Failures of cereal crops are occasionally reported, the seed having been dressed with an organo-mercury seed disinfectant and the failures attributed to the dressing. It should be noted, however, that prior to the introduction of the organo-mercury seed dressings similar crop failures had often been recorded, and in many cases failure had been attributed to the dressing which had been applied, or alternatively, to the conditions under which the treated grain had been stored.

Reduced germination during storage is common to all agricultural and horticultural seeds, but although the interaction of the factors involved is complex it is generally recognized that for satisfactory germination to be maintained over the maximum period of storage the following conditions should be observed:

(1) The seed should be of relatively high initial germination.

(2) The moisture content of the seed should approximate to the average for that kind.

(3) Storage temperature and humidity should both be relatively low and not subject to wide fluctuation.

(4) Ventilation should be adequate.

Experiments over six years on the use of different kinds and amounts of nitrogenous fertilizers on small plots of permanent pasture are described and summarized.

Up to a level of 4·5 cwt. sulphate of ammonia per acre applied in February there was a proportionate response in dry matter production in April. Omitting the single year when scorching occurred, the average increase per cwt. of sulphate of ammonia applied was 2·3 cwt. dry matter with an additional 0·85 cwt. in the second (May) cut. The average recovery of the nitrogen applied in February was 35·9% in April, and 8·6% in May.

With nitrogen applied in June the response in dry matter production in July and September–October was similar, but the recovery varied widely with the varying effect of nitrogen on clover production. With heavy depression of clover, percentage recovery was low or negative.

On plots not receiving nitrogen the dry matter production for the whole year was at the rate of 1·92 cwt. per inch of rain reckoned on the harvest year (Oct.–Sept.). The largest variation from this was only 0·1 cwt.

For the whole year the response to nitrogen was greatest in the years of lowest rainfall.

The nitrogen applied in February considerably increased the protein in the “grasses” at the first cut, and to a small extent in the second cut. For the third and fourth cut it is suggested that the protein differences are correlated with differences in amounts of clover.

For the first cut of the year “clovers” also show a much higher protein content on the nitrogen plots.

This study evaluated the yield and water productiivty response of quinoa to regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), partial root-zone drying (PRD) and conventional deficit irrigation (DI) and full irrigation (FI) using surface (SD) and subsurface drip (SSD) systems in 2016 and 2017 in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. The treatments consisted of RDI, PRD50, DI50, DI75 and FI. A rainfed treatment (RF) was also included in the study. The experimental design was split plots with four replications. DI75 and DI50 received 75 and 50% of FI, respectively. PRD50 received 50% of FI, but from alternative laterals. RDI received 50% of FI during vegetative stage until flowering, and then received 100% of water requirement. The results showed that quinoa under SD used slightly more water than SSD due to reduced surface evaporation. RDI resulted in water saving of 23 and 21% for SD and SSD, respectively, compared to FI; and RDI produced statistically similar grain yields to FI. DI75 treatment resulted in water savings of 16% for both drip methods in the first year and 10 and 25% for SD and SSD systems, respectively, in the second year. PRD50 produced greater yield than DI50 eventhough they received the same amount of irrigation water. RF and PRD50 treatments resulted in significantly greater water productivity (WP) values than other treatments. There was no significant difference between SD and SSD regarding the grain and dry matter yields and WP values. Thus, RDI and DI75 appear to be good alternatives to FI for sustainable quinoa production in the Mediterranean region.

In a recent paper dealing with the changes which occur during the ensilage of oats and tares, Amos and Woodman (1) indicate that drainage is an important source of loss during ensilage and record that the drainage liquid has been found to contain varying quantities, between 4 and 10 per cent., of soluble material. No analysis of this soluble material is given.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a live culture of Aspergillus oryzae (A; CCT4359) and fibrolytic enzyme (E; Fibrozyme Alltech Inc.) on fibre digestibility by a gas production bioassay and in vitro degradation of maize silage and sugarcane silage. A completely randomized design trial was performed to evaluate: A doses (0, 20, 60 and 100 mg/l), E doses (0, 160, 320 and 480 mg/l) and roughage source (R; maize and sugarcane silage) in a 4 × 4 × 2 factorial arrangement. The inclusion of increasing doses of A and E increased dry matter and neutral detergent fibre in vitro digestibility linearly, but for E this effect occurred only in maize silage. There was a linear increase in the potential for gas production at the highest dose of A only in sugarcane silage, with no effect on lag time (L). Increasing doses of E increased the volume of gases produced linearly, and a trend of linear reduction of L, regardless of the roughage. There was a linear reduction in ammonia-nitrogen concentration in response to increasing doses of A and E, and an increase in acetic acid concentration at the highest dose of A, regardless of roughage. The additives had no synergistic effect on gas production and digestibility, but were efficient in altering the fermentative pattern, demonstrating the potential to increase fibre degradation.

