Gram Of Litter Research Articles

Peranan Fungi Mikoriza Arbuskular (FMA) dan Serasah Daun Gamal (Gliricidia sepium L.) terhadap Pertumbuhan Bawang Merah (Allium cepa L.) pada Tanah Podzolik Merah Kuning

The aim of study was to know the effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Fungi (AMF), Glomus mosseae on the growth of onion Allium cepa L. on red-yellow podzolic soils. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) factorial with 10 replicates was used in this experiment. The first factor was mycorrhizae, with two level: without inoculation as a control (M0); 10 gram inoculation = M1). The second factorwas leaf litter of gamal Gliricidia sepium L. species   wich were no litter as S0; 5 gram litter = S1; S2 was 10 gram of litter; and 20 grams of loitter in one kilogram of soil separately. Parameters used in this study were the growth of onion that has infected root in percent, and Relative Growth Rate (RGR). ANOVA was used to analyze the data, and followed with DMRT at 95% level test. The result showed that mycorrhizal inoculation increased root and shoot fresh weight, the dry weight of shoot; and the percentage of root infection on the onion. While the leaf litter of gamal increased only in leaf area. In contrast mycorrhizal inoculation and gamal leaf litter and their combination had no effect on other growth parameters. Key words: AMF, Glomus mosseae, Gliricidia sepium, Allium cepa.

In vivo anticoccidial activity of quinfamide in broilers: a preliminary report

The aim of this trial was to evaluate the anticoccidial efficacy of quinfamide in broilers. Three different treatments were implemented over a 49-day period as follows: quinfamide; quinfamide plus carbopol and decoquinate, all prepared as small pellets and mixed with feed at a final dose of either active principle of 30 ppm. Parameters measured were: weight gain, number of oocysts shedding per gram of litter and degree of gross lesions caused by coccidia. Body weight gain was statistically greater for quinfamide and quinfamide-carbopol groups in comparison to other groups. However, only the quinfamide-carbopol group showed similar efficacy in the occyst counts as compared to the decoquinate group. Statistically significant differences were observed when intestinal lesions score were compared and the less affected group was quinfamide-carbopol. Based on these results, it is concluded that quinfamide possesses a low anticoccidial efficacy. However, this is noticeably improved when it is prepared as pellets with carbopol. The adhesion of carbopol to intestinal mucosa may influence residence time of quinfamide in the gastrointestinal tract, thus enhancing efficacy.

Epidemiology of Eimeria species in selected broiler farms of Khoy suburb, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran

Intestinal coccidiosis, caused by Eimeria species, is an economically-important disease of poultry production industry worldwide. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of different Eimeria species in the farmed broilers of Khoy city, West Azarbaijan, North West Iran. A total of 26 broiler farms of different production capacities were arbitrarily selected and examined in 2013. In each of the farms, Litters of two broilers farms were randomly sampled twice a week and examined. The intensity of infection with each of the Eimeria species was assessed on the basis of number of oocysts per gram of litter using ClaytonLane and McMaster methods. Eimeria species diversity was determined by using oocyst sporulation technique in 2% potassium dichromate solution. Results indicated that 23.08% (6/26) of the broiler farms were infected with Eimeria oocysts. The maximum litter infection rate (7.5×10 3 ) was observed in fifth week of the rearing period. The litter infection rate was significantly correlated with kinds of water dispenser, feeder, ventilation, and density. The litters were infected with five Eimeria species; E. maxima (32.67%) in 6 farms (23.07%), E. mitis (24%) in 6 farms (23.07%), E. acervulina (18%) in 5 farms (19.23%), E. tenella (14.67%) in 4 farms (15.38%), and E. necatrix (10.67%) in 3 farms (11.58%). Results of this study uncovered high rates of litter infection with various Eimeria species in the studied farms, suggesting the establishment of firm health management strategies in the region.

