bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of grazing chicory (Cichorium intybus) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens) pasture upon the growth and voluntary feed intake of red and hybrid deer during lactation and post-weaning growth
Authors: Kusmartono  , Barry T. N. , Wilson P. R. , Kemp P. D. , Stafford K. J.
Published: March 2009

Two grazing trials were carried out at Palmerston North, New Zealand using lactating red deer hinds in summer 1994 (Expt 1) and using weaner deer during the autumn, winter and spring of 1993 (Expt 2), to compare the feeding value of chicory (Cichorium intybus) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens) pasture for increasing the growth of deer calves. Red deer and hybrid (0·25 elk; 0·75 red deer) calves were used in both experiments. Experiment 2 concluded with slaughter at the end of spring, when the deer werec.12 months old. In both experiments, animals were rotationally grazed on either pasture or chicory with DM allowances being 12 kg DM/hind per day (Expt 1), and 6, 6 and 7 kg DM/head per day during autumn, winter and spring respectively (Expt 2).

Perennial ryegrass comprised 62% of pasture on offer in Expt 1 and 78–90% in Expt 2, whilst chicory comprised 90–92% of forage on offer in both experiments. Relative to pasture, chicory had a higher ratio of readily fermentable: structural carbohydrate and had higher organic matter digestibility (OMD) in summer and autumn but not in spring.

Deer grazing chicory had higher voluntary feed intake (VFI), bite weight, liveweight gain (LWG), carcass dressing percentage and carcass weight and much shorter ruminating time than deer grazing pasture. Hybrid deer grew better than red deer and there were forage × genotype interactions in Expt 2, with LWG and carcass weight of hybrid deer being much greater when grazed on chicory. Carcass weight for red deer and hybrid stags was 63·2 and 73·0 kg when grazed on chicory and 56·6 and 57·0 kg when grazed on pasture. Grazing chicory advanced the date of first-cut velvet antler by 28 days and increased the weight of total harvestable (first-cut + regrowth) velvet antler. It is concluded that grazing chicory increased carcass weight, especially in hybrid stags with increased growth potential, and increased velvet antler production. This was achieved by increased VFI in all seasons and increased OMD of chicory in summer and autumn relative to deer grazing pasture. Further research is need to determine the efficiency of rumination on particle size breakdown and to measure rumen outflow rate in deer fed chicory.
The manurial value of sewage sludge applied to fen peat soils
Authors: Dawson Siân E.
Published: March 2009

Previous research has shown that sewage sludge can act as a source of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer. Fen peat soils are organic soils derived from plant material and are known to differ from mineral soils in their plant-nutrient availability. The work reported in this paper compares the effects of liquid digested, liquid raw and dewatered digested sludge with inorganic nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers on a typical fenland rotation of winter wheat, sugar beet and potatoes.

It is concluded that sludge can replace inorganic nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer on fen soil, and it appears that applications of sludge containing large amounts of fresh organic matter can act as a soil conditioner and produce higher yields than can be obtained from the use of fertilizer alone.
Trace elements in soils and pasture herbage on farms with bovine hypocupraemia
Authors: Leech Anne F. , Thornton I.
Published: March 2009

The importance of molybdenum, sulphur, iron, zinc and cadmium dietary antagonists to ruminant copper metabolism was investigated at the farm level in an attempt to explain the widespread occurrence of bovine hypocupraemia in recent years.

From 22 of the most severely hypocupraemic regions of England, six areas with as wide a range of geological, pedological and topological situations as possible were selected for detailed field work. This involved the collection of topsoil and herbage samples from approximately 15 farms per area with hypocupraemic stock. Possible causal factors of bovine hypocupraemia were then considered on the basis of three criteria: critical concentrations of copper, molybdenum, sulphur, iron, zinc and cadmium in pasture herbage; Cu:Mo ratios in herbage; and copper availability predictions for ruminants.

