This research aimed to develop biomarkers for estimating ammonia (NH3) emissions from dairy cattle manure over a 15-day in vitro incubation system. To generate different levels of NH3 emissions, the experiment utilized four manure experimental groups: 1 urinary nitrogen (U) to 1 faecal nitrogen (F) ratio (CT), 2 U to 1 F ratio (2U1F), and CT and 2U1F with lignite application (CT + L and 2U1F + L, respectively). The addition of lignite to ruminant manure aimed to enhance environmental sustainability through its beneficial properties. Three biomarkers, nitrogen (N) isotopic fractionation (δ15N), N: potassium (K) ratio, and N: phosphorus (P) ratio, were investigated. Manure δ15N increased linearly when NH3 emission increased in CT and 2U1F groups (R2 = 0.79 and 0.90, respectively; P ≤ 0.001), while manure N: P decreased when NH3 emission increased in CT + L and 2U1F + L groups (R2 = 0.73 and 0.85, respectively; P ≤ 0.001). No useful relationship was found between N: K and NH3 emission, apart from in 2U1F group (R2 = 0.84; P ≤ 0.001). The experiment found manure δ15N and N: P are complementary biomarkers to predict NH3 emissions, from non-lignite and lignite groups, respectively.

In Southern Africa, feed gaps towards the end of the cool–dry season are a challenge that needs addressing by the timely growth of suitable forage species. Therefore, we assessed the adaptation of the species vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) and Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) with one cultivar of each. A fully irrigated experiment consisting of a factorial combination of species, sowing dates (early, late) and sites (warm and hot environments) was conducted across two separate cool–dry seasons. Data were collected at successive harvest dates (hd1, hd2 and hd3) i.e. about 50, 70 and 90 days after sowing, respectively. The accumulated aboveground biomass was affected by the effect of site × sowing date irrespective of harvest date. At hd3, aboveground biomass was further affected by the effect of site × species. Site-specific sensitivity to temperature, photoperiod and soil type influenced the vegetative development of the selected species. Early sowing compared to late sowing achieved about 60% higher biomass accumulation. The species effect was major with higher vetch biomass than clover (2943 v. 961 DM kg/ha), and (1459 v. 1066 DM kg/ha) at the warm and hot sites, respectively. Moreover, clover showed a lower DM response to irrigated water (4.7 against 13.5 kg DM/ha/mm) as compared to vetch. Thus, vetch was the better-adapted crop providing adequate biomass across harvest dates and under different environments. Adoption of these species to alleviate feed gaps is possible when irrigated; however, implementation of the genetic variability of cultivars should also be assessed.

To investigate the potential application of replacing a proportion of a perennial ryegrass (PRG) silage diet with press cake on productivity and enteric methane (CH4) emissions in late lactation and non-lactating spring-calving dairy cows, a study was undertaken in which control cows (n = 21) were offered PRG silage, while treatment cows (n = 21) were offered a diet consisting of 60% PRG press cake and 40% of the same PRG silage. Although treatment cows had higher group average dry matter intakes (DMI) and produced more enteric CH4, carbon dioxide (CO2), milk solids, protein, fat- and protein-corrected milk yield (FPCM) in late lactation, the magnitude of the difference between treatment and control cows varied from week to week (P < 0.050). When enteric CH4 per kg of milk yield, milk solids and FPCM were considered, there was no significant difference between treatment and control. Absolute enteric CH4 was higher for cows fed press cake during the non-lactating period but this tended to vary from week to week. Similarly, CO2 (P < 0.001) and hydrogen (H2; P = 0.023) differed from week to week for cows offered press cake, and cows offered PRG silage in the non-lactating period. Although there was no significant effect of diet on body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS), when enteric CH4 was expressed on a per kg BW basis, cows offered press cake tended to produce more enteric CH4 in both late lactation and during the dry period.

Climate change is a global challenge to ecosystem services, altering crop yields and food security worldwide. In the context of climate change, Onobrychis viciifolia Scop. (sainfoin) can offer a multitude of ecosystem services conferred by its multifaceted beneficial properties. We reviewed the morphological, biochemical and physiological responses to environmental stressors of O. viciifolia, summarized its ecological, agronomic, nutritional and biological interests, and we discussed its use under climate change. Onobrychis viciifolia is a hemicryptophyte forage legume adapted to arid and semiarid regions by evolving a diverse array of protective mechanisms against abiotic stressors at morphological, biochemical and physiological levels. In the present scenario of climate change, O. viciifolia has desirable forage characteristics such as high nutritive value, high voluntary intake and palatability to grazing animals, leading to satisfying animal performance for milk, meat, honey and wool production. Recent studies suggest that O. viciifolia has several highly beneficial phytochemical properties including condensed tannins and polyphenol content, which have been demonstrated to have anthelmintic activities, enhance protein utilization, and prevent bloating. In addition, O. viciifolia also has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequestrate atmospheric carbon and nitrogen into the soil. Ethnobotanical investigations show that O. viciifolia possesses antimicrobial, antiseptic and vulnerary activities. This review could be helpful for understanding of O. viciifolia characteristics, interests and uses, thus promoting its reasonable cultivation under a changing climate.

