Search Results (1,147)

Silage is a fundamental component of cattle feed, and its microbiological quality is critical for animal health and human safety. Improper ensiling conditions, such as oxygen exposure or inadequate acidification, can promote the growth of pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, and Bacillus cereus. This study aimed to evaluate the microbial status of maize silages and identify pre-ensiling factors influencing its hygienic safety. Over a four-year period, 406 silage samples were collected from cattle farms across Poland. The research evaluated general hygiene indicators and screened for specific pathogens using standard culture methods, polymerase chain reaction toxotyping, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The impact of agricultural practices, including soil quality, organic fertilization, and microbial inoculation, was also analyzed. The analysis revealed that 32.1% of silages fell outside the reference pH range, indicating potential aerobic instability. While Salmonella and Campylobacter were not detected, Clostridium spp. were highly prevalent (81.0%), and C. perfringens was confirmed in 24.9% of samples. Listeria species occurred in 2.9% of silages, with L. innocua being the most frequent isolate. Statistical analysis showed that organic fertilization was significantly linked to specific C. perfringens toxotypes, though it did not increase the overall microbial burden. Conversely, microbial inoculation generally reduced the counts of several undesirable bacteria, although these differences were not statistically significant across all parameters. High pH values and significant contamination with Clostridium, B. cereus, and fungi remain critical challenges for silage safety. The results underscore the necessity for improved agricultural practices—specifically the minimization of soil and manure contamination during harvest—and the broader adoption of microbial inoculation to ensure the microbiological stability of fermented forage. Full article

Plantago lanceolata L. is increasingly incorporated in temperate pasture systems for its agronomic resilience and potential to reduce the environmental footprint of ruminant production through its specific secondary metabolites (SMs). However, how light intensity per se regulates P. lanceolata L. physiology, nutritive value and SM accumulation remains poorly understood due to confounding factors in field studies. This controlled-environment study evaluated the effects of three light intensities (200, 300, and 400 µmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) on morphophysiological traits, forage quality, and SM concentrations in P. lanceolata L. cv. “Ceres Tonic”. Plants were grown in controlled-environment chambers under similar temperature, humidity and nutrient conditions. Morphological traits, biomass allocation, chlorophyll fluorescence, gas exchange, chemical composition, and root architecture were measured. Additionally, the most important secondary metabolites, aucubin, catalpol and acteoside, were also evaluated. Under the different light intensity treatments plants maintained stable physiological parameters, total biomass production, leaf dimensions or root architecture. However, moderate light intensity (300 µmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) optimized nutritive value by minimizing fiber concentrations and maximizing metabolizable energy. Acteoside concentration, as well as the iridoid glycosides aucubin and catalpol, were not affected by the different light intensities. These findings demonstrate that P. lanceolata L. maintains morphophysiological stability across the tested light intensity range studied, while selectively modulating forage quality. Full article

The perennial grass timothy (Phleum pratense) is an important forage crop in cold temperate regions. It forms three types of tillers: vegetative (VEG), generative (GEN), and non-flowering elongated (ELONG). To understand the influence of plant development and tiller formation on biomass production and the diversity in these traits, a total of 246 wild and domesticated accessions of timothy and the related species, P. nodosum and P. alpinum, were investigated. The length of different plant developmental stages and the formation of different tiller types were studied to test the hypotheses: (1) the proportion (%) of different tiller types affects biomass and is influenced by the lengths of the different plant developmental stages, (2) domestication and breeding have affected the length of developmental stages and proportions of tiller types. While timothy cultivars did not differ significantly from wild accessions in biomass, wild accessions had higher VEG%, which increased with latitude of accession origin. P. nodosum cultivars produced the highest number of ELONG of all accessions and species, and the ELONG% showed a strong positive correlation with biomass. Timothy cultivars showed later emergence and tillering, and reached stem elongation and heading earlier than wild accessions, suggesting that delayed tillering, but an overall faster development, has been favoured during breeding. The time between tillering and stem elongation showed a positive correlation with VEG%. This study reveals large diversity in developmental and tiller traits among accessions, reflecting differences in their domestication and breeding history, and highlighting the importance of considering early developmental traits and ELONG formation for yield and quality in further pre-breeding research. Full article

