1. Three varieties of giant rape, two broad leaved Essex rapes, Hungry Gap Kale and Rape-Kale, were grown at two centres in mid-Wales. They were sampled in the early winter period and the samples divided into separate leaf and stem samples. These samples were used to calculate leaf to stem ratios on a green and dry-matter basis.

2. The levels of the proximate constituents, silica, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chlorine, total sulphur, sulphate sulphur and ‘organic’ sulphur were determined in the dried samples. Whole plant values were calculated from the leaf and stem values with the appropriate leaf to stem ratios.

3. The leaf values for ether extract, crude protein, silica-free ash, silica, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, chlorine, total sulphur and ‘organic’ sulphur are higher than the corresponding stem values. For dry matter, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extractives and sodium the reverse is found, whilst for sulphate sulphur there is no definite distribution.

4. There are no significant differences in composition between the main groups of varieties, and the rape-type kales are very similar to the other rapes in this respect.

The objectives of the current study were to investigate the dynamics of body calcium (Ca) and to estimate the net Ca maintenance requirements (NCam) of Saanen goats, using 45Ca as a radiotracer. Eighteen castrated male Saanen goats (25 ± 2.3 kg body weight (BW)) received a basal diet (ground ear maize, ground maize and vitamin–mineral premix). The treatments consisted of adding limestone to the basal diet to provide Ca content of 0.6, 1.7 and 3.0 g/kg dry matter (DM). The experiment lasted 45 days (i.e. 36 d of adaptation and 9 days of measurements). On day 38, 0.5 ml of 7.4 MBq 45Ca solution was administrated before feeding. From days 39 to 45, samples of faeces, blood and urine were collected, and Ca concentration determined. The Ca intake, Ca in faeces, Ca in urine, faecal endogenous Ca and true absorbed Ca increased linearly as Ca content in the diets increased, while retained Ca increased at a decreasing rate. Dry matter intake decreased at an increasing rate with increased Ca content in the diets. In contrast, Ca content in the diets did not affect biological availability of Ca, or Ca in plasma. The true biological availability of Ca from limestone in Saanen goats was 0.72. The daily NCam was 11.6 (±1.3) mg/kg BW. The current results might help to understand Ca dynamics in goats and enhance the formulation of balanced diets to best meet Ca requirements of Saanen goats.

The loss of viability of seeds of Chewing's Fescue Grass has been a serious problem to both the producers in New Zealand and the trade in the United Kingdom. It has been shown by Foy (1934) that seeds with a high moisture content (20 %) held at 30° C. deteriorated rapidly after 10–14 days and even more quickly at 40° and 50° C. Seeds with a water content of 13 % deteriorated more slowly but it was not until the water content was reduced to and maintained at 5 % that seeds retained their viability at 30°, 40° or 50° C. for 42 days. Even at room temperature (16–20° C.) the loss of viability occurred after 4–5 months at 20 % water content and after 8–9 months at 13 % but at 5 % water content there was no loss. Foy discusses the effects of temperature and humidity that may occur during transport; Hyde (1935) has examined the effect of heating seeds to 50°, 60°, 70°, 80° and 90° C. with a view to working out the conditions for artificial drying of the seeds before transport, and Lewis (1934) has found that, in some seasons, there was a marked loss of viability in storing these seeds in the United Kingdom.

The available data on calcium, phosphorus and carbonate balance experiments with laying and non-laying birds have been collected and condensed. From this condensed data the following relationships have been derived:

(1) Calcium excretion is a function of calcium intake.

(2) Phosphorus excretion is a function of phosphorus intake.

(3) Carbonate excretion is a function of carbonate intake.

(4) Carbonate/calcium ratio of the excreta is a function of carbonate/calcium ratio of the intake.

(5) Calcium/phosphorus ratio of the excreta is a function of calcium/phosphorus ratio of the intake.

1. Sudan soils are very low in organic matter, the total organic carbon being usually less than 1 per cent. In the Gezira, the humus carbon is about 40 per cent, of that of the total.