Silvopastoral systems (SPSs) constitute a modality of agroforestry systems in which trees or shrubs, pastures and animals mutually grow, interacting with the environment, and providing several ecosystem services. This review aims to comprehensively discuss the ecosystem services provided by SPSs in different countries, highlighting the diverse ways these systems can contribute to human well-being and environmental sustainability, also emphasizing the importance of management strategies, the differences among systems and the main shortcomings and challenges to optimizing ecosystem service delivery from SPSs. The review focused on global studies, mainly those published between 2010 and 2024, directly relevant to the topic. We used Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science databases for literature screening. SPSs have demonstrated worldwide potential to enhance human food and forage production, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, biological nitrogen fixation, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas mitigation, erosion control, microclimate regulation, pollination, control of pests and diseases, biodiversity, residue absorption, water quality, spiritual enrichment, recreation and aesthetic experiences. However, most ecosystem services provided by SPSs depend on climate conditions, soil type, choice of species, system design and management practices to ensure that such benefits are not provided at the cost of other important services. Interaction among components is a major challenge for system management and evaluations. Adopting SPSs has the potential to promote sustainable agriculture. Long-term studies are needed to elucidate the implications of multiple interactions within the system and their impact on ecosystem service delivery. Public policies, including evaluating ecosystem services, should be developed to promote the adoption of SPSs.

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of breed and genomic inbreeding on 305-day lactation yields of milk, fat and protein; and fertility traits of pasture-based dairy cows in Argentina. The genomic inbreeding and heterozygosity of 890 first-lactation cows and 27 bulls were calculated through methods based on the genomic relationship matrix and run of homozygosity using 44 174 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Cows were classified into four breed groups: Holstein, Holstein crossbred, Holstein–Jersey crossbred and Jersey crossbred. The effect of genomic inbreeding was not significant on production traits, but inbred cows increased 3.0 days calving to conception interval (CCI) per 1% genomic inbreeding. On average, purebred Holstein cows produced 1119 kg milk, 22 kg fat and 30 kg protein more than Jersey crossbred cows. In the case of the fertility traits, Jersey crossbred cows had 45 days shorter CCI than purebred Holstein cows. A possible reason for the non-significant effects of genomic inbreeding of production and fertility traits is that these effects were evaluated in a crossbred population in which rates of heterozygosity would operate to some extent in the opposite direction to rates of genomic inbreeding.

This research aimed to examine the impact of varying levels of dietary copper (Cu) hydroxychloride on the performance, egg quality, yolk antioxidant capacity, tibia traits, and mineral excretion in laying quails. 125 female 10-week-old quails were randomly distributed into five experimental groups with five replicates, each consisting of five quails. Five experimental isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were designed to contain different Cu hydroxychloride (54% Cu) levels at 7.20 (basal diet), 15, 30, 45 and 60 mg/kg respectively. Quails were fed with trial diets for 12 weeks. Performance, egg production, eggshell quality, and biomechanical traits of the tibia were not impacted (P > 0.005) by variations in dietary Cu levels. Yolk antioxidant capacity, measured as yolk DPPH value, exhibited an increase (P < 0.01) in the high-dose group (60 mg/kg). Regarding tibia mineral concentration, Cu concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.001) with increasing Cu level, manganese and zinc content recorded the highest values in quails that had received 60 mg/kg Cu in the diet (P < 0.01), while the lowest phosphorus content was described for 45 and 60 mg/kg. Contrarily, increases (P < 0.01) in dietary Cu resulted in raised faecal Cu content, while phosphorus, manganese, and zinc, were reduced when Cu was added. It can be inferred that adding Cu to the diet of laying quails would not be necessary, which in turn decreases Cu excretion and prevents substantial environmental harm.