This study investigated the interactive effects of corn silage and ramie silage on in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics, aiming to provide a scientific basis and empirical evidence for the rational incorporation of ramie into ruminant diets. Four binary substrate mixtures were formulated based on dry matter (DM) mass ratios of corn silage to ramie silage: 100:0 (CON), 60:40 (R40), 20:80 (R80), and 0:100 (R100). Rumen fluid was collected from three adult Liuyang black goats surgically fitted with permanent rumen cannulas, and a standardized 48 h in vitro batch culture assay was conducted. Results demonstrated that increasing the proportion of ramie silage significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the DM degradation rate, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) degradation rate, acid detergent fiber (ADF) degradation rate, and total gas production per gram of substrate DM. Specifically, CON and R40 exhibited significantly higher values for all four parameters than R80 and R100 (p < 0.05). Methane production was significantly reduced in all ramie-containing treatments relative to CON (p < 0.05), whereas hydrogen production increased progressively with ramie inclusion level, with CON yielding significantly less H₂ than both R80 and R100 (p < 0.05). Regarding fermentation parameters, increasing ramie proportion elevated (p < 0.05) both fermentation fluid pH and the acetate-to-propionate ratio, while total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) concentration declined linearly (p < 0.05). TVFA concentrations did not differ significantly between CON and R40, yet both were significantly greater than those in R80 and R100 (p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings indicate that ramie silage is a nutritionally valuable forage with potential as a high-quality partial replacement for conventional silages in ruminant feeding systems; however, its inclusion in corn–ramie mixed silages should not exceed 40% (on a DM basis) to maintain optimal fermentative efficiency and nutrient degradability. Full article

Water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) is the key to producing quality forage silage and an important energy source for ruminants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different silages used as roughage sources [whole-plant sugarcane silage (WSS) vs. elephant grass silage (EGS)] with varying levels of WSC on silage quality, buffalo growth performance, apparent digestibility, rumen fermentation, and microbial communities. Sixteen healthy male crossbred buffaloes were randomly divided into two treatment groups, with eight buffaloes/treatment. One group was fed whole-plant sugarcane silage, and the other group was fed elephant grass silage. Compared with EGS, WSS had higher WSC, lactic acid, and ethanol, but lower pH, ammonia nitrogen, propionic acid, and butyric acid (BA) contents (p < 0.05). Potential probiotics (e.g., Lactiplantibacillus and Hanseniaspora) were more abundant in WSS than in EGS (p < 0.05). Moreover, the feed conversion rate was higher in HWS (p < 0.05). However, rumen fermentation parameters were unaffected by diet (p > 0.05). Moreover, feeding WSS had lower dry matter digestibility (DMD), organic matter digestibility (OMD), and lower acid detergent fiber digestibility (ADFD) (p < 0.05). After WSS feeding, ruminal Treponema_2 was strongly associated with DMD, OMD, and ADFD (p < 0.05), and also showed positive correlations with BA and PA contents in WSS (p < 0.05). Additionally, rumen Ruminiclostridium_5 and Pseudozyma was associated with DMD and ADFD after being fed EGS (p > 0.05), respectively, but the Pseudozyma was associated with BA (p < 0.05) and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_11 (p > 0.05) in EGS. Our findings indicated that WSS exhibited superior fermentation quality and harbored potential beneficial microbes, whereas EGS showed higher apparent nutrient digestibility in buffalo but also contained undesirable bacteria (e.g., Clostridium_sensu_stricto_11). Future research should investigate the long-term effects of WSS feeding on buffalo health, immunity, and production performance, as well as its impact on rumen microbiota stability, to fully assess its potential as a safe and sustainable roughage source. Full article

Feed availability and quality remain major constraints to ruminant productivity in West Africa, where livestock systems rely heavily on locally available resources such as natural forages, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products. However, reliable ration formulation requires accurate information on feed chemical composition, while existing data are fragmented and highly variable. This study conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2025 to synthesize available data on the chemical composition of ruminant feeds in West Africa. Following PRISMA guidelines, 44 studies reporting quantitative feed composition data were retained. Feed resources were classified into agro-industrial by-products, agricultural by-products and forages, and descriptive statistics were calculated for key nutritional parameters. The results revealed substantial variability in nutrient composition across feed types and even within the same feed resource. Cottonseed cake emerged as a major protein-rich supplement, legume haulms showed higher nutritional value than cereal residues, and several browse species such as Moringa oleifera and Leucaena leucocephala demonstrated high protein potential. These findings highlight that fixed feed composition values are poorly suited to heterogeneous tropical feeding systems. The reference ranges established in this review provide a more reliable basis for feed evaluation and ration formulation and can support the development of locally adapted feeding strategies and decision-support tools for West African livestock systems. Full article