Absolute copper deficiency and molybdenum-induced bovine hypocupraemia were clearly demonstrated at the farm level. The results also confirmed that dietary sulphur, in particular, plays a significant yet previously unrecognized role in the widespread incidence of bovine hypocupraemia in industrialized Britain. Antagonism due to iron orginating from soil-contaminated herbage was evident, but not common. No evidence was found to support the occurrence of zinc- or cadmium-induced hypocupraemia in the areas examined.
Comparison of rotations in which barley for grain follows woollypod vetch or forage barley
Authors: Papastylianou I. , Samios Th.
Published: March 2009

Using data from rotation studies in which barley or woollypod vetch were included, both cut for hay and preceding barley for grain, it is shown that forage barley gave higher dry-matter yield than woollypod vetch (3·74 v. 2·92 t/ha per year). However, the latter gave feedingstuff of higher nitrogen concentration and yield (86 kg N/ha per year for vetch v. 55 kg N/ha per year for barley). Rainfall was an important factor in controlling the yield of the two forages and the comparison between them in different years and sites. Barley following woollypod vetch gave higher grain yield than when following forage barley (2·36 v. 1·91 t/ha). Rotation sequences which included woollypod vetch had higher output of nitrogen (N) than input of fertilizer N with a positive value of 44–60 kg N/ha per year. In rotations where forage barley was followed by barley for grain the N balance between output and input was 5–6 kg N/ha. Total soil N was similar in the different rotations at the end of a 7-year period.
Effects of particle size on digestion of hay by sheep
Authors: Fadlalla B. , Kay R. N. B. , Goodall E. D.
Published: March 2009

The digestion and retention times of milled hay diets were first studied in three sheep fitted with rumen and abomasal cannulae. The hay was milled through 5, 20 or 40 mm screens. Solubility of dry matter (D.M.) in water and rate of loss of D.M. from hay in nylon bags suspended in the rumen increased with fineness of grinding. Apparent digestibility of D.M. within the gut tended to fall with fineness of grinding, as did mean retention time (MRT) of a particulate marker, [103Ru]phenanthroline ([103Ru]phen), within the gut and of [103Ru]phen and a liquid marker, [51Cr]EDTA, within the rumen. Dry-sieved abomasal particles were much smaller than particles of any of the hay preparations, most passing through a 0·6 mm screen.

A second experiment was made on four other sheep, fitted with rumen cannulae and given a similar hay, chopped to 50 mm or milled through 2, 5 or 20 mm screens. Apparent digestibility of D.M. within the gut fell significantly with fineness of grinding, from 55% with the chopped hay to 46% with the 2 mm hay, as did MRT, from 45 to 40 h respectively. Rumen pH at 1 h after feeding decreased with fineness of grinding.

In a third experiment, using the four sheep given chopped or 2 mm hay, retention times of particulate matter and of fluid in the reticulo-rumen and in the caecum-colon were measured. [103Ru]phen and [51Cr]EDTA were dosed together into either the rumen or the terminal ileum, and the rates of decline of marker concentration in rumen samples or faeces respectively were used to calculate the appropriate half times(t½). In the rumen particulate and fluid markers showed significantly shorter t½ values with the 2 mm hay (20·8 and 12·4 h, respectively) than with the chopped hay (25·9 and 15·6 h, respectively) without a significant difference in rumen outflow (0·437 and 0·492 l/h, respectively). In the caecum-colon the corresponding t½ values were 6·4 and 6·3 h, and 7·1 and 6·6 h, there being no significant difference either between markers or between diets.

Samples of chopped hay and of 20, 5 and 2 mm hays were suspended in bags in the rumen of sheep given either chopped or 2 mm hay to eat. The fine hays lost D.M. more rapidly than the coarse hays but D.M. loss was slower when the sheep's diet was 2 mm hay that when it was chopped hay.