Nutrient‐specific solubility patterns of leaf litter across 41 lowland tropical woody species

Leaching is a mechanism for the release of nutrients from litter or senesced leaves that can drive interactions among plants, microbes, and soil. Although leaching is well established in conceptual models of litter decomposition, potential nutrient solubility of mineral elements from recently senesced litter has seldom been quantified. Using a standardized extraction (1:50 litter-to-water ratio and four-hour extraction) and recently senesced leaf litter of 41 tropical tree and liana species, we investigated how solubility varies among elements, and whether the solubility of elements could be predicted by litter traits (e.g., lignin, total element concentrations). In addition, we investigated nutrient forms (i.e., inorganic and organic) and ratios in leachate. Water-soluble elements per unit litter mass were strongly predicted by total initial litter element concentrations for potassium (K; r2 = 0.79), sodium (Na; r2 = 0.51) and phosphorus (P; r2 = 0.66), while a significant but weaker positive relationship was found for nitrogen (N; r2 = 0.36). There was no significant relationship for carbon (C) or calcium (Ca). Element-specific solubility varied markedly. On average 100% of total K, 35% of total P, 28% of total Na, 5% of total N, 4% of total Ca, and 3% of total C were soluble. For soluble P, 90% was inorganic orthophosphate. The high solubility of K, Na, and P as inorganic orthophosphate suggests that these nutrients can become rapidly available to litter microbes with no metabolic cost. Few common predictors of decomposition rates were correlated with element solubility, although soluble C (milligrams per gram of litter) was negatively related to lignin content (r2 = 0.19; P < 0.004). Solubility of elements was linked within a species: when a species ranked high in the soluble fraction of one element, it also ranked high in the solubility of other elements. Overall nutrient-specific patterns of solubility from recently senesced litter emphasize that litter elements cannot be treated equally in our conceptual and empirical models of decomposition. The relatively high potential solubility of P as orthophosphate from fresh litter advances our understanding of ecological stoichiometric ratios and nutrient bioavailability in tropical forests.

Effect of the granulometric characteristics of monensin sodium on controlling experimental coccidiosis in broiler chickens

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of monensin sodium grain size on controlling coccidiosis in broiler chickens. Three hundred and fifty Cobb 700 chicks were infected experimentally with 8 × 10(4) sporulated oocysts of Eimeria spp. The birds were fed with diets supplemented with powdered (n = 150) or granulated (n = 150) monensin, with particle sizes of ≤ 100 µm and 450-650 µm, respectively. The remaining chicks (n = 50) were used as an unmedicated control group. The birds' weights and number of oocysts per gram of litter in each group were recorded weekly. A total of 96 birds were randomly selected and culled during the trial. Their intestinal oocyst counts and lesion scores were determined. No significant differences in body weights were found between the groups at the end of the study. The percentages of infected animals, oocyst counts and lesion scores were significantly higher in the control group than in the other two groups; the two treated groups did not show any appreciable differences to each other. Enteritis was observed in 14 birds, all in the group supplemented with granulated monensin. These results suggest that powdered and granulated monensin have comparable efficacy in controlling coccidiosis in broiler chickens. However, treatments with monensin sodium of high grain size may be subject to contraindications relating to enteritis.

Evaluation of litter material and ventilation systems in poultry production: III. litter reuse, darkling beetle populations and intestinal parasites

It was evaluated the quality of rice husks or soybean straw as litter substrate and the effect of litter reuse for four consecutive flocks of broiler chickens on populations of darkling beetle and intestinal parasite and as organic fertilizer. The experiment was carried out in four 12 m × 10 m poultry houses, internally divided in 4 boxes/poultry house with 200 birds/pen for four consecutive flocks, each flock with a duration of 42 days and with a 15-day downtime between flocks. The evaluated treatments were two ventilation systems (stationary or oscillating fans) and two litter materials (soybean straw or rice husks). Darkling beetle population was followed by collecting the insects in traps, three traps per box, and endoparasite litter contamination was determined by eggs/oocyst counts per gram of litter. Levels of dry matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, potassium, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, organic carbon and pH were evaluated by physical/chemical analyses of samples of the litters in each flock. Overall, litters of broilers used by three flocks meet the minimal legal requirements to be marketed as simple organic fertilizer, regardless to the material used as substrate. Soybean straw presented higher darkling beetle counts in stationary ventilation system as well as in oscillating ventilation system. The probability of rice husks litter present contamination by Eimeria spp oocysts is 18.78 times higher in rice husks than in soybean straw litter when both are submitted to oscillating ventilation, and 1.32 higher when stationary ventilation is used. Litter temperature does not influence significantly levels of contamination by oocysts.