Much attention has been given to the use of urea in ruminant feeds since the demonstration by Hart et al. (1939) that non-protein nitrogen (NPN) compounds could be a substitute for protein in ruminant rations. However, the high activity of urease in the rumen decreases the efficiency of urea utilization, because the rate of ammonia release from urea is much faster than the rate of its assimilation by rumen microbes for the synthesis of amino acids (Bloomfield, Garner & Muhrer, 1960). Moreover, if the concentration of ammonia exceeds a certain limit, it causes toxicity to the animals (Froslie, 1977). The efficiency of urea utilization can be increased if the rate of ammonia production is similar to the rate of its assimilation by rumen micro-organisms. This could be achieved either by decreasing the activity of the rumen urease or by modifications of urea in products which result in slow release of ammonia (Helmer & Bartley, 1971). Attempts have been made to increase the efficiency of urea utilization by complexing urea with carbohydrates (Daniels et al. 1971; Muhrer, Harris & Bloomfield, 1968; Shultz, Shultz & Chicco, 1972), sodium bentonite (Britton, Cooling & Klopfenstein, 1978) and carboxy resin (Huston, Scherton & Breuer, 1974). Formaldehyde is known to protect proteins from rumen degradation by its reaction with terminal amino groups (NH2), the e-amino groups of lysine and a number of other side-chain groups of proteins (Barry, 1976; Van Dooren, 1972). Urea contains two amino groups for undergoing chemical reaction with HCHO to give different complexes. Previous work in our laboratory has shown that urea could be complexed with HCHO (Lall et al. 1980; Pal & Negi, 1977). However, in those studies excesses of urea and HCHO were not removed and this produced an artefact in the evaluation of the ureaformaldehyde complexes (UFCs). Moreover, whole rumen fluid was used for in vitro ammonia formation from these complexes. No studies have been made so far in a well-defined system on the biochemical basis of the ammonia-releasing property of the UFCs. We report here the formation and isolation of UFCs, free from urea and HCHO and their hydrolysis with purified rumen urease (EC. 3·5.1.5). Evidence is adduced that UFCs are substrates for rumen urease and can act as slow ammonia-releasing compounds.

The secretion of milk by the mammary glands normally follows a period of pregnancy, but numerous cases have been cited in the literature of secretion which takes place in animals that have never borne young. Non-pregnant bitches frequently secrete milk several weeks after oestrus (1), and a secretion, apparently similar to milk, takes place after pseudo-pregnancy in rabbits (2). No quantitative analyses have been made of these secretions to show whether they possess the characteristics of true milk or colostrum.

1. The intake of grazing wethers was estimated from the in vitro organic matter digestibility of herbage samples collected from sheep with oesophageal fistulae, and total faecal collections.

2. Body water, estimated by isotope dilution, was used to estimate total body energy from estab-lished regressions relating body water to body composition.

3. Total body energy was then related to live weight by regression analysis, giving a value of 2044 kcal. per lb. over the range 68-90 lb. empty body weight. From this it was estimated that 2.41 lb. D.O.M. was required per lb. live-weight gain within this range.

4. Energy for maintenance was calculated by deducting D.O.M. required for gain from D.O.M. intake. These values were related to live weight by regression analysis to give a value of 1.31 lb. D.O.M./day for the maintenance of a 100 lb. sheep.

Seven experiments are reported in which iodinated casein was fed to pigs. The daily doses varied from 0·25 to 1·5 g. of iodinated casein per pig daily for periods of several weeks. While the higher doses adversely affected the rate of growth of the pigs, the smaller doses were not sufficiently effective to have any practical importance.

The thyroid glands of the pigs receiving the iodinated casein appeared to be slightly smaller in size, but their histological picture was not affected.

1. A new technique has been used to study the fermentation of hemicellulose and α-cellulose in vitro. This involved the use of 14C-labelled carbohydrates fermented in the presence of normal herbage material in an artificial rumen.

2. A method of growing grass in an atmosphere of 14CO2, its fractionation into hemicellulose and α-cellulose and the analysis of the labelled V.F.A. end-products are described.

1. The use of the technique of gas-partition chromatography in the investigation of the formation of volatile acids in minced grass/water slurries is discussed.

2. Slurries kept anaerobically at 17, 37 and 62° for 13 weeks have been examined, and the amounts of the different volatile acids formed have been estimated. It has been noted that butyric acid forms most readily in the slurry at 37°, while in aerated slurries at 17°, the formation of volatile fatty acids is more speedy than under anaerobic conditions.

