The Global Water Footprint Standard approach was used to calculate the volumetric blue and green water footprint indicator for lucerne production as important feed for dairy cows in a major lucerne production region in South Africa. The degree of sus...
The use of straw for biofuel production is encouraged by the European Union. A previous study showed the feasibility of producing biomethane in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors using hydrolyzed, steam-pretreated wheat straw, before and...
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are key limiting factors for carbon (C) fluxes in artificial grasslands. The impact of their management on ecosystem C fluxes, including net ecosystem productivity (NEP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and gross ecosystem...
The hypothesis tested was that tropical steers supplemented with the Desmanthus legume and lucerne, a widely characterized temperate legume of high nutritive value, would elicit similar responses in plasma metabolite profiles, productive performance,...
To address low productivity and water constraints in lucerne fields of China’s Gansu Yellow River Irrigation Region, this study optimized lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) cultivation through synergistic planting nitrogen regimes. A two-year field t...
Interseeding alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) into a silage corn (Zea mays L.) companion crop can increase the yield and profitability of forage production and reduce the risk of nutrient and soil loss from cropland, but unreliable establishment of alfal...
Currently, the world is facing a serious agricultural water crisis, which also affects grassland areas. Alfalfa, a key perennial forage legume, consumes about 10% of China’s pastoral irrigation water. Reducing irrigation generally results in a...
Chicory and lucerne possess high feed value for poultry being good sources of protein and fiber. In addition, they are rich in polyphenols that help the body build an integrated antioxidant system to prevent damage from free radicals and positively m...
Mixtures of legume and grass are used worldwide to gain advantages in forage production and ecological maintenance. However, competition for nutrients by legumes in mixtures has not been fully explored. The aim was to determine how the forage proport...
The study aimed to develop extruded snack pellets enriched with fresh lucerne sprouts and to evaluate the effects of this type of additive and processing parameters on extrusion-cooking efficiency, specific energy consumption, and selected physical a...
Currently, extrudates are considered unhealthy products, being characterized as high in calories; rich in fat, sugar, and salt; and low in nutritional compounds. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of lucerne (Medicago sativa) on the ph...
Establishing lucerne field is an efficient way to protect natural steppes, alleviate conflicts between meadows and livestock, and promote the development of animal husbandry. However, problems such as extensive field management, valuing yield over qu...
Due to depleting water supplies and the cultivation of high water-demanding crops such as lucerne, the effect of water deficits in crop production has become a major concern, especially in semiarid regions of China. A six-year field experiment (2012&...
Efficient use of available resources in agricultural production is important to minimize carbon footprint considering the state of climate change. In this context, the current research was conducted to identify carbon and energy-efficient fodder crop...
Lucerne (alfalfa; Medicago sativa L.) is the key forage for grazing in dryland temperate regions around the world. While rotational grazing of lucerne is recommended, in southern Australia the intervals between grazing events are often chosen in an o...
Chicory and lucerne are used as specialised forages in sheep or dairy production systems in some parts of the world. Recently, these plants are gaining attention as raw materials in the search for natural antioxidants for use in animal feeds, human f...
Phytoestrogens are plant-produced bioactive secondary metabolites known to play an integral role in plant defense that frequently accumulate in times of stress and/or microbial infection. Phytoestrogens typically belong to two distinct chemical class...
The alfalfa harvest time is determined by the alfalfa growth stage and the weather factors at that time, which will affect the yield and quality of the alfalfa hay. Addressing issues like the lack of precise harvesting timing and underutilized produc...
High temperature stress imposes constraints on the productivity of agricultural systems, such as pastures, and predicted increases in global temperatures are set to exacerbate these limitations. Here, we sought to understand the impact of warmer grow...
Biogas production plays an important role in the clean energy economy and is reducing the problems of the energy crisis. The main objective of the current study is to analyze environmental performance by using perennial energy crops in the agricultur...
Despite their unrivalled value in livestock systems, certain temperate, pasture, legume species and varieties may contain phytoestrogens which can lower flock/herd fertility. Such compounds, whose chemical structure and biological activity resembles...
Fertilization management affects both productivity and nutritive value of forage legumes. However, there are few studies about changes in lucerne non-structural carbohydrates under long-term fertilization. The aims of this study were to compare the e...
This study aims to elucidate the physiological and biochemical alterations induced by parasitic Cuscuta sp. (dodder) in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), a key forage crop. Comparative analyses between infected and healthy plants revealed that significan...
Lucerne is regarded as the best legume crop for forage to be cultivated in South Africa. It is commonly used to produce good quality hay. It also plays an important role in soil conservation, regeneration, and crop rotation systems as it supplies sub...
The increasing production of renewable gases has been driving attention to perennial energy crop production, particularly the problem of choosing an attractive and effective way to produce the supply chain from the farmer to the biogas plant. The pro...
Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting the morphological, physiological, and metabolic processes of plants, and hence their growth and production on a global scale. Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most popular pasture speci...
Background: Cannabis sativa is a high-value crop that can be cultivated for ruminant’s feed and medicinal purposes. The demand for Cannabis and Cannabis products has increased since the beginning of 21st century. Objectives: The increase i...
Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) forage production may be shifting towards the autumn–spring season, or in cooler environments, due to warmer and drier summers in Mediterranean Europe. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of lucerne cultiva...
Polymer composites are of considerable interest due to the possibility of improving the performance parameters of plastics. The filler is a component whose introduction into the rubber mixture can affect the physicochemical and functional properties...
The objective of this work was to evaluate the pH, chemical composition, minerals, vitamins, and in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics of silage prepared with lucerne, sweet maize stalk (MS), and their mixtures. Freshly chopped lucerne and MS w...
Consumers’ motivations for buying organic products include a wish of acquiring healthy, environmentally friendly products from production systems that also ensure a high level of animal welfare. However, the current Danish organic pig production face...
Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) is a cross-pollinated crop and requires entomophilous pollination for tripping of flowers and subsequent pod and seed set. To discover the best pollinators for lucerne seed production, a two-year field trial was carried o...
Tedera is a forage legume that can provide out-of-season green feed in Mediterranean climates. To date, growers have had no comprehensive soil nutrition guidelines to optimise tedera production. We undertook field and glasshouse studies to understand...
Pre-ensiling treatments can significantly influence the composition of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) silages (LS). Besides dry matter (DM) content and availability of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), wilting intensity may exert a strong impact on th...
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different types of powder additions on the properties of corn extrudates. The following ingredients, which are good sources of bioactive compounds, were used to substitute corn flour: legume...
The effect of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) pre-grazing pasture height on pasture intake and milk production was investigated in a sub-tropical partial mixed ration (PMR) dairy system in south-east Queensland, Australia. The experiment involved a 26-d...
To increase the dry matter and metabolisable energy intake of cows, dairy farmers often supplement pasture with concentrates and conserved fodder. Feeding large amounts of highly fermentable concentrates to cows can result in metabolic issues, such a...
Dietary fibers may have positive impact on health and wellbeing of pigs. The study examined physicochemical properties of two lignocelluloses (including and excluding bark), powdered cellulose, Aspergillus niger mycelium, lucerne chaff, soybean shell...
Datasets with measurements of both solar electricity production and domestic electricity consumption separated into the major loads are interesting for research focussing on (i) local optimization of solar energy consumption and (ii) non-intrusive lo...
The quantity and quality of forage and fodder crops is the major drawback of the livestock sector in the country. There is a need to bridge the gap between the supply and demand of fodder through the adoption of specific sustainable fodder production...
The effects of lucerne (Medicago sativa) post-grazing residual pasture height on pasture utilisation (vertical and horizontal), pasture intake and animal production were investigated in a sub-tropical partial mixed ration dairy system. The study took...
Scientific nitrogen management is essential for maximizing crop growth potential while minimizing resource waste and environmental impacts. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most widely cultivated high-quality leguminous forage crop globally, and i...
Food grain production has multiplied over the last two decades in India, but natural resources are overexploited in modern farming. Farmers, especially those with small and marginal holdings, are suffering losses more often than not, the cost of prod...
Biotechnological production of lactic acid (LA) is based on the so-called first generation feedstocks, meaning sugars derived from food and feed crops such as corn, sugarcane and cassava. The aim of this study was to exploit the potential of a second...
Supplementing the diet of lactating cows with ingredients that increase energy density, or reduce internal heat production, may reduce some of the negative impacts of hot weather on milk yield. Thirty-two dairy cows were assigned either: (1) basal di...
A 39-day field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of grape marc (GM) feeding on sheep productivity, health, and environmental sustainability. Forty merino sheep were divided into two dietary groups, each having five replications (n = 4 she...
Storing rumen fluid (RF) has the potential to standardize subsequent in vitro feed fermentation studies. The first phase of this experiment aimed to evaluate the effect of two RF storage methods on gas composition and dry matter disappearance (DMD) i...
The value of crops such as perennial wheat (PW) for grain and grazing compared to conventional wheat (W), or the addition of lucerne to PW (PWL) is still being determined. This research sought to determine if these diets were associated with changes...
The current water scarcity situation in South Africa is a threat to sustainable development. The present paper has assessed the water footprint of milk produced and processed in South Africa using the procedures outlined in the water footprint assess...
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding sugarcane-derived polyphenolic supplement (Polygain, The Product Makers Australia, Keysborough, VIC, Australia) on enteric methane (CH4) emission, rumen microbiota, and performance of...
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