On-farm Study Research Articles

Earthworm responses to cropping rotation with oilseed rape in no-tillage rice fields and the effects of earthworm casts on human-essential amino acid content in rice grains

The rice-oilseed rape rotation is a major rice-based cropping system in the Yangtze River basin in China, and no-tillage technology has been successfully adopted in this system. The main objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the response of earthworm density to rotation with oilseed rape in no-tillage rice fields; and (2) the effects of earthworm casts produced during the oilseed rape-growing season on the content of human-essential amino acids in resulting rice grains. An on-farm study was conducted from 2015 to 2017 to compare earthworm density in no-tillage fields where rice was rotated with oilseed rape and with a fallow period. A micro-plot experiment was also carried out to compare the grain content of human-essential amino acids in rice with and without the addition of earthworm casts (produced during the oilseed rape-growing season) under three nitrogen fertilizer rates. We observed that medians of earthworm number per m2 were 68–154% higher in the fields rotated with oilseed rape than in the fallow fields. The contents of human-essential amino acids detected in rice grains were generally increased by the addition of earthworm casts, and there were significant increases (8–13%) for phenylalanine, threonine and valine. Our study suggests that earthworms can be increased by rotation with oilseed rape in no-tillage rice fields, and that their casts can increase the contents of human-essential amino acids in rice grains.

Root Morphological Traits and Spatial Distribution under Different Nitrogen Treatments and Their Relationship with Grain Yield in Super Hybrid Rice

Succeeding in breeding super hybrid rice has been considered as a great progress in rice production in China. This on-farm study was conducted with Minirhizotron techniques to identify dynamic root morphological traits and distribution (0–30 cm) under different nitrogen treatments. Five elite super hybrid rice cultivars, Liangyoupeijiu (LYPJ), Yliangyou 1(YLY1), Yliangyou 2(YLY2), Yliangyou 900(YLY900) and Super 1000(S1000), were grown at four N levels: 0 kg ha−1 (N1), 210 kg ha−1 (N2), 300 kg ha−1 (N3) and 390 kg ha−1 (N4) in 2015 and 2016. Results showed these cultivars had greater root traits and higher grain yield under N3. Total root number (TRN) and total root length (TRL) of these cultivars reached maximum at 55 days after transplanting (DAT). The new released cultivars YLY900 and S1000 were featured with an improved root system among these cultivars. The percentage of root number on 10–20 cm soil was over 50% compared with other soil layer. A significant positive correlation was found between grain yield and both TRN and TRL at 10–20 cm soil layer (P < 0.01). Given this situation, the grain yield of super rice cultivars could be further improved by increasing the proportion of roots at 10–20 cm soil layer under suitable nitrogen management.

Enhancing productivity and livelihood of Bundelkhand farmers through crop livestock based interventions

An on-farm study was conducted during 2007–2012 to know the impact of various crops and livestock based interventions on sustainable improvement of productivity of farmers in Bundelkhand region. The improved varieties with agrotechniques enhanced the productivity of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables by 114–240, 80–167, 72–134 and 60 - 206 %, respectively over farmers practice. Similarly, the productivity of fodder sorghum, cowpea and Guar increased by 197, 221 and 187%, respectively while the corresponding increase in Berseem and oat fodder yield was 265 and 115%. This enhanced the milk productivity of cows and buffaloes by 1.5 to 3 litresday−1 animal−1. The green fodder yield of stylo in silvipasture and hortipasture was 250–300 and 275–350 q ha−1 year−1, respectively. The ber top working with improved varieties produced 30–50 kg ber tree1 with improved size and quality and also generated additional income of ₹ 2000–5000 year−1 farmer−1. The supplementation of leaf meal in ration enhanced the body weight gain in goat by 9–12 g day 1 goat1 and milk production in buffaloes by 0.8–1.1 litre day 1 buffalo 1 compared to farmers practice of feeding. The introduction of improved farm machinery and drudgery reducing tools resulted into economic benefit to farmers and saved time for farmers and farm women. The capacity building activities improved the technical knowledge and skill of farmers. The living standard was improved by increasing the income of farmers due to adoption of improved agrotechniques.

