumption per capita per year in the world after Hong Kong. In line with the global trend in livestock production, continuous growing demands for the products had also led to intensification in livestock farming in the Southeast Asia region. As far as the factory livestock farming as has gone more common operations up to now, and yet there might have been more and more questionable arguments over negative impacts arising, particularly in regards to animal welfare, human health and environmental degradations will be seemingly left hard to answer as most vast scientific empirical assessments required, nonetheless the matter may only open for discussions.

The incidence of people and animals with echinococcosis in the Kostanay region of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The aim of the research was to study the distribution of echinococcosis in humans and animals in the Kostanay region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Research on the diagnosis of echinococcosis in humans was carried out in the Kostanay branch of the “Scientific and Practical Center for Sanitary and Epidemiological Expertise and Monitoring” of Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2000-2015. In order to establish the degree of invasion of dogs by echinococcus, fecal samples in the Kostanay region, in the areas where cases of echinococcosis in humans were registered, were taken. The incidence among the population of various age groups in the region was analyzed according to the results of studies of blood samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and lung radiography. It has been established that echinococcosis is a widespread disease among people living not only in the Kostanay region, but also in the Republic of Kazakhstan on the whole. Between 2000 and 2019 the number of patients with echinococcosis in the Kostanay region amounted to 249 cases. The smallest number of cases (5) was registered in 2000, and the largest in 2014-26 cases. In the years of 2002-2015. the incidence rate of echinococcosis in humans did not decrease and ranged from 1.6% to 1.5% per 100.0 thousand people. The maximum number of positive reactions by ELISA for echinococcosis was recorded in 2003, 2005, 2006 and from 2013 to 2016, when the incidence rate of people was 0.9%; 0.8%; 0.26%; 1.8%, 3.0%; 1.5%; 0.9% respectively. The peak incidence of human echinococcosis occurred in 2014 and amounted to 3.0%. The analysis of the registration of cases of echinococcosis among people of different age groups showed that out of 8 cases in 2016, 3 cases were in the population under the age of 14 and its infection rate per 100.0 thousand amounted to 1.74%. In 2017, out of 7 registered cases of the incidence of echinococcosis in humans- 2 cases were in the population under the age of 14 and its infection rate per 100.0 thousand was 1.14%. The maximum number of cases of echinococcosis in 2011-2017 was recorded in sheep, the invasion rate of Echinococcus granulosus being 3.1%, 3.5%, 4.2%, 3.1%, 5.6%, 3.0%, 2.8% respectively, while the average invasion in sheep amounted to 1.5%. There were no cases of registration of echinococcosis in horses. Judging by the results of the comparative analysis of the epizootic and epidemiological situation of echinococcosis in the Kostanay region, it should be noted that echinococcus infection occurs in all areas of the region, with approximately the same level of development of livestock production and a large number of dogs.