It is concluded that three factors accounted for the effect of milling on digestibility: retention time in the reticulo-rumen, D.M. degradation rate in the rumen, and the potential digestibility of the hay preparation (asymptotic D.M. loss as measured in the rumen bag studies). It appeared that fine grinding reduced the digestibility of the hay because the effects of shortened MRT in reducing duration of digestion and of lowered rumen pH in depressing cellulolysis outweighed the effects of grinding in accelerating digestion and increasing potential digestibility within the rumen.
Comparison of the effects on eyespot in wheat of fungicides applied to the foliage or shoot bases at different times
Authors: Bateman G. L.
Published: March 2009

The control of eyespot (Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides (Fron) Deighton) is most effective after application of carbendazim (Hampel & Lücher, 1973; Taylor & Waterhouse, 1975) or prochloraz (Marshall & Ayres, 1986) at growth stages (GS) 30–31 (Zadoks, Chang & Konzak, 1974), although some control occurred after applying prochloraz with carbendazim at GS 37–49 (Marshall & Ayres, 1986). Growers in the U.K. are advised to apply eyespot fungicides only when severe disease is expected. This forecast is usually made at GS 30, and spraying is recommended when two or more leaf sheaths have been penetrated on at least 20% of shoots (Anon. 1985). However, subsequent weather conditions may result in severe eyespot developing when no spray was recommended, or may not favour eyespot and result in fungicide being wasted.
Effect of concurrent infection with Ostertagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus colubriformis on the performance of growing lambs consuming fresh herbage
Authors: Sykes A. R. , Poppi D. P. , Elliot D. C.
Published: March 2009

Ninety 4-month-old wether lambs were allocated to an initial slaughter group (n =10) or to one cell (n= 5) of a 4 × 4 factorial treatment design involving four levels of infection with Ostertagia circumcincta (0, 1000, 2000 and 4000 larvae/day) and Trichostrongyluscolubriformis (0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 larvae/day). They were maintained indoors in individual pens and offered freshly cut ryegrass-white clover herbage during an 84-day period of infection after which they were slaughtered. Body protein, fat, water, Ca and P contents were determined. Feed digestibility was determined in all sheep during 5-day periods during weeks 2, 5, 8 and 11. Faecal egg counts were determined and blood samples obtained at intervals and total worm counts done at slaughter.

The effects of mixed infection on feed intake and body-weight gain were multiplicative. Mean D.M. intake of sheep infected simply with 3000 larvae of T. colubriformis or with 4000 larvae of O. circtimcincta was reduced by 10 and 8% respectively, but in those infected simultaneously intake was reduced by 30%. Energy retention was depressed mainly by reduction in gross efficiency of use of metabolizable energy in infections with T. colubriformisand by reduction in feed intake in infections with O. circumcincta. The additional effect of mixed infection occurred mainly through further depression in feed intake.

There was no interaction between infections in effect on deposition of Ca or P in the body, both species having significant effect. Infection with T. colubriformis caused hypophosphataemia and hypocalcaemia, but infection with O. circumcincta had no effect.

The number of worms established by the infections was generally low compared with previous studies with conserved and concentrate feeds. This was associated with relatively low pathogenicity in infection with O. circumcincta and normal pathogenicity with T. colubriformis.

Infection with T. colubriformis reduced the number of adult worms of O. circumcincta present at slaughter.
Responses to supplements by weaned lambs when grazing mature pasture or eating hay cut from the same pasture
Authors: Freer M. , Dove H. , Axelsen A. , Donnelly J. R.
Published: March 2009

Weaned cross-bred lambs either grazed mature pasture or were confined to yards where they were offered material cut from ungrazed areas of the same pasture. A 1:2 mixture (on an air-dry basis) of sunflower meal and oat grain was offered for 81 days at 0, 200, 400 or 600 g/head or ad libitum. Individual estimates of intake of pasture and supplement by grazing sheep at four levels of supplementation were made on four adjacent plots.

Weight gain increased from –30 to 178 g/day in the grazing animals as supplement intake increased up to 1030 g D.M./day and from –25 to 142 g/day in the yarded animals as supplement intake increased to 1076 g D.M./day. Growth of greasy wool increased from 4·5 to 11·7 g/day for grazing animals and from 4·5 to 10·2 g/day for those kept in yards.