2. Humus preparations purified as far as possible could not be obtained ash-free. Specimens of humus from widely different sources contain nearly the same proportion of carbon.

3. Humus solutions (in very dilute alkali) keep fairly well in the dark. They also keep in bright sunlight if air is excluded. The use of standard solutions for colorimetric purposes is justified if not kept too long.

4. Field studies show that the humus content of good soil is greater than that of poor, and that there is a marked inverse connection between salt and humus content.

5. The above conclusion does not apply to the depth distribution of these constituents. In the Gezira, the maximum humus content is found at the fourth foot and the maximum salt content is found at about the same depth.

6. The total nitrogen content of the soils studied is low, usually about 0·03 per cent. About one-fifth of this is humus nitrogen, and the carbon-nitrogen ratio is about twelve to one.

A Bolex S1 ciné camera, Kodachrome II colour reversal 8 mm film and a Specto analysis projector provided acceptable records of heifer behaviour from dawn to dusk throughout the year. Films are available on application.

Two groups of heifers showed logical and persistent behavioural responses to clement and inclement weather. Their daily behavioural routine was a response to, and in turn was modified by, the weather. Their group behaviour was readily recorded by time-lapse photography but an easy study of the more individual reactions of sheep was not possible from time-lapse film due to problems of identification and flock turbulence.

Heifers responded to bright sunshine predictably but differently in summer and winter, a definite response to a change in the direction of the incident wind being recorded in warm summer sunshine. A hitherto unrecorded reaction to unusually cold, strong, dry wind, viz. vigorous, non-stop grazing in the absence of effective upwind obstructions— requires verification.

Shelter usage was largely related to the incidence of wind-driven rain and, on the area of study, the slope of rainfall and the direction and strength of the wind which brought heavy rain were the main factors affecting sheltering activity. This unfortunately meant that shelter usage was synonymous with the fouling and poaching of sheltered ground.

1. Losses of incorporated non-protein nitrogen compounds from stored cubes have been determined. The loss of incorporated urea was very small provided moulding did not occur. The loss of incorporated ammonium bicarbonate was large, amounting in all to some 50–60%.

2. The effects of the size of the cubes and of the nature of the container on nitrogen losses are discussed.

While investigations were being carried out concerning the question of variability within a variety, the case of correlation described below was observed.

1. A 24 factorial experiment involving 68,713 first inseminations was carried out at four artificial insemination centres, to compare semen diluents containing citrate or phosphate buffers and all combinations of sulphanilamide, streptomycin and penicillin.

2. The analysis of the results was carried out on punched card machines and on an automatic calculator (EDSAC), as well as on bench machines.

3. The main results obtained were:

(i) Unsupplemented phosphate buffer gave a conception rate 5·5% above that obtained with unsupplemented citrate buffer.

(ii) Citrate buffer with sulphanilamide, streptomycin and penicillin gave a conception rate 6·8% above that obtained with unsupplemented citrate buffer; and

(iii) Phosphate buffer with penicillin gave a conception rate 9·3% above that obtained with unsupplemented citrate buffer. This effect was not, however, significantly greater than that referred to in (ii).

4. Phosphate buffer depressed conception rate when used with sulphanilamide or streptomycin.

Total, dithionite-extractable (‘free’) and oxalate-extractable (amorphous) Fe as Fe2O3 forms were determined in eight Nigerian soil profiles selected to include four major parent materials and different drainage conditions.

Total Fe ranged from 1·98 to 15·01 % Fe2O3, the average contents being 4·40, 8·62, 12·59 and 13·49 Fe2O3 for soils derived from the coastal plain sands, basement complex rocks, shale and basalt, respectively. ‘Free’ Fe ranged from 0·08 to 12·28% Fe2O3, the basaltic soils having the highest content, and those on shale the least. Generally the poorly drained soils had low contents, the free Fe oxide constituting about 61 % of total Fe in well-drained soils, and only about 9% in poorly drained soils.

The oxalate-extractable or non-crystalline Fe oxide ranged from 0·04 to 1·21% Fe2O3. The proportion of amorphous iron oxide, indicated by the ‘active’ ratio ‘oxalate-Fe/DCB-Fe’, was higher in poorly drained than in well-drained soils.