Effects of litter amendments on broiler growth characteristics and Salmonella colonization in the crop and cecum

Salmonella can be prevalent in poultry litter and can be a source of contamination for chicks newly arrived at the poultry house. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of litter amendments on broiler grow-out characteristics (BW and feed conversion), litter moisture, and Salmonellaenterica serovar Typhimurium colonization in the litter, crop and cecum. Because Salmonella Typhimurium is a pathogen of concern to the poultry industry, 2 types of litter amendments and 2 types of feed additions were created and tested to determine the effects of broiler growth, litter moisture, and litter efficacy against Salmonella colonization. Litter amendments consisted of a combination of acidic calcium sulfate and either diatomaceous earth or hydrated sodium calcium aluminiosilicate. Feed additions consisted of differing amounts of sodium bisulfate. For the litter amendment experiments, chicks were placed into pens in isolation rooms. Each litter amendment was applied to 3 pens for replicates of experimental groups. Litter samples were taken weekly from 5 areas in each pen and were combined for the determination of Salmonella colony-forming units per gram of litter. At 3 and 6 wk after placement, birds from each pen were killed by CO 2 asphyxiation. Efficacy of the litter amendments varied among experimental groups in broiler growth characteristics and efficacy against Salmonella .

Development of a Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay to Target a Novel Group of Ammonia-Producing Bacteria Found in Poultry Litter

Ammonia production in poultry houses has serious implications for flock health and performance, nutrient value of poultry litter, and energy costs for running poultry operations. In poultry litter, the conversion of organic N (uric acid and urea) to NH4-N is a microbially mediated process. The urease enzyme is responsible for the final step in the conversion of urea to NH4-N. Cloning and analysis of 168 urease sequences from extracted genomic DNA from poultry litter samples revealed the presence of a novel, dominant group of ureolytic microbes (representing 90% of the urease clone library). Specific primers and a probe were designed to target this novel poultry litter urease producer (PLUP) group, and a new quantitative real-time PCR assay was developed. The assay allowed for the detection of 102 copies of target urease sequences per PCR reaction (approximately 1 × 104 cells per gram of poultry litter), and the reaction was linear over 8 orders of magnitude. Our PLUP group was present only in poultry litter and was not present in environmental samples from diverse agriculutural settings. This novel PLUP group represented between 0.1 to 3.1% of the total microbial populations (6.0 × 106 to 2.4 × 108 PLUP cells per gram of litter) from diverse poultry litter types. The PLUP cell concentrations were directly correlated to the total cell concentrations in the poultry litter and were found to be influenced by the physical parameters of the litters (bedding material, moisture content, pH), as well as the NH4-N content of the litters, based on principal component analysis. Chemical parameters (organic N, total N, total C) were not found to be influential in the concentrations of our PLUP group in the diverse poultry litters Future applications of this assay could include determining the efficacy of current NH4-N-reducing litter amendments or in designing more efficient treatment protocols.