3. Only acetic, propionic and butyric acids have been noted so far, and the highest concentrations of the acids observed in any slurry were 5, 1·25 and 4% respectively.

1. The teeth of sheep that had been fed from 6 months of age for 12 months on diets low in calcium or in phosphorus and vitamin D content were compared with those of similar animals fed a control diet.

2. The low calcium diet depressed the development of both dentine and enamel but had a greater effect on enamel than dentine, while the low phosphorus and vitamin D diet depressed dentine development slightly and had practically no effect on enamel.

3. The percentages of ash of the dentine and enamel were not significantly affected by the diets fed.

Six management regimes for 1-year set-aside were compared with continuous winter wheat for their effects on weed control in two following test crops of winter wheat. The experiment was repeated in each of three years (1989–91) on predominantly sandy loam soils in eastern England. The weed flora was dominated by Poa spp., Stellaria media, Matricaria spp., Chenopodium album and volunteer crops, predominantly wheat.

Managing set-aside by allowing natural regeneration and cutting it 2–4 times during the growing season resulted in fewest weeds in the following wheat crop. It was also a low cost option. Winter wheat, despite the application of herbicides, was not as effective in minimizing weeds in the winter wheat test crops as the best set-aside options.

An Italian ryegrass cover crop set seed despite being cut 2–4 times per year. The only serious weed infestation arising in following wheat crops was from volunteer ryegrass in the second wheat following set-aside. The effects of management in the set-aside year were generally greater in the second of the following wheats than in the first.

A dynamic mathematical model of a closed mammary system in lactating cows was developed to incorporate the setpoint concept of tissue activity, using equations where nutrient supply and absorption are locally regulated so as to maintain a given rate of milk protein yield. The model consists of 12 differential equations, 11 of which are concerned with intracellular biochemical compartments and one describes the volume of tissue actively perfused by blood (AP). The intracellular compartments are: amino acids (AAs), acetate, fatty acids (FAs), β-hydroxybutyrate, glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate, phospho-glyceraldehyde, pyruvate, mitochondrial acetyl-CoA, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The model simulates mechanisms which are aimed at reproducing and, thereby, explain variations in mammary plasma flow (MPF) observed experimentally. The AP changes according to variations in the metabolic status or in the metabolic requirements of the gland. Should the tissue energy charge (i.e. ATP/ADP ratio) exceed a baseline ratio, then AP decreases and consequently MPF declines. Conversely, when milk protein yield increases, AP increases and MPF rises. In the present model, AA uptake by the mammary gland is inhibited by intracellular AAs. It is also assumed that, when milk protein yield diminishes, the respiratory chain and ATP synthesis become uncoupled and consequently ATP yield is reduced. Model evaluation included behavioural analysis and sensitivity analysis. Behaviour analysis was conducted to test whether the model mechanisms reproduced the scenarios from which the model hypotheses were developed, and took into consideration: an increase in arterial glucose concentration (HIGLC), increases in arterial concentrations of non-esterified FAs, triacylglycerol and β-hydroxybutyrate (HIFAT), a 50% reduction of arterial histidine concentration (LOHIS), and a hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp (HIINS). Both HIGLC and HIFAT resulted in a decrease in MPF and in milk protein yield; moreover, the scenario HIGLC also produced a notable decrease in the extraction of glucose. The scenario LOHIS resulted in increased MPF and extraction of His from plasma. However these responses were not sufficiently large to prevent a severe reduction of milk protein yield which was accompanied by a reduction in the extraction of other essential AAs. The scenario HIINS resulted in an increase of MPF and of milk protein yield, in the extraction of His and of other essential AAs. Model sensitivity analysis focused on variation of both affinity and inhibition constants of some of the Michaelis–Menten equations. Improvements in model structure and directions for future research suggested by the modelling analysis are discussed.

Navy beans were precision drilled in 1973–5 at a range of plant population densities. Within each growing season the density treatments did not influence seed yield, but mean yields differed significantly between years. The results suggest that cultivars similar to Purley King can only be regarded as a reliable break crop in a season such as 1973 which was slightly warmer and drier in mid-summer than average. Although the rate of drying increased with increasing plant density in two of the growing seasons, no practical advantages are proposed.