The clay/DBC-Fe ratio remained constant in the well-drained soils but increased with depth in the poorly drained profiles, indicating a co-migration of free Fe oxide and clay in the former but not in the latter soils.

In general, the relative distribution of the different Fe forms appeared influenced by both the parent materials and the drainage of the soils.

The results of the investigation may be summarised as follows:

(1) In Egypt, during the periods of germination and increase in height of the cotton plant, the soil temperatures are rising and the amplitude of the temperature wave is at its maximum.

(2) In Egypt, the maximum soil temperatures decline while the minimum soil temperatures remain constant, thus resulting in a gradual decrease in the amplitude of the daily temperature wave during the branching and flowering periods.

(3) In Egypt, throughout the soil zone occupied by the roots of the plant, the temperature is the same, the amplitude of the daily temperature wave small, and the temperature is constant during the boll development and maturation periods.

(4) The main effect of irrigation on soil temperatures is to reduce the amplitude of the daily temperature wave, no sudden change of temperature in the root zone taking place.

(5) From a consideration of the range of air temperature in other cotton producing countries, it seems probable that the characteristics of the soil temperatures during the boll development and maturation periods are the same for all countries.

For nearly eighteen years the problem of the fixation of nitrogen by the root nodules of leguminous plants has been the subject of investigation by numbers of workers in many parts of the world, and steady progress has been made towards realising the conditions under which the organism works in the nodule. Artificial nutrient media have been prepared closely resembling the food supplied by the plant, and the organism itself has in recent years been induced to grow in artificial culture in the characteristic “bacteroid” forms approximating to those which are found in nature.

A split-sample experiment involving 14,319 first inseminations was carried out at sixteen artificial insemination centres to compare the fertility of semen diluted with skim-milk and skim-milk containing 10% glycerol when used on the first, second, third and fourth days after the day of collections.

The addition of glycerol to the heat-treated skimmilk diluent significantly reduced the decline in fertility with increasing age. However, there were indications that glycerolization also reduced initial fertility.

A laboratory incubation study followed by a field experiment was made in a silty clay loam soil (pH 6·9) at Pantnagar, India, on the effectiveness of ordinary urea, coated urea (sulphur and shellac-coated), urea-isobutyraldehyde condensation product (isobutylidenediurea, IBDU) and urea blended with nitrification inhibitor AM (2- amino-4 chloro-6-methylpyrimidine) and neem (a non-edible oil seed obtained from Azadirachta indica) cake. Whereas untreated urea and IBDU hydrolysed rapidly leaving no trace of urea-N after 2 weeks, sulphur-coated urea mineralized quite slowly and retained urea-N for as long as 4 weeks after incubation. Urea blended with neem cake was intermediate. Of all the materials tested, sulphur-coated urea showed maximum nitrification inhibition. A combination of one third sulphur-coated urea at planting + two thirds ordinary urea 30 days later yielded 12·3% more maize grain than ordinary urea in the same proportion at the same times of application.

A traditional type score card for ten carcass characteristics was tested against an experimental reorganization of this card on a simplified 7 point scaling system. Results showed that both experienced judges and novices were more consistently discriminating when using the revised system. This was most evident when the concept of an optimum was eliminated from the judgements. It was also evident when complex judgements which do not involve an optimum were simplified. The scale of marks and the diversity in maximum marks for different characteristics appeared to have less influence upon consistency and discrimination. However, it is probable that, with traditional cards, the maximum marks are often too high and that the diversity in total possible marks adds a further difficulty for judges.

In order to learn more about the feeding value of stovers and straws, seven diets were compared in one experiment and nine in another. The diets in the first experiment were: the upper and lower parts of lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay, the leaves, upper stem and lower stem of maize (Zea mays) stover and the leaves and stem of sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) stover. The diets in the second experiment were: the upper and lower parts of lucerne hay, the leaves, stem and whole stover of millet (Setaria italica), the straw and chaff of wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa) straw and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) haulm. The diets were fed to sheep to record rate of intake, voluntary intake and in vivo digestibility. The diets were analysed for cell wall (as neutral detergent fibre), crude protein and lignin. Organic matter degradation and cell wall degradation were recorded in nylon bags in the rumen of cattle.