Effect of pre-partum and post-partum concentrate supplementation on milk yield and quality, calf birth weight and post-partum heat period of Holstein-Friesian crossbred cows

Twelve Holstein-Friesian crossbred cows were selected for an on-farm study in a completely randomized design to exemplify the effects of pre- and post-partum concentrate supplementation on calf birth weight, milk production and composition; and post-partum resumption of ovarian cyclicity. Along with green grass (35.0 kg/cow/day) and daily farm allowance of concentrate mixture (2.0 kg/cow/day; regarded as control group – 6 cows), extra amount (500 g) of concentrate supplementation was done in supplemented group (6 cows) using wheat bran (44%), mustard oil cake (44%), common salt (4%) and di-calcium phosphate (8%). Results revealed that calf birth weight was 11% higher (p=0.26) in supplemented group compared to the control group. Milk yield was recorded 49% higher (p=0.001) in supplemented cows than that of the control cows. Among the milk constituents, only milk protein was found significantly (p=0.0001) higher in cows received concentrate supplementation than that of the cows without concentrate supplementation. Moreover, the post-partum heat period was found significantly (p=0.014) lower in supplemented group than that of the control group and 83.33% cow in this group returned to heat within 60 days post-partum which was nil in the control group. In conclusion, offering concentrates during pre- and post-partum had positive impact on milk yield, milk protein and post-partum heat period.

PADI ORGANIK VERSUS NON ORGANIK: STUDI FISIOLOGI BENIH PADI (Oryza sativa L.) KULTIVAR LOKAL ROJOLELE

Study of the effect of organic and non-organic farming practice of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Rojolele on seed physiology was carried out in Cipanas, West Java (on-farm) and in the laboratory of BSJ3 and greenhouse of RC for Biotechnology (off-farm). Parameters were recorded particularly on seed germination percentage, water content, dormancy behavior and morphology. On-farm study results showed that germination percentage of organic seeds was higher (88.3% at water content of 13.4%) than those non-organic seeds (20.0% at water content of 10.2%). Results of off-farm study showed that the plant height of those organic seeds was higher than those non-organic seeds. On-farm practice the harvest after 150 days showed that the non-organic seeds produced more yellow grains (44.8%) than those of organic seeds (39.6%). A total grain per plant produced by the non-organic seeds was higher than those organic seeds, however, total percentage of the filled out organic seeds was higher (57.8%) than those non-organic seeds (40.1%). Organic seeds seem to be more dormant than those non-organic seeds after storage for 12 months. Grain weight of both non-organic and organic was 17-19 g per 1000 seeds. Germination of off-farm non-organic seeds was 98.0%, whereas those organic seeds were 95.0% at water content of 10.8% respectively. In view of seed physiology, organic rice quality better than those non- organic because they contain more filled out seeds, even though the organic rice harvesting time longer than those non-organic. Although off-farm study represented seed physiology of either organic or non-organic seeds, on-farm study needs to be further done on all aspects of seed physiology.

Influence of sulphur application on oil content and productivity of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] in Malwa Nimar of Madhya Pradesh

An on-farm study was conducted in fifteen farmers fields at Nimar area in Madhya Pradesh. Analysis of soil samples collected in year of 2015 (without sulphur application) and 2016 (with sulphur application) revealed that sulphur level in all soil samples were low (2.5 to 14.2 mean 9.23 kg/ha). Further, demonstrations showed increase in yield of soybean from 2.11 to 2.27 t/ha and oil content from 19.93 to 21.60 per cent with application of sulphur fertilizer.

Long-term effects of conversion to organic farming on ecosystem services - a model simulation case study and on-farm case study in Denmark

