Search results for "FORAGE"
showing 10 items of 77 documents
Silage of Prickly Pears (Opuntia spp.) Juice By-Products
2020
Simple Summary The cactus pear plant is a Cactaceae which originates from the Americas and is highly resistant to arid and hot environments. The plant is used as animal feedstuff in regions characterized by a lack of nutrient resources. In Italy, the fruits are known as prickly pears are usually eaten fresh by humans, and more recently have also started to be transformed into fruit juice. Various by-products (i.e., peel, pulp, and seeds) derived from the extraction of fruit juice are used for livestock feed due to their high amounts of fermentable structural carbohydrates. However, some of these by-products are difficult to conserve due to their high fermentability. The aim of the present s…
Biochar and Forage Peanut improve pastures: Evidence from a field experiment in Brazil
2023
Pasturelands, often degraded, represent most of the converted lands globally. It is important to understand how different pasture management approaches can improve soil quality, increase feed production and farmer income. Here, the impact of different soil enhancers on soil quality and productivity of three cultivars of Brachiaria (Syn. Urochloa) forage grass is presented. Soil enhancers included: biochar - a carbon-rich product from biomass pyrolysis, moinha (local charcoal residue), traditional fertiliser containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, lime, and forage peanut (Arachis pintoi cv. Amarillo). Considering the total biomass produced over the experiment (sum of four harvests), t…
Fatty Acids as Biomarkers of the Production Season of Caciocavallo Palermitano Cheese
2021
Simple Summary In the Mediterranean environment, climatic variability determines a discontinuity in the forage availability of pastures. Caciocavallo Palermitano is a cheese obtained from the milk of the Cinisara cattle breed, mainly raised on pasture. The present study investigated the fatty acid profile of cheeses produced in two typical farms in the four seasons of the year, with the aim of identifying specific fatty acids that can be used as biomarkers to discriminate the productions obtained in the different seasons, in order to economically enhance those seasonal productions that have better health characteristics. The results revealed the possibility of distinguishing spring producti…
Functional ecology for evaluating and predicting the aptitude of permanent grassland to provide services
2013
National audience; Applying the principles of functional ecology helps better predict the services which can be provided by permanent grassland. Farming practices and environmental characteristics influence the functional composition of grassland. Functional plant types have a generic effect on forage services which can be assessed. 13 types of grassland composed of distinct functional types were defined based on 1,283 sample grassland fields located on 8 sites. This approach was validated by checking 8 Ellenberg indicator values (used to evaluate environmental characteristics and farming practices) against climatic data and descriptive data for farming practices. The interest of a function…
Les impacts du campagnol terrestre sur les systèmes fourragers : le cas de l’élevage bovin allaitant en Bourgogne
2014
EAAgroSupECOLDUR; Do vole outbreaks have the same effects on suckler beef farms in Burgundy as they do on daily farms in Auvergne and Franche-Comte? Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 farmers from Burgundy who had been affected by a water vole outbreak in 2011. The results indicate that, just like farmers in Auvergne and Franche-Comte, farmers in Burgundy witnessed a decrease in forage quantity and quality. Farmers used diverse measures to deal with the outbreak (e.g., avoidance strategies or the use of bromadiolone). Farmers that described water voles as pests were more likely to have used bromadiolone, while those who described water voles in morphological terms or in ter…
Effects of biomass, age and functional traits on regrowth of arable weeds after cutting
2008
Conference: 24th German Conference on Weed Biology and Weed ControlLocation: Stuttgart Hohenheim, GERMANYDate: MAR 04-06, 2008; International audience; In sown field margin stripes or pluriannual forage crops, arable weeds are exposed to high competition and regular mowing or hay cutting, to which they may react very differently. A greenhouse experiment permitted to understand some key factors shaping the ability of common arable weeds and forage crops to grow after such cuttings. Even without competition, cutting shoots at 5cm height reduced biomass production of all 10 species studied, but 6 annual broadleaf weeds were much more affected than 2 perennial forage crops (Dactylis, Medicago) …
Gestion du pâturage au printemps en système bovin allaitant : diversité des pratiques en Saône-et-Loire
2009
National audience; Grazed grass is the cheapest forage for making meat'. In order to incite farmers to make their forage systems more self-sufficient and thrifty, the 'Chambre d'Agriculture de Saone-et-Loire' (a professional agricultural organization for that departement) has been monitoring for five years the management of spring grazing on 23 farms. The analysis of farmers' practices lead to considerations as to put to the best use the grazed grass, according to the pedo-climatic conditions and the constraints of the farms. With the aim of optimizing the pasture resources in order to limit the purchase of concentrates and to cope with the climatic hazards, the study of the management of s…
Légumineuses et prairies temporaires : des fournitures d'azote pour les rotations
2015
Intervention présentée aux Journées de l'AFPF, "La fertilité des sols dans les systèmes fourragers", les 8 et 9 avril 2015; Les atouts des légumineuses (fixation symbiotique, diversité fonctionnelle...) leur permettent de contribuer à la fertilité des sols, à l'amélioration de la durabilité de l'agriculture et de l'autonomie protéique des systèmes alimentaires. Il convient donc de mieux connaître leurs rôles, directs et indirects, dans les flux d'azote des rotations.Les légumineuses fourragères (en culture pure ou dans des couverts multispécifiques) représentent une grande part des apports azotés symbiotiques. Il existe une grande diversité d'implication des légumineuses dans les rotations.…
Legumes in 21st century Europe: present and future importance in agri-food systems? New challenges for reseach.
2013
Intensification of agriculture since 1950 has globally led to the decline of grain legume crops, which currently represent less than 3 % of arable crops in France and Europe. Nevertheless, legumes have several major assets (i) as plant proteins for animal feed and human food and (ii) as plants fixing atmospheric N2 and thereby saving nitrogen inputs in cropping systems, and (iii) as diversification crops. The analysis of forage and grain legume producing systems in France showed that the dominant system results in a lock-in of the different factors limiting legume insertion into the current systems. But legumes could have a major role to play in the agroecological transition towards more su…
Productivity of an Atriplex halimus shrubbery and effects of grazing on lambs
2009
The objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate the productivity and forage quality of Atriplex halimus, 2) investigate modifications to shrub structure induced by grazing, and 3) assess live weight changes in lambs grazing on A. halimus with and without a feed supplement (wheat straw ± barley grain). The results showed that A. halimus had low productivity (approximately 1000 kg DM ha–1) but high tolerance to grazing by lambs, although minor modifications in plant structure due to grazing were observed. Lambs grazing A. halimus as a sole diet lost weight (about 60 g lamb−1 d–1; P < 0.01), probably as a consequence of the high salt content of the forage reducing bot…