The highest rates of intake (6·8–9·6 g dry matter/min) and voluntary intake (75–103 g dry matter/kg W0·75/day) were with sweet potato haulm and the upper, leafy part of lucerne hay. The voluntary intake of millet leaves, wheat chaff and the lower, stemmy part of lucerne hay was moderately high (46–70 g dry matter/kg W0·75/day). Voluntary intake of leaves was higher than that of stems in the case of millet, sorghum and to a lesser extent maize. The lowest rates of intake were with millet stem, sorghum stem and rice straw (1·8–2·4 g dry matter/min). In vivo digestibility of organic matter was highest (59–67%) for the upper part of lucerne hay, sweet potato haulm, the lower part of maize stem and millet leaves. The leaves of maize were less digestible than the stem, while the reverse was the case with millet. Cell wall content was particularly high (74–78% of dry matter) in millet stem, wheat straw and chaff, rice straw and sorghum stem. Lignin content was low (3·6–4·2% of dry matter) in millet leaves, maize leaves and the upper part of maize stem. Organic matter degradation after 24 h incubation in the rumen was highest (80%) in sweet potato haulm and lowest (39–44%) in millet stem, wheat straw and chaff and rice straw. Cell wall degradation after 96 h in the rumen was highest (76–81%) with the leaves of maize, sorghum and millet and lowest (40–59%) with lucerne hay, millet stem and stover, wheat straw and chaff and rice straw.

Field trials conducted in multiple years across several locations play an essential role in plant breeding and variety testing. Usually, the analysis of the series of field trials is performed using a two-stage approach, where each combination of year and site is treated as environment. In variety testing based on the results from the analysis, the best varieties are recommended for cultivation. Under a Bayesian approach, the variety recommendation process can be treated as a formal decision theoretic problem. In the present study, we describe Bayesian counterparts of two stability measures and compare the varieties in terms of the posterior expected utility. Using the described methodology, we identify the most stable and highest tuber yielding varieties in the Polish potato series of field trials conducted from 2016 to 2018. It is shown that variety Arielle was the highest yielding, the third most stable variety and was the second best variety in terms of the posterior expected utility. In the present work, application of the Bayesian approach allowed us to incorporate the prior knowledge about the tested varieties and offered a possibility of treating the variety recommendation process as a formal decision process.

Maize kernels were soaked for 16 h in solutions containing the growth regulators BAS 106.W at 40 or 80 mg/l, PP333 at 80 or 160 mg/l, or BNO 0184 at 100 or 150 mg/l. The plant growth regulator (PGR)-treated kernels and water-soaked controls were sown in planting trays, and seedling transplants were raised in a glasshouse for 24 days. When they were planted in the field, the PGR-treated plants were significantly shorter than controls, with average plant heights (measured from soil level to uppermost leaf collar) of 4·7 cm (BAS 106.W, 40 mg/l), 3·7 cm (BAS 106.W, 80 mg/l), 6·1 cm (PP333, 80 mg/l), 8·0 cm (PP333, 160 mg/l), 6·4 cm (BNO 0184, 100 mg/l), 7·1 cm (BNO 0184, 150 mg/l) and 11·0 cm (controls). The dwarfing of PGR-treated transplants was mainly due to shortened leaf insertions of the lower leaves. Shoot weights were little affected by PGR-treatment, since decreased plant heights were partly compensated for by thicker stems and broader leaves. PGR effects on leaf numbers were negligible. At crop maturity, PGR-treated plants and controls showed similar grain weights and harvest indices. A partial leaf removal treatment at planting using untreated seedlings was associated with rapid crop establishment in the field and like the PGR treatments, it had no significant effect on final yield. It is suggested that a PGR-treatment with a short term dwarfing effect would facilitate the production and handling of maize seedling transplants and may improve establishment and early growth in the field.