Two 10-day in vitro experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between nitrogen (N) isotope discrimination (δ15N) and ammonia (NH3) emissions from sheep manure. In Exp. 1, three different manure mixtures were set up: control (C); C mixed with lignite (C + L); and grape marc (GM), with 5, 4 and 5 replications, respectively. For C, urine and faeces were collected from sheep fed a diet of 550 g lucerne hay/kg, 400 g barley grain/kg and 50 g faba bean/kg; for C + L, urine and faeces were collected from sheep fed the C diet and 100 g ground lignite added to each incubation system at the start of the experiment; for GM, urine and faeces were collected from sheep fed a diet consisting of C diet with 200 g/kg of the diet replaced with GM. In Exp. 2, three different urine-faeces mixtures were set up: 2U:1F, 1.4U:1F and 1U:1F with urine to faeces ratios of 2:1, 1.4:1 and 1:1, respectively, each with 5 replications. Lignite in C + L led to significantly lower cumulative manure-N loss by 81 and 68% in comparison with C and GM groups, respectively (P = 0.001). Cumulative emitted manure NH3-N was lower in C + L than C and GM groups by 35 and 36%, respectively (P = 0.020). Emitted manure NH3-N was higher in 2U:1F compared to 1.4U:1F and 1U:1F by 18 and 26%, respectively (P < 0.001). This confirms the relationship between manure δ15N and cumulative NH3-N loss reported by earlier studies, which may be useful for estimating NH3 losses.

The study evaluated forage and livestock performance in different grazing systems over two years. Treatments were three contrasting grazing systems: (I) N-fertilized bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) in the summer overseeded during the winter by N-fertilized ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and oat (Avena sativa L.) (Grass + N); (II) unfertilized bahiagrass during the summer overseeded with ryegrass + oat and a blend of clovers (Trifolium spp.) in the winter (Grass + Clover); (III) unfertilized bahiagrass and rhizoma peanut (RP; Arachis glabrata Benth.) mixture during summer, overseeded during winter by ryegrass + oat + clovers mixture (Grass + Clover + RP). Average daily gain (ADG), gain per area (GPA), and stocking rate (SR) in the winter did not differ across treatments and averaged 0.87 kg/d (P = 0.940), 303 kg/ha, and 2.72 AU/ha. In the summer, Grass + Clover + RP had greater ADG than Grass + N (0.34 vs. 0.17 kg/d, respectively). During the summer, the GPA of Grass + Clover + RP was superior to Grass + N (257 vs. 129 kg/ha, respectively), with no difference in SR among treatments at 3.19 AU/ha. Over the entire year, ADG and GPA tended to be greater for Grass + Clover + RP. Annual SR differed between treatments, where Grass + N was greater (3.37 AU/ha) than the other treatments, which averaged 2.76 AU/ha. Integration of legumes into pasture systems in the summer and winter contributes to developing a sustainable grazing system, reducing N fertilizer use by 85% while tending to increase livestock productivity even though SR was decreased by 18%.

Australia has a diverse and unique native flora with thousands of edible plant taxa, many of which are wild relatives of important food crops. These have the potential to diversify and improve the sustainability of Australian farming systems. However, the current level of domestication and cultivation of Australian plants as food crops is extremely limited by global standards. This review examines the current status and potential for future de novo domestication and large-scale cultivation of Australian plants as food crops. This is done in the context of international new crop development and factors that impact the success or failure of such efforts. Our review finds considerable potential for native Australian plants to be developed as food crops, but the industry faces several significant challenges. The current industry focuses on niche food markets that are susceptible to oversupply. It also suffers from inconsistent quantity and quality of product, which is attributed to a reliance on wild harvesting and the cultivation of unimproved germplasm. More active cultivation is necessary for industry growth, but attempts have historically failed due to poorly adapted germplasm and a lack of agronomic information. The de novo domestication and large-scale cultivation of Australian plants as food crops will require an investment in publicly supported multidisciplinary research and development programmes. Research programmes must prioritize the exploration of plants throughout Australia and the collection and evaluation of germplasm. Programmes must also seek to engage relevant stakeholders, pursue participatory research models and provide appropriate engagement and benefit-sharing opportunities with Indigenous Australian communities.