At levels of supplement intake below 400 g D.M./day, the intake of grazed pasture increased by up to 58% compared with unsupplemented animals. However, when the intake of supplement was increased to about 650 g D.M./day, pasture intake fell, with an estimated substitution rate of 1·1 g D.M. pasture per g D.M. supplement. At all levels of supplementation, the intake of hay by the yarded lambs was less than half the intake of herbage in the field. However, at levels of supplement intake between 300 and 500 g D.M./day, the substitution rate was similar to that measured in the grazing animals, suggesting that this is an attribute of roughage quality, rather than differential eating behaviour between grazing and yarded animals.

The wastage, w (g D.M./day), of supplement was linearly related to the amount offered, s (g D.M./day), by the equation

w = 0·263s − 38·8; R2 = 0·89

Variability in supplement intake between individual grazing lambs was not affected by the level of supplementation but the coefficient of variation of supplement intake was considerably greater than that of the intake of unsupplemented pasture. Variability in the intake of pasture increased with the level of supplementation but variability in the total intake of food was similar at each level of supplement, indicating some degree of individual compensation in the intake of the two components.
Effect of stress during shearing on the LH response to GnRH in anoestrous ewes
Authors: Dobson Hilary
Published: March 2009

There is considerable evidence that stress causes an increase in plasma cortisol concentrations in sheep (Stephens, 1980). Stress had deleterious effects on female reproductive efficiency (Christian, Lloyd & Davies, 1965) possibly, in part, by suppression of gonadotrophin release by increased pituitaryadrenal activity (Wagner & Li, 1982; Moberg, 1984). Previous experiments from our laboratory (Dobson, Essawy & Alam, 1988) have shown that administration of synthetic adrenocorticotrophin hormone (ACTH 1–24) results both in increased cortisol release and suppression of the luteinizing hormone (LH) response to gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH). The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate whether LH release is suppressed in ewes subjected to an environmental stressor.
The exchangeable bases in some Scottish soils
Authors: Smith A. M.
Published: March 2009

1. The exchangeable Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, K, Na have been determined in twenty soils from different parts of the East of Scotland, by extraction with N NH4Cl solution. Data on pH, “Lime Requirement” and loss on ignition are given for the sake of comparison.

2. Only three soils were found to contain Fe and Al in exchangeable form.

3. The content of exchangeable bases varies from 5·6 to 22·2 milligram-equivalents per 100 gm. air-dried soil.

4. The evidence is insufficient to deduce any definite relationship between pH and “Lime Requirement” and the pH cannot be correlated with the content of exchangeable bases except in the case of soils similar in character.

5. It is suggested that the differences in the relative proportions of the exchangeable bases indicate that there are on the one hand fundamental differences due to soil type and on the other hand fluctuating differences due to manurial treatment.

6. Emphasis is laid on the fact that the degree of saturation of a soil is not necessarily indicated by the content of exchangeable bases. At present the absorptive capacities of the soils examined are not known.

7. Until a sufficient number of soils have been examined and classified, it is unlikely that any satisfactory generalisation on the subject of exchangeable bases will be forthcoming.
Further observations on the blood copper of Northumbrian sheep
Authors: Eden A.
Published: March 2009

1. Blood copper data are reported on ninety-four sheep divided into four experimental groups on a “border-pining” hill-side in Northumberland in 1940, in comparison with more extensive findings reported in 1939.

2. The mean value for comparable sheep was 0·080 mg. % in 1940 as compared with 0·086 mg. % in 1939, the overall range, 0·013–0·210 mg.%, being even wider than before.

3. Variations between animals comprising a group were as wide as between groups, and blood levels were not affected by moderate variations in Cu intake. Only in young sheep was there any evidence that a mineralized cake supplement, containing copper sufficient to double the natural grazing intake, had any elevating effect on blood copper.

4. Variations between values for the same individuals in 1939 and in 1940 were as wide as between different individuals in either year. Over 25% of the sheep showed Cu levels in 1940 falling within ±0·01 mg. % of their 1939 values, but nearly 20% showed figures differing by more than ± 0·05 mg. %, irrespective of differences in group treatments.

