Corn supplementation of lambs grazing alfalfa.

We investigated the effects of supplementing Rambouillet x Suffolk wether lambs grazing irrigated 'Cimarron' alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) with three levels (0 [C0], 123 [C123], and 247 [C247] g of DM.lamb-1.d-1) of cracked corn. Each treatment group also received 190 g of a supplement designed to prevent bloat. Replicated pastures (three per treatment) grown on a fine, mixed, thermic Torretic Paleustoll soil were grazed rotationally (forage plus supplement allowance of 6.5% of BW/d) by lambs for 85 d during spring 1992. Supplemental corn levels were analyzed as single degree of freedom contrasts for linear and quadratic effects. At the start of the experiment, lambs weighed 30.7 +/- .32 kg. Average daily gains for C0 C123, and C247 were 141, 154, and 169 g/d, respectively. Lamb production per hectare increased quadratically (P < .01) with increasing corn level (C0 [716 kg of lamb/ha], C123 [816 kg of lamb/ha], and C247 [964 kg of lamb/ha]). Supplementation with C247 vs C0 increased carcass weights (11%), dressing percentage (6%), and backfat thickness (30%). Plasma urea N (PUN) concentrations did not differ (P > .10) between C0 and C123 after 27 d of corn supplementation, but after 75 d PUN concentrations between C0 and C123 had decreased (P < .10) by 11%. For C247, PUN concentrations after 27 and 75 d of corn supplementation had decreased (P < .10) by 17 and 18%, respectively, compared with C0. Plasma urea N concentrations increased (P < .01) linearly (r2 = .93) with an increase in digestible CP:DE ratio (DP:DE).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Technical note: utilization of sainfoin by grazing steers and a method for predicting daily gain from small-plot grazing data.

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.) is adapted to the calcareous soils of the southern Great Plains and can provide early season forage that does not induce bloating; however, little is known about performance by ruminants grazing sainfoin. Our objective was to determine the effect of plant growth stage and grazing pressures on potential animal production from sainfoin as predicted from energy intake as a multiple of maintenance. Nitrogen-fertilized (100 kg of N/ha) Renumex sainfoin was grown under irrigation on a Pullman clay loam (fine, mixed, thermic Torretic Paleustoll) near Lubbock, TX. Light (L), medium (M), and heavy (H) grazing pressures were applied with steers grazing sainfoin that was at the bud (B), flower (F), and seed shatter (S) stages of growth. The L, M, and H pressures were grazed to remove 50, 75, and 90% of the standing plant height. Across growth stages, L, M, and H grazing pressures averaged 52, 69, and 87% removal of pregrazed herbage mass. Dry matter intake as a percentage of BW of steers averaged 3.9, 2.8, and 1.7 for L, M, and H grazing pressures. Across growth stages, predicted live weight gain for L, M, and H grazing pressures averaged .86, .67, and .03 kg/d. Our findings indicate that the multiple of maintenance method may be useful for evaluating treatments from small-plot grazing experiments.

Forage intake, ruminal dry matter disappearance, and ruminal blood volatile fatty acids for steers in 18 and 32 degrees C temperatures.

Six steers with rumen cannulas and exteriorized carotid arteries were fed chopped alfalfa, orchardgrass, or tall fescue hay in ambient temperatures (18 and 32 degrees C) using a factorial arrangement of forage and temperature with repeated measurements. Arterial blood, venous blood, and rumen fluid were sampled for VFA at 0, 2, 4, and 7 h after forage was offered. Rate of digestion of plant cell wall was determined by in vitro methods. Rate of ingesta and particulate passage was determined by 144Ce marker. Volatile fatty acid concentrations in blood plasma and rumen fluid were not related to forage voluntary intake. Voluntary forage intake was related to calculated ruminal disappearance of cell wall (r2 of .94). Elevated ambient temperature, 32 degrees C, depressed voluntary forage intake but did not increase ruminal or blood VFA concentrations.

Purification and thermal dependence of glutathione reductase from two forage legume species.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) are forage legumes that differ in their responses to high and low temperature stresses. Thermal limitations on the function of glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2) could adversely affect the ability of the plant to cope with adverse temperatures. Our objectives were to (a) purify glutathione reductase from ;Cimarron' alfalfa and ;PI 212241' sainfoin and (b) investigate the intraspecies variation in the thermal dependency of glutathione reductase from each of three cultivars of alfalfa and two cultivars and an introduction of sainfoin. Glutathione reductase was purified 1222-and 1948-fold to a specific activity of 281 and 273 units per milligram of protein, from one species each of alfalfa and sainfoin, respectively. The relative molecular mass of the protein was approximately 140 kilodaltons with subunits of 57 and 37 kilodaltons under denaturing conditions. The activation energies were approximately 50 kilojoules per mole for both species. Over a 5 to 45 degrees C temperature gradient, large variation among species and genotypes within species was found for: (a) the minimum apparent Michaelis constant (0.6-2.1 micromoles of NADPH), (b) the temperature at which the minimum apparent Michaelis constant was observed (10-25 degrees C), and (c) the thermal kinetic windows (6-19 degrees C width). Future studies will focus on relating the thermal dependence of the Michaelis constant of the glutathione reductases and plant growth rates and forage quality of these species throughout the growing season.

Genetic variability for esterase enzyme in Onobrychis species.

Understanding polymorphism at the enzyme level is basic to its use in population and genetic studies. However, no such information is available on the variability among different sainfoin (Onobrychis) species. Therefore, our objective was to study the existence of genetic polymorphism for esterase in 17 Onobrychis species and three cultivars of O. viciifolia Scop. Three regions of banding were observed in all the materials tested, with the number of bands varying from 0 to 3, 3 to 14, and 1 to 2 bands in each of these zones, which have been designated EST1, EST2, and EST3 respectively. All the materials studied had unique banding patterns, the only common feature being that all of them, except one species, had isozyme 1. Identification was possible only for four species (O. iberica, O. kachetica, O. transcaucasica, and O. bieberstenii) and one cultivar ('Nova') based on the banding patterns. Large diversity was evident from the wide range of percent similarity values (0%-79%). Subsequent studies should be directed in using these isozyme banding patterns as markers to the desirable agronomic and quality traits of different germplasm lines.

Interspecific variation for thermal dependence of glutathione reductase in sainfoin.

Understanding the biochemical and physiological consequences of species variation would expedite improvement in agronomically useful genotypes of sainfoin (Onobrychis spp.) Information on variation among sainfoin species is lacking on thermal dependence of glutathione reductase (B.C. 1.6.4.2.), which plays an important role in the protection of plants from both high and low temperature stresses by preventing harmful oxidation of enzymes and membranes. Our objective was to investigate the interspecific variation for thermal dependency of glutathione reductase in sainfoin. Large variation among species was found for: (i) the minimum apparent Km (0.4-2.5 µM NADPH), (ii) the temperature at which the minimum apparent Km was observed (15°-5°C), and (iii) the thermal kinetic windows (2°-30°C width) over a 15°-45°C temperature gradient. In general, tetraploid species had narrower (≤17°C) thermal kinetic windows than did diploid species (∼30°C), with one exception among the diploids. Within the tetraploid species, the cultivars of O. viciifolia had a broader thermal kinetic window (≥7°C) than the plant introduction (PI 212241, >2 °C) itself.