ABSTRACTOrganic agriculture aims to produce food while establishing an ecological balance to augment ecosystem services (ES) and has been rapidly expanding in the world since the 1980s. Recently, however, in several European countries, including Denmark, organic farmers have converted back to conventional farming. Hence, understanding how agricultural ES are affected by the number of years since conversion to organic farming is imperative for policy makers to guide future agricultural policy. In order to investigate the long-term effects of conversion to organic farming on ES we performed i) a model simulation case study by applying the Daisy model to simulate 14 different conversion scenarios for a Danish farm during a 65 year period with increasing number of years under organic farming, and ii) an on-farm case study in Denmark with one conventional farm, one organic farm under conversion, and three organic farms converted 10, 15 and 58 years ago, respectively. Both the model simulation case study and the on-farm case study showed that non-marketable ES values increased with increasing number of years under organic farming. Trade-offs between marketable and non-marketable ES were not evident, since also marketable ES values generally showed an increasing trend, except when the price difference between organic and conventional products in the model simulation study was the smallest, and when an alfalfa pre-crop in the on-farm case study resulted in a significantly higher level of plant available nitrogen, which boosted the yield and the associated marketable ES of the subsequent winter rye crop. These results indicate a possible benefit of preserving long-term organic farms and could be used to argue for agricultural policy interventions to offset further reduction in the number of organic farms or the land area under organic farming.

Ecosystem services of wheat (Triticum aestivum) production with conventional and conservation agricultural practices in the Indo-Gangetic Plains

Agriculture has short and long-term impacts on the environment affecting the ecosystem services. Agriculture could also have some dis-services, i.e. negative impacts on the environment. An attempt was made to quantify these services and dis-services of conventionally tilled wheat and wheat grown under zero tillage as well as with zero tillage and residue applied treatment. Net as well as green income was calculated for these treatments. The data forquantification of ecosystem services was obtained from an on-farm study conducted at Taraori village of Karnal district of Haryana, India. Economic value of the ecosystem services obtained from conventionally cultivated wheat were Rupees 68381/ha while in zero tilled and residue applied wheat the value of ecosystem services was highest, i.e. Rupees 75253/ha. In conventionally tilled wheat, cost of ecosystem dis-services was Rupees 1072/ha, which reduced to Rupees 1015/ha and Rupees 1009/ha in zero tilled and zero tilled plus residue applied wheat. Green income from conventionally tilled wheat was Rupees 33358/ha, which increased to Rupees 52449/ha in zero tilled wheat and to Rupees 53493 ha in zero tilled and residue applied wheat. The study highlighted the importance of including the ecosystem services and environmental cost in assessing the sustainability of various agricultural practices.

Effect of planting density on yield, nutritional quality, and ruminal in vitro digestibility of corn for silage grown under on-farm conditions

The objective of this on-farm study was to determine the effect of planting density on yield, nutritional composition, and fiber digestibility of corn silage. This study was performed during the spring and summer seasons of 2014 and 2015 at 2 commercial dairy farms located in Virginia. The study included 7 cornfields with different growing and harvesting conditions. In each cornfield, corn was planted in plots at a theoretical seeding rate of 55,000, 70,000, 85,000, and 100,000 seeds/ha (55K, 70K, 85K, and 100K, respectively). Each seeding rate had 4 replicates within each cornfield. The preceding crop was annual ryegrass that was harvested for silage within 10 d before planting corn. Plant DM biomass decreased linearly (376 vs. 253 g of DM/plant for 55K and 100K, respectively; P < 0.01), but DM yield increased linearly (19.8 vs. 26.0 Mg/ha for 55K and 100K, respectively; P < 0.01) when planting density increased. The number of kernels per ear and the stem width decreased proportionally as corn population density increased. Planting density did not affect, or minimally affected, the concentrations of ash, CP, NDF, ADF, ADL, starch, and sugar of fresh corn and corn silage. Also, planting density did not affect ruminal in vitro NDF digestibility of fresh corn and corn silage. In conclusion, increasing corn planting density increased forage yield when planted in a double-cropping system, minimally affecting nutritional quality and ruminal in vitro digestibility of corn silage.