The contribution of leaching to the rapid release of nutrients and carbon in the early decay of wetland vegetation

Our goal was to quantify the coupled process of litter turnover and leaching as a source of nutrients and fixed carbon in oligotrophic, nutrient-limited wetlands. We conducted poisoned and non-poisoned incubations of leaf material from four different perennial wetland plants (Eleocharis spp., Cladium jamaicense, Rhizophora mangle and Spartina alterniflora) collected from different oligotrophic freshwater and estuarine wetland settings. Total phosphorus (TP) release from the P-limited Everglades plant species (Eleocharis spp., C. jamaicense and R. mangle) was much lower than TP release by the salt marsh plant S. alterniflora from N-limited North Inlet (SC). For most species and sampling times, total organic carbon (TOC) and TP leaching losses were much greater in poisoned than non-poisoned treatments, likely as a result of epiphytic microbial activity. Therefore, a substantial portion of the C and P leached from these wetland plant species was bio-available to microbial communities. Even the microbes associated with S. alterniflora from N-limited North Inlet showed indications of P-limitation early in the leaching process, as P was removed from the water column. Leaves of R. mangle released much more TOC per gram of litter than the other species, likely contributing to the greater waterborne [DOC] observed by others in the mangrove ecotone of Everglades National Park. Between the two freshwater Everglades plants, C. jamaicense leached nearly twice as much P than Eleocharis spp. In scaling this to the landscape level, our observed leaching losses combined with higher litter production of C. jamaicense compared to Eleocharis spp. resulted in a substantially greater P leaching from plant litter to the water column and epiphytic microbes. In conclusion, leaching of fresh plant litter can be an important autochthonous source of nutrients in freshwater and estuarine wetland ecosystems.

Response of soil invertebrates to forest canopy inputs along a productivity gradient

Previous studies have suggested that herbivory in forest canopies can influence forest floor processes such as nutrient cycling and decomposition. We studied the response of litter decomposition to a moisture/productivity gradient with manipulations of the effects of canopy herbivory at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina. Litterbags containing Quercus rubra L. and Acer rubrum L. litter were placed at three elevations along the gradient and sampled monthly for two years. Microarthropods, nematodes, and litter mass loss responses to the productivity gradient were measured. The relative abundance of Collembola and three suborders of mites (Oribatida, Mesostigmata and Prostigmata) was compared across the gradient. Mass loss was greater at the middle and high elevation sites in both years and was correlated with increased numbers of oribatid mites per gram of litter. The abundance of all the above microarthropods (of which oribatids were the most common) was also greater on the middle and high elevation sites and greater on two- year -old litter than on one- year- old litter. Nematode densities were also greater on the older litter. The herbivore inputs study, simulating the effects of canopy herbivory, included frass additions, throughfall additions, greenfall exclusion, total litter exclusion, and controls. Experimental additions of frass to plots on the low and middle elevation sites led to an increase in Collembola abundance in litterbags from those plots. Plots with frass and artificial throughfall additions also showed increased numbers of fungal feeding and bacterial feeding nematodes in some months. Numbers of oribatid and prostimatid mites were reduced in litter exclusion plots. Results from these studies suggest not only significant influences of elevation on litter decomposition and soil fauna abundance but direct links between canopy herbivory and responses in population densities of forest floor biota.

Comparison of the abundance and composition of litter fauna in tropical and subalpine forests

In this study, we quantify the abundance and composition of the litter fauna in dry and wet tropical forests and north- and south-facing subalpine forests. We used the same litter species contained in litterbags across study sites to standardize for substrate conditions, and a single method of fauna extraction from the litter (Tullgren method). Fauna densities were calculated per gram of dry litter. We found a higher density of total litter fauna and a higher taxonomic diversity in the tropical wet forest (80 individuals and 4 orders per g of dry litter and) as compared to the tropical dry (6 individuals and 1.5 orders per g of dry litter) and the subalpine forests (6–11 individuals and 2 orders per g of dry litter). Oribatid mites (Cryptostigmata) were the most abundant group of fauna across the study sites. The abundance of both micro- and macroinvertebrates was significantly higher in the tropical wet forest than all other sites. Taxonomic diversity (number of orders) was positively correlated with plant litter decomposition across all the sites. We conclude there is a significantly higher density of litter fauna and a greater taxonomic diversity per gram of litter in the tropical wet forest than in the tropical dry and the subalpine forests. Both of these factors can contribute to the differences in litter decomposition rates among the tropical and the subalpine sites.