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a multifunctional legume of growing importance in sustainable cropping systems. This study presents an integrative assessment of a forage pea variety across multiple agronomic functions under temperate continental conditions. Results from three environmentally comparable field trials were synthesized to evaluate (i) grain yield and protein traits, (ii) biomass production and nutrient accumulation in cover cropping systems, and (iii) effects on soil nitrate dynamics and maize (Zea mays L.) yield. Compared with vegetable- and dry-seed-type genotypes, the forage-type cultivar exhibited greater plant height and lodging tendency, moderate grain yield, and elevated protein content (28.8%), characterized by a legumin-dominated protein profile. As a winter cover crop grown in mixture with oat (Avena sativa L.), pea produced lower total biomass than rye (Secale cereale L.) but showed substantially higher nitrogen concentrations (2.93–3.01%), indicating enhanced nitrogen input potential. In crop rotation, pea-based treatments significantly affected soil nitrate distribution and maize productivity. Complementary resource use in pea-based systems enhanced biomass production, supporting forage and green manure functions while contributing to soil fertility and system stability. Its morphological and physiological adaptability enables integration into diverse production models, from intensive to regenerative systems. Overall, pea should be regarded not merely as a single crop, but as a strategic component of diversified farming systems aimed at increasing protein yield, optimizing inputs, improving soil quality, and strengthening the long-term sustainability of agroecosystems. Full article

As a core area for soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau and a national primary shale oil production zone, Qingyang City faces an increasingly acute contradiction between its inherently fragile ecological base and energy development activities. From the dual perspectives of ecological regulating services and production-supporting services, this study selected six key ecosystem services—habitat quality (HQ), soil retention (SR), carbon storage (CS), water yield (WY), food supply (FS), and grassland forage supply (GS)—to comprehensively assess their spatiotemporal evolution, trade-off/synergy relationships, and driving mechanisms from 2000 to 2020. The results indicate: (1) Significant changes occurred in the total amounts and spatial patterns of all ecosystem services during 2000–2020. HQ showed a fluctuating upward trend, while SR, FS, and GS increased overall; by contrast, CS and WY generally declined. (2) Ecosystem services exhibited a differentiated pattern characterized by “intra-category synergy and inter-category trade-off.” Regulating and supporting services were generally dominated by synergistic relationships, although clear differences remained among specific service pairs; provisioning services generally showed trade-offs with regulating services, among which the trade-offs between FS–HQ and between FS–GS were the most pronounced, whereas FS–CS showed a certain degree of synergy. (3) Driving force analysis revealed a continuous decline in the influence of natural factors and a sharp intensification of human activity factors. Groundwater level and land-use intensity became core drivers of pattern shifts, with their explanatory power increasing significantly. The study reveals that ecosystem services in Qingyang have rapidly transitioned from being dominated by natural hydrothermal conditions to being profoundly reshaped by energy development activities, exposing the region to the ecological risk of a “resource curse.” These findings provide a scientific basis and management insights for achieving coordinated development between resource exploitation and ecological conservation in ecologically fragile areas of the Loess Plateau. Full article

