ABSTRACT
This study presents a novel method for use of the wild plant species Cephalaria joppensis (CJ) as agricultural forage for ruminants. Domesticated CJ tends to have higher crop mass yield per hectare than a commercial wheat variety (W) but is similar in in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility. This study was composed of 3 experiments. Experiment 1 aimed to measure effects of ensiling CJ versus W in packed polyethylene-wrapped bales. Three types of ensiled bales were produced for each plant: 1) direct-cut CJ versus W packed solely; 2) direct-cut CJ versus W mixed as sole roughage source together with dietary ingredient and packed in bales to create CJ total mixed ration (CJ-TMR) or W-TMR; 3) CJ silage versus W silage mixed as one-third of dietary roughage source together with two-thirds sorghum (S) silage and additional dietary ingredients and packed in bales to create CJ-S-TMR or W-S-TMR. Data showed that packing and wrapping created anaerobic conditions within the 4 types of TMR bales while reducing pH (4.12 to 4.37). Dry matter loss during ensilage was higher for the 2 types of TMR containing W compared with CJ. Ensilage decreased soluble nitrate content as well as yeast and mold contamination, and the 4 types of TMR bales were characterized by a long outdoor shelf life (3 mo) and high stability under aerobic exposure. Experiment 2 aimed to measure the intake and digestibility by sheep of the 4 types of packed TMR after 90 d of ensiling. Data demonstrated higher voluntary intake of the CJ-TMR compared with the other TMR types. The CJ-TMR was characterized by higher digestibility of DM, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber components compared with the CJ-S-TMR. Experiment 3 examined intake, digestibility, and milk production by 21 pairs of lactating cows individually fed CJ-S-TMR versus W-S-TMR. Similar intake (21.6 to 22.0 kg/d) and digestibility of DM and crude protein were observed in cows fed the 2 TMR types (68 to 69% and 66 to 68%, respectively). However, neutral detergent fiber and cellulose digestibility were slightly higher in the cows fed W-S-TMR and this was reflected in a small increase in their milk and energy-corrected milk yield (36.5 and 31.4 kg/cow per day, respectively) compared with cows fed CJ-S-TMR (35.5 and 30.4 kg/cow per day, respectively). Results demonstrate that direct-cut CJ used as is, or CJ silage can be included and ensiled in TMR bales for feeding productive ruminants as a substitute for wheat silage.
Subject(s)
Cattle/metabolism , Dietary Fiber/metabolism , Dipsacaceae/metabolism , Eating/physiology , Sheep/metabolism , Silage , Animals , Digestion/physiology , Female , Israel , Lactation , Milk/metabolism , Random AllocationABSTRACT
The normal values and ranges of fetal intracranial structures were studied by high resolution transvaginal ultrasonic scan at 12, 13 and at 14 weeks' gestation. The data including measurements of crown rump length (CRL), bi-parietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), hemispheric width (HW), lateral ventricle width (LVW), LVW/HW ratio, thalamus and cerebellum may be useful in determining deviations from the normal and also in expanding the range of prenatal diagnoses of fetal structural abnormalities in early pregnancy.
Subject(s)
Brain/embryology , Pregnancy Trimester, First , Skull/embryology , Ultrasonography , Female , Fetus , Humans , Nervous System Diseases/diagnosis , Pregnancy , Prenatal Diagnosis , Reference Values , Ultrasonography/methods , VaginaABSTRACT
A number of lines of evidence are advanced for the candidacy of Aegilops sharonensis Eig as the donor of the B genome of wheat. The cytoplasm of Ae. sharonensis is compatible with tetraploid wheat Triticum turgidum dicoccoides, as evidenced by the high level of chromosome pairing and fertility of the amphiploid Ae. sharonensisxT. turgidum dicoccoides. Ae. sharonensis chromosomes exhibit high levels of pairing with those of the B genome of wheat in hybrids with Ph-deficient hexaploid wheat and low levels of homoeologous pairing with T. monococcum chromosomes.--The amphidiploid between Ae. sharonensis and T. monococcum is very similar to T. turgidum dicoccoides in spike, spikelet and grain morphology. The karyotype of Ae. sharonensis resembles more closely that of extrapolated B genome karyotypes of wheat than do the karyotypes of other proposed B-genome donor species of Aegilops. Because of distinctiveness in cytological affinity and karyotype morphology between Ae. sharonensis and Ae. longissima, a separate genome symbol S(sh) is proposed for the former species.