Productivity Benefits from Plastic Mulch in Vegetable Production Likely to Limit Adoption of Alternate Practices that Deliver Water Quality Benefits: An On-Farm Case Study

Intensive tillage, high fertiliser inputs, and plastic mulch on the soil surface are widely used by vegetable growers. A field investigation was carried out to quantify the impact of alternate land management and fertiliser practices designed to improve offsite water quality on the productivity of vegetable rotations within a sugarcane farming system in a coastal region of subtropical northeast Australia. Successive crops of capsicum and zucchini were grown in summer 2010–2011 and winter 2011, respectively, using four different management practices. These were ‘Conventional’—the current conventional practice using plastic mulch, bare inter-rows, conventional tillage, and commercial fertiliser inputs; ‘Improved’—a modified conventional system using plastic mulch in the cropped area, an inter-row vegetative mulch, zonal tillage, and reduced fertiliser rates; ‘Trash mulch’—using cane trash or forage sorghum residues instead of plastic mulch, with reduced fertiliser rates and minimum or zero tillage; and ‘Vegetative mulch’—using Rhodes grass or forage sorghum residues instead of plastic mulch, with minimum or zero tillage and reduced fertiliser rates. During the second vegetable crop (zucchini), each management practice was split to receive either soil test-based nutrient inputs or a common, luxury rate of nutrient addition. The ’Trash mulch’ and ‘Vegetative mulch’ systems produced up to 43% lower capsicum and zucchini yields than either of the plastic mulch systems. The relative yield difference between trash systems and plastic mulch management systems remained the same for both the soil test-based and high nutrient application strategies, suggesting that factors other than nutrition (e.g., soil temperature) were driving these differences.

The combined effects of the provision of feed and healthcare on nutrient utilization and growth performance of sheep during the early or late dry season

An on-farm study was conducted to determine the combined effects of the provision of feed and healthcare on nutrient use and growth performance of sheep during the early or late dry season. A total of 36 smallholder sheep farmers with a flock size of ≤7 was randomly selected within each of the three administrative regions in Northern Ghana. The sheep grazed on a heterogeneous natural pasture and offered crop residues as basal diet (control) or were additionally provided with a concentrate feed plus orthodox healthcare to control diseases and pests (CH) in a completely randomized block design. The provision of orthodox healthcare included scheduled control of endo- and ecto-parasites and administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Data was analyzed for the fixed effects of CH, season, or CH × season using the mixed model procedure of Genstats®. The CH regimen had no effect (P=0.098) on intake of natural pasture but pasture intake increased (P=0.012) during the late dry season. Sheep on the CH regime had higher DM (P=0.026) and N (P=0.068) digestibility and improved ADG (P=0.001) and feed conversion efficiency (P=0.020) than those on the control. We hypothesize that improvements in growth performance of sheep on the CH regimen could be related to availability of nutrients for growth that will otherwise have been used for repair of damaged tissues caused by gastrointestinal parasites and ticks. Sheep on the CH regimen also had a higher concentration of fecal N during the late dry season when CP concentration was relatively higher than that in the early dry season (63.2 vs 60.9g/day DM) when CP concentration of pasture was lower.

Evaluating the effect of shade trees on provision of ecosystem services in intensively managed coffee plantations

Abstract Intensively managed cropping systems with emphasis on productivity of the main crop can benefit from additional ecosystem services brought by integration of trees in the system − but potential drawbacks must also be accounted for. In an on-farm study, we used a variety of plant, soil and water- related variables to assess the effect of Erythrina spp. and Musa spp. on the provision of ecosystem services in productive, high-quality Coffea arabica plantations in Costa Rica. We found 1) no significant effect of shade trees on coffee production overall; 2) evidence that shade trees do affect flowering and subsequent cherry development, with effects strongly dependent on climate and annual variations in coffee plant physiology; 3) Erythrina shade trees significantly increased soil litter and relative infiltration rate of water in the soil, both linked to soil conservation and decrease in erosion; 4) even in highly fertilized environments, Erythrina trees do fix N which was taken up by adjacent coffee plants. The lack of significant negative effect of shade trees on overall coffee yield and the observation of the provision of other useful services was not unexpected, because of 1) the low density of shade trees in the study site (100–350 trees/ha pruned twice a year on average) and 2) the sensitivity of coffee yields to other interacting effects such as climate, pests and diseases and physiological variations in the plant. Pending further long-term research into the factors affecting coffee yield, we find shade trees provide sufficient ecosystem services to justify their integration in even intensively managed plantations.