In Mediterranean-type climates, terminal drought induces grain yield losses in wheat. Antitranspirants can reduce the impacts of terminal drought and improve yield, but the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Among other impacts, drought elevates endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) concentration. Here, the effectiveness of a film antitranspirant (di-1-p-menthene) was studied in relation to plant water status and spike ABA. The objective was to determine whether drought amelioration with di-1-p-menthene was solely mediated through a reduction in ABA by comparing its effects to that of fluridone (an ABA inhibitor). The treatments were assessed in a randomized complete block design in two field experiments in spring and summer of 2020, with six and eight replicate blocks, respectively, at Harper Adams University, UK, to compare their effects on spike ABA, gas exchange and agronomic traits under progressive drought conditions. Di-1-p-menthene was applied at 1 l/ha; and fluridone at 10, 20 and 50 μM concentrations, at flag leaf emergence, growth stage 37 (GS37). Drought increased spike ABA and downregulated photosynthesis. Di-1-p-menthene and fluridone at some concentrations, reduced spike ABA and photosynthesis. Di-1-p-menthene suppressed transpiration and spike ABA, each by 21% but increased grain yield by 27%. In contrast, although fluridone (at 10 and 50 μM) also reduced spike ABA (by 16%), overall, it did not alter transpiration or grain yield. The results suggest that yield improvement with di-1-p-methene is mediated through mechanisms that involve conservation of plant water linked to reduced transpiration, with inhibition of spike ABA playing a secondary role.

Milk production declines as dairy cows enter late lactation, resulting in reduced milk quality and negatively impacting milk processability, such as rennet coagulation time (RCT), milk pH and ethanol stability (ES), leading to seasonality issues for milk processors. Multispecies forages, containing grass, legume and herb species, require lower N inputs and are of interest to dairy farmers. However, little is known about the effect of grazing multispecies forages on milk processability characteristics in late lactation dairy cows. Forty-five autumn-calving dairy cows in late lactation were allocated to 1 of 3 grazing forages; perennial ryegrass (PRG; Lolium perenne), perennial ryegrass and white clover (Trifolium pratense) (PRGWC), and a 6 – species multispecies forage (MULTI) containing perennial ryegrass, timothy (Phleum pratense), white clover, red clover (Trifolium repens), chicory (Cichorium intybus) and plantain (Plantago lanceolata). Cows were allocated 12 kg DM grazed forage and supplemented with a grass – silage TMR and concentrate. Forage DMI was significantly lower for cows grazing PRG. Milk yield increased when cows grazed PRGWC (18.07 kg/d) and MULTI (17.84 kg/d) compared to PRG (16.08 kg/d). Milk RCT (mins) and ES (%) were unaffected by treatment. However, offering cows PRGWC and MULTI increased the concentration of C18:2 cis – 9, 12 and C18:3 cis – 9, 12, 15 in milk compared to PRG. Compared to PRG, grazing forages containing clover and herb species improved milk yield and beneficially altered milk fatty acid profile in late lactation dairy cows without negatively impacting milk processability.

Varietal identification plays a pivotal role in viticulture for several purposes. Nowadays, such identification is accomplished using ampelography and molecular markers, techniques requiring specific expertise and equipment. Deep learning, on the other hand, appears to be a viable and cost-effective alternative, as several recent studies claim that computer vision models can identify different vine varieties with high accuracy. Such works, however, limit their scope to a handful of selected varieties and do not provide accurate figures for external data validation. In the current study, five well-known computer vision models were applied to leaf images to verify whether the results presented in the literature can be replicated over a larger data set consisting of 27 varieties with 26 382 images. It was built over 2 years of dedicated field sampling at three geographically distinct sites, and a validation data set was collected from the Internet. Cross-validation results on the purpose-built data set confirm literature results. However, the same models, when validated against the independent data set, appear unable to generalize over the training data and retain the performances measured during cross validation. These results indicate that further enhancement have been done in filling such a gap and developing a more reliable model to discriminate among grape varieties, underlining that, to achieve this purpose, the image resolution appears to be a crucial factor in the development of such models.

Lodging is the permanent displacement of stalks due to disrupted secondary cell walls caused by external factors, plant characters and their interaction. Anatomical, morphological and compositional traits are among lodging-inducing plant traits. In comparison with morphological and anatomical features, the correlation of lodging resistance and cell wall composition is not frequently reviewed. In this review, the relation between cell wall composition and lodging resistance of cereal stalks is comprehensively reviewed based on major cell wall components (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose) and trace minerals. From the body of literatures reviewed across all cereal crops, lignin and cellulose were found to have significant positive correlation with lodging resistance. However, the effect of structural features of cellulose and lignin on lodging resistance was not investigated in most of the studies. This review also highlights the importance of biomass recalcitrance and lodging resistance trade-offs in the spectrum of genetic cell wall modifications.

