Duckweed in Irrigation Water as a Replacement of Soybean Meal in the Laying Hens Diet

Water lentils (Duckweed [DW])(Lemna gibba), in irrigation ponds, was evaluated by replacing two levels of soybean meal (SBM) on performance and egg quality of laying hens of 54 weeks of age. A total of 72 white Lohmann laying hens were randomly allocated into 3 treatments with 6 replicates/treatment, 4 hens/replicate in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were: control group (DW0%) with (SBM) as the main source of protein, T1 (DW10%) and T2 (DW20%), where duckweed replaced 10% and 20% of SBM for 9 weeks. No significant differences were observed among the dietary treatments in body weight change, feed conversion ratio, egg weight and mortality rate. Replacement with (DW20%) decreased (p 0.05) feed intake, egg laying rate and egg mass. The dry albuminin (DW10%) decreased (p 0.05) from 7 to 9 weeks and in the total period. Yolk pigmentation was highly (p 0.001) improved by the replacement. Blood spots were increased (p 0.05) with (DW20%). Duckweed grown in good quality irrigation water can replace up to 10% of the SBM as a source of protein without adverse effects on hen performance and egg quality in addition to profitability.(AU)

Duckweed in Irrigation Water as a Replacement of Soybean Meal in the Laying Hens Diet

Water lentils (Duckweed [DW])(Lemna gibba), in irrigation ponds, was evaluated by replacing two levels of soybean meal (SBM) on performance and egg quality of laying hens of 54 weeks of age. A total of 72 white Lohmann laying hens were randomly allocated into 3 treatments with 6 replicates/treatment, 4 hens/replicate in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were: control group (DW0%) with (SBM) as the main source of protein, T1 (DW10%) and T2 (DW20%), where duckweed replaced 10% and 20% of SBM for 9 weeks. No significant differences were observed among the dietary treatments in body weight change, feed conversion ratio, egg weight and mortality rate. Replacement with (DW20%) decreased (p 0.05) feed intake, egg laying rate and egg mass. The dry albuminin (DW10%) decreased (p 0.05) from 7 to 9 weeks and in the total period. Yolk pigmentation was highly (p 0.001) improved by the replacement. Blood spots were increased (p 0.05) with (DW20%). Duckweed grown in good quality irrigation water can replace up to 10% of the SBM as a source of protein without adverse effects on hen performance and egg quality in addition to profitability.

High seroprevalence of Simkania negevensis in Jordan

The bacterium Simkania negevensis is a germ associated with respiratory diseases. This study aims at estimating the prevalence of Simkania in the Jordanian population. Serum samples from 664 Jordanian males and females, aged 2 to 86 years were collected. IgG and IgM Simkania-specific antibodies were detected using an indirect immunofluorescence test. Seropositivity titers for IgG and IgM were defined as 1:8 and 1:10, respectively. The overall prevalence of IgG antibody in all examined Jordanian nationals was 58.4%. IgG seropositivity was low in children under the age of 10 years (34.2%), and increased rapidly with age and ranged between 49.4% and 72%. Simkania-specific IgM was detected in 24.8% of subjects. IgM prevalence in children under 10 years was lowest (10.5%) and increased in older ages and remained above 20%. Overall detection rates of both IgG and IgM were significantly higher in females than males (60.7% vs. 54.5% for IgG and 26.7% vs. 21.7% for IgM). These data indicate that Simkania infection is highly prevalent in Jordan. The high level of seropositivity is most likely maintained by re-infections or chronic infections. Our data may serve as a basis to elucidate the pathogenesis of Simkania in Jordan.