5. The significance of the figures, for normal. Northumbrian ewes is discussed in relation to those reported for Derbyshire ewes bearing lambs affected with “enzootic ataxia” or “swayback”.
The response of field beans (Vicia faba L.) to irrigation and sowing date:1. Yield and yield components
Authors: Husain M. M. , Hill G. D. , Gallagher J. N.
Published: March 2009

summary

The response of 4 crops of autumn- and spring-sown field beans cv. Maris Bead to irrigation applied during the vegetative, flowering and pod-filling phases was examined during 1981–2 and 1982–3. The crops, grown on a Templeton silt-loam, were irrigated weekly in amounts equal to the difference between the estimated evapotranspiration and rainfall of the previous week using trickle irrigation.

Seed yield of fully irrigated autumn- and spring-sown crops (averaged over the two seasons), was 5·2 and 3·3 t/ha respectively, about 45% greater than the yield of unirrigated crops. The increase in yield due to irrigation was mainly associated with an increase in total dry matter (TDM) production as harvest index varied little within each sowing. The yield response to each mm of applied irrigation water ranged from 0 to 9 kg/ha and did not appear to be related in any way to the developmental phase of the crop when irrigation was applied.

Seed yield within each sowing was closely correlated with the number of beans per unit area and the number of pods per plant. Autumn sowings yielded about 55% more than spring sowings mainly due to a higher harvest index which was associated with a much heavier mean weight per bean.
Preliminary studies on the effect of flavouring agents on the dry-matter intake of silage by lactating dairy cows
Authors: Weller R. F. , Phipps R. H.
Published: March 2009

In two trials the effect on D.M. intake of applying flavouring agents to grass silage at feeding time was examined using a total of 89 British Friesian cows in mid to late lactation. The flavouring agent used in Expt 1 was Simax 100 (5 ml/cow per day), while in Expt 2 Palatol (20 ml/cow per day), molasses (0·7 kg D.M./cow per day) and molasses + Talin (0·7 kg D.M./cow per day) were added to both lowand high-quality grass silage.

Both Simax (significantly) and Palatol increased silage D.M. intake by an average 0·67 kg/day. The total D.M. intake of the cows fed the molasses and molasses + Talin was similar to that obtained by those receiving the silage treated with Simax and Palatol. However, in the case of the cows receiving the molasses and molasses + Talin, the increased D.M. intake was obtained mainly from the additional molasses and not by an increased silage intake. This result indicates a very low substitution rate for molasses.

Although D.M. intake was increased by the addition of flavouring agents, milk production remained unaltered because of the relatively late stage of lactation of the cows in both trials.
Herbage yield and composition of white clover/grass associations in Atlantic Canada
Authors: Fraser J. , Kunelius H. T.
Published: March 2009

White clover cultivars Sacramento ladino, Sonja and Aberystwyth S.184 were assessed for dry matter (DM) yields, clover content and herbage quality in monostand and in 50:50 mixtures with grasses under cutting at Truro, Nova Scotia and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island between 1986 and 1989. Grasses were: orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). Dry matter yields ranged from 6158 to 11645 kg/ha and were highest in white clover/orchardgrass and white clover/timothy at Truro, and in white clover/timothy at Charlottetown. Sonja and Aberystwyth S.I84 outperformed Sacramento white clover in herbage DM and clover yield in all years at both locations. First-cut herbage contributed 39 and 29% of total yields at Truro and Charlottetown, respectively. Clover yield was highest in first-cut Sacramento/orchardgrass, but dropped by up to 73% in white clover/timothy associations over a 2-year period. Crude protein ranged from 14·4% in clover/timothy to 23·4% in clover/reed canarygrass and was positively correlated with clover content. It was concluded that choice of clover cultivar as well as grass is an important consideration in maximizing herbage yields and quality in the Atlantic region.
Estimating individual leaf area of potato from leaf length
Authors: Firman D. M. , Allen E. J.
Published: March 2009