English

On-farm study was conducted in the lowland areas of Kewot district in the North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia on two sites during 2011 crop season to determine optimum seed rate of sesame. Four seed rates (2, 4, 6 and 8 kg ha-1) of sesame cultivar Adi, were arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications at each experimental site. The results of analysis of variance showed that location and seed rate had no significant effect on grain yield and plant height. Similarly, interaction of seed rate and location had no significant effect on grain yield, plant height and number of branches plant-1. On the other hand, location and seed rate had significant (p≤0.05) effect in the number of branches plant-1. The maximum number of primary branches plant-1 (3.3) was obtained from the seed rate of 2 kg ha-1 and the minimum number of primary branches plant-1 (2.3) was obtained from the seed rate of 8 kg ha-1. Since the statistical analysis revealed non-significant difference among treatment yields, comparison was made by using total costs that vary. Accordingly, 2- 4 kg ha-1 seed rate found to be optimum for the production of sesame under rain-fed condition around Kewot district and similar areas. Key words: Adi, broadcast, Kewot, Medina, under rain-fed, Yelen crossing.

Learning Preferences of Next Generation Hispanic/Latino Specialty Crop Growers

A bicultural team of Penn State Extension professionals assessed educational method and learning style preferences of Hispanic/Latino stakeholders who aspire to be next generation specialty crop growers and specialized horticultural managers. During 2014–16, team members conducted and evaluated bilingual programs in various formats, including in-depth workshops, model demonstration plots, on-farm trainings and tours, fact sheets and field guides, and videos. Postprogram surveys indicated formats that provided opportunities for active learning of research-based information applicable to participant operations were most successful. Purposive surveys and interviews identified further ways to adapt extension outreach and education for next generation growers. The top-rated methods of learning for Hispanic/Latino growers were on-farm demonstrations and study circles, tours of other growers’ farms, self-paced on-line courses and videos, and interactive workshops. Factors Hispanic/Latino grower survey respondents felt limited them from participating in educational activities or using extension resources were timing of program, cost, and location. Survey participants suggested extension might improve education and engagement with Hispanic/Latino growers by increasing the use of social media in Spanish, holding educational programs specifically for Latino farmers to increase networking opportunities, and holding educational events at the farms of Latino growers.

Impact of Practice Change on Runoff Water Quality and Vegetable Yield—An On-Farm Case Study

Intensive agricultural practices in farming systems in eastern Australia have been identified as a contributor to the poor runoff water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). A field investigation was carried out to measure the off-farm water quality and productivity in a coastal farming system in northeastern Australia. Two vegetable crops (capsicum and zucchini) were grown in summer 2010–2011 and winter 2011 respectively using four different management practices (Conventional—plastic mulch, bare inter-row conventional tillage and commercial fertilizer inputs; Improved—improved practice with plastic mulch, inter-row vegetative mulch, zonal tillage and reduced fertilizer rates; Trash mulch—improved practice with cane-trash or forage-sorghum mulch with reduced fertilizer rates, minimum or zero tillage; and Vegetable only—improved practice with Rhodes grass or forage-sorghum mulch, minimum or zero tillage, reduced fertilizer rates). Results suggest improved and trash mulch systems reduced sediment and nutrient loads by at least 50% compared to conventional systems. The residual nitrate nitrogen in soil accumulated at the end-of-break crop cycle was lost by deep drainage before the subsequent sugarcane crop could utilize it. These results suggest that future research into establishing the linkages between deep drainage, groundwater quality and lateral movement into adjacent streams is needed. The improvement in runoff water quality was accompanied by yield reductions of up to 55% in capsicum and 57% in zucchini under trash mulch systems, suggesting a commercially unacceptable trade-off between water quality and productivity for a practice change. The current study has shown that variations around improved practice (modified nutrient application strategies under plastic mulch, but with an inter-space mulch to minimize runoff and sediment loss) may be the most practical solution to improve water quality and maintain productivity. However, more work is required to optimize this approach and thus reduce the size of any potential productivity and profitability gap that would necessitate an expensive policy intervention to implement.