Decomposition of leaf litter of albizia ( Paraserianthes falcataria), eucalypt ( Eucalyptus tereticornis) and teak ( Tectona grandis) in Kerala, India

Ex situ decomposition of leaf litter of Paraserianthes falcataria, Eucalyptus tereticornis and Tectona grandis was studied under field and laboratory conditions for a period of 18 months using the litter-bag technique. The amount of CO 2 evolved from the decaying litters and the population of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes associated with the litters were quantified. A laboratory study was also conducted to determine the amount of organic carbon added to soil during decomposition. The dry weight loss of litter under field and laboratory conditions, respectively, were 94 and 74% for albizia, 64% and 60% for eucalypt and 96 and 92% for teak. The decay rate of the three types of litters varied significantly both in the field and in the laboratory. Teak litter decomposed rapidly as compared with others; decomposition of eucalypt litter was the slowest. Weight loss was positively correlated with litter moisture content as well as rainfall. The CO 2 evolution differed significantly between the species, but in general it was highest during the southwest monsoon. The weight loss and CO 2 evolution were significantly higher in the field than in the laboratory. No significant addition of organic carbon to soil from decomposing litters was evident in the present study. Eucalypt differed statistically from albizia and teak with respect to the bacterial pearl gram of litter, irrespective of the period of sampling or incubation condition. However, bacterial population did not vary significantly between albizia and teak litters. The number of fungi per gram of litter differed significantly between eucalypt and albizia, and that of actinomycetes between teak and eucalypt litters, both in the field and laboratory conditions. Between other pairs, the population and actinomycetes did not vary significantly. The CO 2 evolution was positively correlated with number of fungi per gram of litter in albizia and teak in the field; it was not correlated with the population of bacteria and actinomycetes.

Influence of microarthropod abundance and climatic factors on weight loss and mineral nutrient contents of Eucalyptus leaf litter during decomposition

Densities of the different taxa of microarthropods per gram of litter in litter bags varied widely from the rainy to the dry season. Collembola and Acarina constituted more than 86% of the total microarthropods, and occurred in significantly greater numbers in the coarse-mesh bags than the fine-mesh bags. There were no fauna in the litter of suspended bags. The average weight loss was greater in the coarse-mesh bags (50.4%) than in the fine-mesh bags (44.5%), and the suspended bags (7.4%). Similarly, the concentrations of N and Ca were greater in the litter of coarse-mesh bags compared to that of the fine-mesh bags. In contrast, the concentrations of P and K were comparatively lower in coarse-mesh bags. The mass loss of litter showed a negative linear correlation with the total Collembola and with litter temperature. The N concentrations in the litter in both the mesh bags showed negative correlations with the abundance of total Collembola, and with that of Lepidocyrtus sp. and Sminthuridae, and rainfall. The N concentration in the litter in the coarse-mesh bags was positively correlated with the total number of arthropods but, surprisingly, was negatively correlated with the total number of Acarina. The concentration of Ca showed negative correlations with rainfall and litter moisture only. The P concentration showed positive correlations with total Collembola, with Lepidocyrtus sp. and Sminthuridae in both the mesh bags, with rainfall in the fine-mesh bags, and with total microarthropods in the coarse-mesh bags.

Aspergillosis in Turkeys Associated with Use of Contaminated Litter

Severe mortality occurred in a flock of 16,000 turkey poults after fresh litter consisting of poplar, oak, sweetgum, and pine shavings was added to the brooder house. Signs and lesions seen were consistent with aspergillosis. Mortality for the first 21 days of brooding was 305 poults. New litter was added on day 21; 6,041 poults died during the next 24 days. Mold counts were done on the original litter and added litter. The mold counts for the original litter was 1.0 X 10(5) organisms per gram of litter. The mold count for the added litter was 2.5 X 10(6) organisms per gram of litter. After the added litter had been treated with nystatin and copper sulfate, the mold count dropped to less than 1 X 10(4) organisms per gram of litter. Mortality was also reduced but not to pre-infection levels. Rales, mucus rhinitis, and airsacculitis due to Escherichia coli developed. Despite treatment, performance of the flock remained poor.