Plant ecotypes represent heterogeneous, local adaptation of domesticated species and thereby provide genetic resources that meet current and new challenges for farming in drought-prone environments. A total of 536 Sardari bread wheat ecotypes, assembled from different geographical regions of Iran, were studied under rainfed cold conditions for three cropping seasons (2009–12). The main objectives were to (i) quantify the performance of the Sardari wheat ecotypes under cold rainfed conditions and (ii) provide information that would enable germplasm management and utilization in wheat breeding programmes to enhance the development of better adapted varieties for the rainfed cold conditions of Iran. All the ecotypes were evaluated for grain yield and several drought-adaptive traits. Combined analysis of variance indicated significant differences between years, ecotypes and their interaction effects for each studied trait. The Sardari wheat ecotypes showed considerable variability for the phenotypic traits and stability performance that could be utilized for wheat improvement in cold rainfed areas. Many of the Sardari wheat ecotypes exhibited a high combination of yield and stability for both drought and cold stresses, comparable to control cultivars. Multivariate analyses indicated several significant patterns among ecotypes from different geographical regions. In conclusion, selection from current Sardari wheat ecotypes may lead to yield stability and specific adaptation, which provides opportunities for this collection to be useful for genetic improvement of drought tolerance in bread wheat.

Results are recorded of experiments over four years to study the effects of various rates of N fertilizer applied early (soon after each cut) and late (1 or 2 weeks before cutting) to grass-clover swards cut repeatedly for conservation.

N fertilizer proved essential for high yields of dry matter and protein per acre. It reduced the amount of clover, but it is clear that clovers are not as productive as grasses adequately manured, and that any N excreted by clovers into the soil is far from enough to enable associated grasses to make full growth.

The amount of N fertilizer applied proved more important than the time of its application. Early N gave higher yields of dry matter but rather lower percentages of crude protein in the herbage than late N dressings.

To increase yields substantially and at the same time to maintain the protein content of the herbage on a par with a grass-clover ley it seems necessary to apply a minimum of 4 cwt. ‘Nitro -Chalk’/acre as an early dressing before each cut. An additional 2 or 3 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acre may be applied from one to two weeks before cutting if even higher crude protein values are required.

Total dry-matter yield of maize silage rose asymptotically as density was increased up to 17 plants/m2. Over the range 11–17 plants/m2, which is generally higher than is used in the U.K., the increase in yield was 1–1·6 t dry matter/ha which can justify the higher seed cost and although there was no adverse affect on time of maturity the risk of lodging increased at the highest density. During the harvest period whilst whole crop dry-matter percentage was rising from 23 to 28%, the ear dry-matter content rose steadily from 29 to 35%, whereas the leaf and stem dry-matter content remained essentially constant and only dried out at a later stage after a frost.

Caldera 535 had a higher leaf area index and net assimilation rate than the earlier variety Julia which it outyielded by 15%. The additional yield was mainly stem tissue and the greater vegetative production caused an 11-day delay in reaching the silage stage of maturity (25% crop D.M.). NO differences occurred between density treatments and varieties in the forage quality components considered, namely percentage drymatter digestibility, modified acid-detergent fibre, crude protein and ash. Thus in U.K. conditions, total dry-matter yield exerts an overriding influence on the yields per unit area of these quality constituents. This contrasts with reports from the U.S.A. in which a reduced grain/stover ratio adversely influences silage quality.

Removal of the whole ear (including husk and rachis) at an early stage in ear development resulted in a 50% reduction in the final dry-matter yield. In the earless plants, leaf area and net assimilation rate was lower, but the dry-matter content of the leaves and stem was considerably higher, and a marked purple coloration developed indicative of excess starch concentration. These results emphasize the need in maize silage not only for an adequate leaf canopy, best obtained early in the growing season by using high planting density and subsequently by using late maturing varieties, but also for sufficient sink capacity in the ear as well as in the stem fraction.

The following note is concerned solely with the behaviour of certain characters in hybrid barleys which bear on the inheritance of sterility and the question whether sex is, as it seems possible, a phenomenon of gametic segregation. I have used the term “sterility” in a broader sense than usual to include cases in which certain florets set no grain owing to the suppression of either the female or both the male and female reproductive organs. The plants themselves are in no cases completely sterile. The other characters occurring in the numerous varieties of barley will be considered in detail later.

In Mr Biffeu's paper on “Mendel's Laws of Inheritance and Wheat Breeding” in the first number of this Journal reference is made on page 40 to the characters of immunity and susceptibility to the attacks of yellow rust. Mr Biffen's experiments confirm the conclusions of other observers, such as Farrer in Australia, that resistance and susceptibility to rust are inherited characters, and he shows that they follow the Mendelian laws. As the question is of enormous practical importance in the wheat growing countries this general statement requires to be made more precise. It holds for a given rust in a particular locality; it may or may not hold where the wheat is exposed to the attacks of a second species of rust or when it is transferred to another locality. Thus experience in India so far seems to show that resistance to yellow rust, Puccinia glumarum, does not imply resistance to orange rust, P. tritidna. And it is certain that the characters alter with change of locality.