Substantial tracts of fallow farmland remain unutilized across southwestern China throughout winter and spring. To explore a high-yield planting pattern for utilizing such fallow land, a cereal–legume intercropping experiment was conducted in Chengdu in 2021–2022 and in 2022–2023. This involved five different intercropping ratios of oat (Avena sativa) and common vetch (Vicia sativa) including 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 based on seed number per unit area. The relative density, LER (land equivalent ratio), hay yield, nutritional composition and in vitro fermentation characteristics were assessed. The study revealed that the combination of oat and common vetch led to a significant enhancement in the production performance over the monocultures. At the flowering stage, the most balanced interspecific competition was observed at a ratio of 50:50. The ratio of 50:50 had the higher LER in the mixture—from 1.018 to 1.873—which was significantly higher than the other two intercropping ratios in 2021–2022. At the flowing development stage in 2021–2022, the harvesting of mixed crops at the 50:50 ratio resulted in a significant higher crude protein yield, 1454.7 kg/hm², than the other intercropping ratios. As the growth stage continued, the mixture hay neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber contents increased, while the relative feed value and crude fat content decreased. The soluble sugar content increased with the prolongation of the growth stage and peaked at the jointing stage, and decreased with the decrease in the proportion of oat in the mixture. Additionally, the gas production showed an overall decreasing trend with the increase in the proportion of common vetch. The dry matter degradation rate in the mixture hay was overall higher than that of the monocultures, and the NH₃-N content showed an overall trend of increasing with the decrease with the intercropping ratio of oat. Consequently, the 50:50 ratio may be recommended as an oat-common vetch intercropping ratio suitable for utilizing fallow fields in southwestern China from October to April to produce high-quality forage. Full article

This study evaluated the effects of forage-free diets with reduced starch levels on the productive performance, metabolism, ruminal fermentation, nutrient digestibility, and meat quality of feedlot beef cattle. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, forty uncastrated Nellore steers were distributed into 20 pens in a completely randomized design, receiving diets with increasing inclusion levels of ground corn in the total diet: C400 (400 g kg⁻¹), C200 (200 g kg⁻¹), C100 (100 g kg⁻¹), and C50 (50 g kg⁻¹), formulated without forage and based on fibrous co-products. Increasing ground corn inclusion promoted linear improvements in final body weight and average daily gain, while dry matter intake and feed efficiency showed quadratic responses. Meat quality parameters were not affected by dietary treatments. In Experiment 2, eight crossbred steers were assigned to a double 4 × 4 Latin square design and fed the same experimental diets. Higher corn inclusion increased starch and fat intake, whereas dry matter, organic matter, and protein intake showed quadratic responses. Apparent total-tract digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, and starch also followed a quadratic pattern. Ruminal fermentation parameters were affected by dietary treatments, with greater ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations at higher corn levels and quadratic responses for propionate, butyrate, and methane production. Nitrogen metabolism indicated increased urinary nitrogen and uric acid excretion with increasing dietary corn inclusion. These results demonstrate that forage-free diets based on citrus pulp and soybean hulls with different levels of ground corn can be effectively used in finishing beef cattle, improving performance without impairing meat quality while modulating ruminal fermentation and nutrient utilization. Full article

Ranked 30th globally in dryness, South Africa faces severe challenges in ensuring fodder security, which is worsened by climate change impacts on agriculture. However, there is still limited knowledge about optimising fodder radish cultivation under shifting climatic conditions. This study investigated the effects of planting dates (December to March), cultivars (Nooitgedacht, Line 2 and Endurance) and seasons (2020/21 and 2021/22) on growth, yield, and crude protein (CP) and mineral concentrations under rainfed conditions. Seasonal variation significantly (p < 0.05) influenced emergence, relative growth, and flowering across planting dates. Fresh tuber yield was highest when Nooitgedacht was planted in December (2052 and 2102 kg ha⁻¹). In contrast, January planting enhanced aboveground biomass and crude protein (CP) yield, with Endurance recording the highest biomass (1260 and 1157.95 kg ha⁻¹ DM) and tuber CP yield (19.2 and 18 kg ha⁻¹). December planting favoured tuber production, whereas January planting optimised biomass, CP yield, and persistence. Planting date and cultivar significantly affected leaf and tuber mineral concentrations. December–January plantings generally enhanced leaf P, K, and Zn concentrations. Endurance and Nooitgedacht accumulated higher micronutrients than Line 2, particularly under early planting. The late flowering of Endurance extended the grazing period, aligning with late-winter forage demand under rainfed conditions. Overall, this study offers practical guidance for improving the quantity and quality of fodder radish in diverse agricultural settings. Future work should evaluate these cultivars across more sites to confirm performance stability under variable rainfall patterns. Full article