The objective of this research was to assess the adoption of circular agricultural practices as a tool to improve the recovery use efficiency of phosphorus (P) applied to tropical soils. Two Brazilian farms (1 and 2) that are under long-term no-till and cropped year-round with cover and/or cash crops were used in this study. Soybean, maize and common bean were grown during the summer season (October–February), followed by wheat, common bean and maize during the winter season (February–August). Brachiaria ruziziensis was intercropped with off-season maize. Farm 1 also grew sweet potatoes in rotation with grains. In the integrated crop–livestock system, the leftovers from the silos and crop residues were used to feed beef cattle, while the residues not used in the confinement were turned into compost and applied in the production fields. During the last 3 years, 80 (farm 1) and 71 (farm 2) kg/ha/year of P-fertilizer was applied to meet the demand of the different crops and 56% (farm 1) and 58% (farm 2) of P-fertilizer was exported through the crops and livestock. P-recovery represented more than 50% on both farms. Around 60% of the P consumed by animals was excreted in the form of faeces and urine and the animal manure was used to produce organic compost. Therefore, most of the P consumed by the livestock was returned back to the field to serve as organic fertilizer. This study showed that circular agricultural practices can enhance P-recovery.

The use of repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) options for the analysis of in vitro ruminal fermentation gas production profiles is illustrated. Because of the different variances and covariance structures among profile observations, ordinary ANOVA for more than two-time points is not recommended. To mitigate this problem, the Greenhouse–Geisser epsilon correction can be applied to reduce the degrees of freedom, inflated by violation of the sphericity assumption, for F ratio probability calculations. After this correction, the Box–Greenhouse–Geisser ANOVA (modified ANOVA) layout appears similar to the layout of a split-plot design ANOVA with whole plots divided into subplots (incubation time). Any F tests in the main plot part are valid but F tests involving the time factor from the subplot part need modification because time factor, by its very nature, cannot be allocated at random. Application of multivariate ANOVA, distance multivariate ANOVA, ante-dependence and mixed model analysis are also considered. All these options lend themselves to wide application in the applied biological sciences.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of level and timing of silage supplementation during early lactation on animal performance and dry matter intake (DMI). Two farm-lets were established with a high (1253 kg DM/ha) and low (862 kg DM/ha) grass availability at turnout. In spring, cows were assigned to one of two treatments as they calved over 2 years; high grass (HG) and low grass (LG). During period 1 (week 1–6), cows on the HG treatment were offered a high daily herbage allowance (DHA) with low silage and the LG treatment were offered a low DHA with high silage. In period 2 (week 7–12), half of the cows from the HG treatment in P1 switched to the LG treatment in P2 and vice versa as 20 LG cows in P1 switched to the HG treatment in P2. Cows on the HG treatment in P2 received a high DHA with no silage and the LG treatment received a low DHA with 3 kg DM/cow silage. Grass DMI was significantly higher for the HG treatment during both periods (+1.6 and +3.4 kg DM/cow/day, respectively). The HG treatment produced +0.9 kg milk/cow/day and had a higher protein concentration (+1.1 g/kg milk) compared to cows on the LG treatment during period 2. Differences in animal performance observed in period 2 were maintained throughout the 8-week carryover period.

The objective was to evaluate steer performance, meat nutritional value, land-use, food–feed competition and both economic and environmental sustainability within temperate pasture-based suckler weanling-to-beef systems with or without (forage-only) concentrates. Post-weaning, 8-month-old, late-maturing breed steers (333 kg) were assigned to one of three systems: (1) grass silage + 1.2 kg concentrate DM (148 days), followed by pasture (123 days) and finished on ad libitum concentrates (120 days) – slaughter age, 21 months (GRAIN); (2) as per (1) but pasture (196 days) and finished on grass silage ad libitum + 3.5 kg concentrate DM (124 days) – slaughter age, 24 months (SIL + GRAIN); and (3) grass silage-only (148 days), pasture (196 days), silage-only (140 days) and finished on pasture (97 days) – slaughter age, 28 months (FORAGE). The mean target carcass weight was 390 kg for each system. Data generated were used to parameterize a farm-level beef systems model. Concentrate DM intake was 1187, 606 and 0 kg/head for GRAIN, SIL + GRAIN and FORAGE, respectively. The forage-only (FORAGE) system offers several advantages, including improved farm profitability, enhanced meat fatty acid profile and only utilized inedible human feed. Consequently, associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per net human edible food produced were more favourable for FORAGE. However, compared to GRAIN, the FORAGE system had an older age at slaughter and associated increased pasture land-use and GHG emissions per animal, meat weight gain and essential amino acids gain. There are therefore inevitable trade-offs, as one beef system does not improve all sustainability and GHG emission metrics.