Agronomic, physiological and quality response of romaine and red oak-leaf lettuce to nitrogen input

Protecting the environment by improving the crop-system nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) while maximising yield and quality is a primary challenge for modern agriculture, and understanding the processes that govern N fluxes in the plant-soil system is essential to improve NUE. An on-farm study was conducted over two fall-winter seasons to evaluate the NUE, agronomical and physiological response of romaine (var. longifolia, cv Manavert) and red oak-leaf (var. crispa, cv Aruba) lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to different N-rates (0, 60, 120, 180 kg ha–1 of N). Nitrogen rate influenced all tested parameters, including plant fresh and dry weight, N accumulation, leaf NO3– and dry matter content, NUE indices, N nutrition index (NNI), soil residual N and the estimated N losses at the end of the crop season. Fresh yield, dry weight and N-accumulation response to N rate were influenced by lettuce genotype. Manavert had higher N recovery, NUE, and lower leaf NO3– concentration than Aruba. Analysing the NNI overtime, 120 kg ha–1 of N assured an optimal N status in both Manavert and Aruba, while N deficiency and excess were observed at lower and higher N-rates, respectively. An empirical relationship was observed between NNI and leaf NO3– concentration, suggesting that leaf NO3– concentration may be used to predict NNI and thus the crop N status. The relationship between NNI and leaf NO3– concentration may be used to define optimal leaf NO3– concentration ranges for the rapid and site-specific assessment of the crop N status, and the dynamic adjustment of N-fertilisation, contributing to improve crop NUE, minimise N-losses, and optimise yield and quality of lettuce crops.

Higher Cereal and Legume Yields Using Ca-bentonite on Sandy Soils in the Dry Eastern Uganda: Increased Productivity versus Profitability

Moisture stress grossly limits crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa. Ca-bentonite holds and avails water for plant uptake. However, despite its availability and increasing droughts in Uganda, its use is limited, partly due to inadequate empirical evidence about its benefits. This 3-season on-farm study assessed the benefits accruing from Ca-bentonite use. Crops included: maize (Longe 10H), finger millet (Seremi-2), sorghum (SESO-3), green-grams (Mauritius) and groundnuts (Serenut 6). Treatments were: Ca-bentonite (2.5 t ha-1), Ca-bentonite combined with manure (FYM) and/or phosphate (DAP/SSP), replicated five times in CR design. Ca-bentonite (2.5 t ha-1) increased the grain yields of maize, millet, sorghum, green-grams and groundnuts by 11, 20, 14, 17 and 5% above the control. Bentonite combined with DAP/SSP and/or FYM increased maize, finger millet, sorghum, green-grams and groundnuts yields by 14-82%, 22-42%, 23-42%, 32-42% and 4-26%, respectively. Higher grain yields were partly attributed to increased soil moisture following bentonite application. Compared to other crops, bentonite was more profitable when used on the higher priced groundnuts. Considering the high bentonite cost, application on high value crops, blending with other materials and policy support are recommended, to make this locally available resource economically viable for smallholder farmers, thereby help them cope better with increasing droughts.

Access to litter during rearing and environmental enrichment during production reduce fearfulness in adult laying hens

Exaggerated fear-reactions are associated with injurious flying, smothering, feather pecking and other events that compromise animal welfare in laying hens. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that chicks with access to litter during the first five weeks of life would be less fearful as adult hens compared to birds reared without access to litter. The hypothesis was tested in a national on-farm study in commercial aviary flocks in Norway. Five rearing farmers divided the pullets into two groups within their rearing houses. While the chicks were enclosed inside the aviary rows during the first five weeks of life, paper substrate where food and other particles could accumulate, covered the wire mesh floor in the treatment group, whereas the control group was reared on bare wire mesh. At 30 weeks of age, 23 aviary flocks (11 control flocks reared without paper and 12 treatment flocks reared with paper) were visited. During the visit, the fearfulness of the adult birds was tested in a stationary person test and a novel object test. The data was analysed by ANOVA or logistic regression as appropriate. The access to litter during rearing did not influence the number of birds that approached within 25cm of the stationary person (p=0.51). All flocks, regardless of rearing treatment, had birds which came within 2m of the stationary person. The latency to approach within 2m of the stationary person tended to be influenced by provision of environmental enrichment as adults (p=0.08) and by the interaction between treatment×rearing farm (p=0.08). The number of birds that approached within 2m of the stationary person was influenced by the interaction between treatment during rearing and provision of enrichment as adults (p=0.03), however, the post hoc test showed no pairwise differences. All flocks, regardless of rearing treatment, had birds that approached the novel object. The access to litter during rearing did not influence the birds’ latency to approach the novel object. The number of birds approaching the novel object was affected by the interaction between access to substrate during rearing and provision of environmental enrichment as adults (p=0.05). The results indicate that both adding paper substrate to chicks from the first day of life and environmental enrichment as adults, reduce fearfulness in laying hens.