Multilevel threshold image segmentation is a key task in image processing, yet it faces challenges such as low search efficiency in high-dimensional spaces, difficulty in balancing segmentation accuracy and stability, and insufficient adaptability to complex scenes. Existing solutions mainly include traditional thresholding methods and metaheuristic optimization-based schemes, but they still face limitations in high-dimensional and complex segmentation tasks. The standard Seagull Optimization Algorithm (SOA) suffers from shortcomings including a single exploration mechanism, weak local exploitation capability, and a tendency for population diversity to deteriorate, making it difficult to meet the demands of high-dimensional optimization. To address these issues, this paper proposes a multi-strategy fused improved Seagull Optimization Algorithm (MFISOA), which integrates three strategies: adaptive cooperative foraging, differential evolution-driven exploitation, and centroid opposition-based boundary control. These strategies jointly construct a collaborative optimization framework with dynamic resource allocation, fine local search, and population diversity maintenance, thereby improving global exploration efficiency, local exploitation accuracy, and population stability. To evaluate the optimization performance of MFISOA, numerical simulation experiments were conducted on the CEC2017 and CEC2022 benchmark test suites, and comparisons were made with nine other mainstream advanced algorithms. The results show that MFISOA outperforms the competing algorithms in terms of optimization accuracy, convergence speed, and operational stability. Its superiority is further verified by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the Friedman test, with statistical significance (p < 0.05). In the multilevel threshold image segmentation task, using the Otsu criterion as the objective function, MFISOA was tested on nine benchmark images under 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-threshold segmentation scenarios. The results indicate that MFISOA achieves better performance on metrics such as Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), and Feature Similarity Index (FSIM), enabling more accurate characterization of image grayscale distribution features and producing higher-quality segmentation results. This study provides an efficient and reliable approach for numerical optimization and multilevel threshold image segmentation. Full article

Medicago ruthenica L., a superior forage crop within the genus Medicago (Fabaceae), is endowed with remarkable stress tolerance and an abundance of bioactive compounds, conferring significant ecological and forage value. Existing reviews primarily focus on a single research direction, and the most recent findings are dated, failing to cover breakthroughs at the molecular level. This paper systematically synthesizes the latest research progress in five key areas: genetic diversity and genomic studies, biotic stress responses, abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms (drought, salinity, and low temperature, etc.), utilization (including genetic breeding, ecological restoration, and forage development), and future research prospects. This review addresses critical gaps in existing literature, particularly regarding advances in genomic sequencing, biotic stresses, and research on stress-associated microorganisms. Research indicates that M. ruthenica exhibits extensive genetic diversity, and its genome contains numerous positive selection signals associated with stress resistance. It can tolerate multiple abiotic and biotic stresses through morphoplasticity, physiological metabolic regulation, and transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, its symbiosis with microorganisms such as rhizobia significantly enhances its stress tolerance. M. ruthenica demonstrates outstanding application potential in degraded grassland restoration and high-quality forage production. Future research should focus on mining stress-resistant genes, optimizing molecular breeding techniques, and integrating artificial intelligence into breeding practices. That will facilitate its transformation from a regional endemic resource to a commercially viable functional species, thereby providing robust support for ecological security and the sustainable development of grassland-based livestock husbandry in cold and arid regions. Full article

In this study, 72 genetically diverse accessions of Psathyrostachys juncea from a germplasm collection were evaluated for silicon content, biochemical composition and nutritional value in pasture biomass for grazing feed in Northern Kazakhstan in 2024 and 2025. High-quality biomass and low silicon are the most important traits for P. juncea pasture. In the studied germplasm collection, the average silicon content in leaves was 2.59%, ranging from 1.45% to 4.11%. All studied accessions of P. juncea were split into two clusters based on biochemical analyses. Cluster B with preferable genotypes had significantly lower silicon content, crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre and hemicellulose, but higher crude protein content compared to cluster A. The six best genotypes with close to or less than 2% silicon and with high nutritional value in pasture biomass content were selected from cluster B for hybridization and further breeding. Low silicon content in leaves was confirmed in most of the hybrids, similar to parents and significantly less than other genotypes in the germplasm collection. Strong negative heterosis values were identified in all hybrids for acid detergent fibre and lignin, showing a reduction in undesired traits for biomass pasture quality. A strong negative correlation was found between the content of crude protein and fibre (r = −0.71), whereas neutral and acid detergent fibre content had a strong positive correlation (r = 0.78). The most promising hybrids with the combined traits of low silicon accumulation and high-quality pasture biomass were selected for further breeding and production of new perspective cultivars of P. juncea for pastures with perennial forage plant species. Full article