Measurements of the area of individual leaves in crops are useful in the analysis of canopy architecture as they allow determination of the structure of leaf area index in a vertical profile. This information may be of use in modelling leaf growth and the assessment of photosynthetic potential of different strata of the canopy with ontogeny (cf. Firman & Allen, 1988).
Spectrophotometric determination of manganese based on thermally produced manganese (VI) compounds in plant ash
Authors: Offem J. O. , Edet O. S. O.
Published: March 2009

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) is the usual method for the direct determination of small amounts of manganese in plant materials (Christian & Feldman 1970; Heanes, 1981) and other substances (Carnrick, Slavin & Manning, 1981). However, it uses the highly sophisticated and expensive Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, which requires a reasonable degree of technician expertise, and is therefore not suitable for routine chemical analyses in Third World countries.
The control of swede powdery mildew
Authors: Brain P. J. , Whittington W. J.
Published: March 2009

Three methods of controlling swede mildew were compared. Mildew infection was reduced by delayed sowing but yields from later sown plots were seriously reduced. Infection was reduced but not eliminated on resistant varieties. Highly effective chemical control was achieved with the fungicide Persulon, which showed both eradicant and protective properties. The yield differences between a genetically resistant and a susceptible variety were eliminated when Persulon was used.
Effect of feeding frequency on the diurnal changes in microbial protein, volatile fatty acids and ammonia contents of the rumen of sheep
Authors: Michałowski T.
Published: March 2009

Diurnal variations in microbial protein nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids and ammonia were examined in two wethers fed once and twice daily with 0·4 kg of concentrateand 0·4 kg hay/day. The total protein nitrogen varied during the day from 76·9 to 130·2 mg/100 ml of rumen fluid. The greatest amount of protein nitrogen was noted immediately before feeding and the smallest 4 h after feeding. The protein nitrogen of rumen protozoa formed about 39·8–53·4% of total protein nitrogen in rumen fluid. Volatile fatty acids varied from 74·0 to 130·5 m-mol/1 of rumen fluid and ammonia from 187·0 to 305·6 mg/1. The higher concentration of total and protozoal protein nitrogen and of VFA was observed when animals were fed twice daily. The changing of feeding frequency from once to twice daily caused an increase of ammonia concentration in the rumen of only one wether. The results obtained are discussed.
Effects of cutting seed tubers on number of stems and tubers and tuber yields of several potato varieties
Authors: Allen E. J.
Published: March 2009

Six experiments are reported which examined the effects of various seed cutting treatments on numbers of tubers and tuber yields of several maincrop potato varieties. Using conventional potato ridges, the cutting of seed tubers into 12 mm cubes or the use of potato peel reduced early growth and yields compared with whole tubers in some experiments but in two others had little effect on tuber yields. In Majestic, seed cutting produced large increases in number of stems and tubers and increases in yields of small sized tubers. In Pentland Crown and King Edward, the effects of seed cutting were small. In King Edward no differences in growth and yield were found between individual eyes and in this variety and Pentland Crown, 56g whole tubers produced similar yields to halves of 112 g seed tubers planted at the same seed rate. The implications of cutting for use in commercial production are discussed.
Studies on the physiological determinants of grain yield in five varieties of sorghum
Authors: Willey R. W. , Basiime D. R.
Published: March 2009

Experiments are described in which the relative importance of head storage capacity and carbohydrate supply was examined in five sorghum varieties of different heights. The varieties were: Namatera (270 cm), Dobbs (180 cm), MUS 78 (100 cm), MUS 23 (85 cm) and MUS 70 (85 cm). Techniques used were (i) cutting off part of the head or part of the leaf at anthesis, (ii) shading during different periods of development, and (iii) thinning the plants at different physiological stages. Varietal differences ranged from a situation where the head was little more than half-filled by the available carbohydrate (MUS 78), through intermediate stages (Dobbs and Namatera), to a situation where the head capacity limited the amount of carbohydrate which could be stored (MUS 23 and MUS 70). Some differences could be attributed to pre-anthesis competition between head and stem, but in the dwarfs a more important factor appeared to be pre-anthesis competition between head and leaf. It is suggested that for maximum efficiency of grain-yield production, maximum carbohydrate should be utilized for pre-anthesis head and leaf growth and that partitioning between these plant parts should be such that the supply of carbohydrate for grain filling is in balance with head storage capacity.
Growth, nitrogen uptake and partitioning within the potato (Solatium tuberosum L.) crop, in relation to nitrogen application
Authors: Millard P. , Marshall B.
Published: March 2009