Implications of feed concentrate reduction in organic grassland-based dairy systems: a long-term on-farm study

In response to increasing efforts for reducing concentrate inputs to organic dairy production in grassland-rich areas of Europe, a long-term study was conducted, which assessed the impacts of concentrate reductions on cows’ performance, health, fertility and average herd age. In total, 42 Swiss commercial organic dairy cattle farms were monitored over 6 years (‘Y0’, 2008/09 until ‘Y5’, 2013/14). In comparison with overall data of Swiss herdbooks (including conventional and organic farms), the herds involved in the project had lower milk yields, similar milk solids, shorter calving intervals and higher average lactation numbers. During the first 3 project years farmers reduced the concentrate proportion (i.e. cereals, oilseeds and grain legumes) in the dairy cows’ diets to varying degrees. In Y0, farms fed between 0% and 6% (dietary dry matter proportion per year) of concentrates. During the course of the study they changed the quantity of concentrates to voluntarily chosen degrees. Retrospectively, farms were clustered into five farm groups: Group ‘0-conc’ (n=6 farms) already fed zero concentrates in Y0 and stayed at this level. Group ‘Dec-to0’ (n=11) reduced concentrates to 0 during the project period. Groups ‘Dec-strong’ (n=8) and ‘Dec-slight’ (n=12) decreased concentrate amounts by >50% and <50%, respectively. Group ‘Const-conc’ (n=5 farms) remained at the initial level of concentrates during the project. Milk recording data were summarised and analysed per farm and project year. Lactation number and calving intervals were obtained from the databases of the Swiss breeders’ associations. Dietary concentrate amounts and records of veterinary treatments were obtained from the obligatory farm documentations. Data were analysed with GLMs. Daily milk yields differed significantly between farm groups already in Y0, being lowest in groups 0-conc (16.0 kg) and Dec-to0 (16.7 kg), and highest in groups Dec-slight (19.6 kg) and Const-conc (19.2 kg). Milk yield decreases across the years within groups were not significant, but urea contents in milk decreased significantly during the course of the project. Milk protein, somatic cell score, fat–protein ratio, average lactation number, calving interval and frequency of veterinary treatments did not differ by group and year. In conclusion, 5 years of concentrate reduction in low-input Swiss organic dairy farms, affected neither milk composition, nor fertility and veterinary treatments. Milk yields tended to decline, but at a low rate per saved kilogram of concentrate.

Soil phosphorus loss in tile drainage water from long-term conventional- and non-tillage soils of Ontario with and without compost addition.

Recent ascertainment of tile drainage a predominant pathway of soil phosphorus (P) loss, along with the rise in concentration of soluble P in the Lake Erie, has led to a need to re-examine the impacts of agricultural practices. A three-year on-farm study was conducted to assess P loss in tile drainage water under long-term conventional- (CT) and non-tillage (NT) as influenced by yard waste leaf compost (LC) application in a Brookston clay loam soil. The effects of LC addition on soil P loss in tile drainage water varied depending on P forms and tillage systems. Under CT, dissolved reactive P (DRP) loss with LC addition over the study period was 765g P ha-1, 2.9 times higher than CT without LC application, due to both a 50% increase in tile drainage flow volume and a 165% increase in DRP concentration. Under NT, DRP loss in tile drainage water with LC addition was 1447gPha-1, 5.3 times greater than that for NT without LC application; this was solely caused by a 564% increase in DRP concentration. However, particulate P loads in tile drainage water with LC application remained unchanged, relative to non-LC application, regardless of tillage systems. Consequently, LC addition led to an increase in total P loads in tile drainage water by 57 and 69% under CT and NT, respectively. The results indicate that LC application may become an environmental concern due to increased DRP loss, particularly under NT.