The effects of nitrogen applications, ranging from 0 to 25 g N/m2, on the nitrogen uptake and growth of the potato crop was studied in an experiment in both 1983 and 1984. Nitrogen uptake was substantially increased by fertilizer application. At high rates of nitrogen application, the crops took up more than was needed to satisfy their immediate requirements for growth. Initially, this extra nitrogen appeared predominantly in the form of soluble protein in the leaves and nitrate in the stem, with reduced-nitrogen in the tubers becoming a large component during tuber bulking. Application of 25 g N/m2 increased the partitioning of nitrogen to the foliage compared with the tubers.

Tuber yield was considered to be a product of four processes: radiation interception, conversion of intercepted radiation to dry matter, partitioning of dry matter between tubers and the rest of the plant and regulation of tuber dry-matter contents. Maximum tuber yields at final harvest were achieved with 15 g N/m2 in both years. Yield increases were due to increased radiation interception, while the photosynthetic efficiency of the canopy and the dry-matter contents of the tubers were little affected. Increases in light interception, in response to nitrogen, were partially offset by a concomitant decrease in the proportion of the dry weight partitioned to the tubers, particularly during the initial period of tuber bulking. The effect of nitrogen application on tuber yield was, therefore, dependent on the date of harvest.
An experiment begun in 1958 measuring effects of N, P and K fertilizers on yield and N, P and K contents of grass:1. Effects during 1964–7
Authors: Penny A. , Widdowson F. V. , Williams R. J. B.
Published: March 2009

The effects of N, P and K fertilizers on the yield and N, P and K contents of grass cut for conservation, measured during 1958–63, were again measured during 1964–7. Grass given 38 kg N/ha per cut needed 31 kg K/ha per cut for full yield, grass given 75 or 113 kg N/ha per cut needed twice as much K. With sufficient K, at least 75 kg N/ha per cut was justified. The grass responded little to P.

Percentage N in the grass, though greatly increased by N fertilizer, was little altered by K fertilizer. Percentage K, whilst greatly increased by K fertilizer, was decreased by N unless 62 kg K/ha per cut also was given. Percentage P in the grass was little increased by P fertilizer.

Exchangeable K in the surface soil (0–20 cm) was maintained with time where the grass was given either 38 kg N plus 31 kg K or 75 kg N plus 62 kg K/ha per cut, corresponding to an N:K ratio of 1:0·82. Percentage K in the grass decreased with time throughout. Whereas a N:K ratio of 1:1·66 best maintained % K in grass during 1958–63 it was no better than an N:K ratio of 1:0·82 during 1964–7.

Although exchangeable Mg in the surface soil decreased markedly between 1958 and 1967 (Mg fertilizer was not applied), % Mg in the grass did not. Mg in the grass was increased by N, but decreased by K fertilizer, and exceeded 0·2% (in dry matter) only in 1967 and then only where 75 or 113 kg N/ha per cut was applied.
The use of Sodium Hypobromite for the Oxidation of Organic Matter in the Mechanical Analysis of Soils
Authors: Troell Erik
Published: March 2009

1. The use of freshly prepared solutions of sodium hypobromite instead of boiling hydrogen peroxide solutions in the pretreatment of soils for mechanical analysis by the pipette method has the following advantages:

(a) Soils containing manganese dioxide or large amounts of organic matter may be oxidised rapidly without heat, whereas oxidation of such soils by hydrogen peroxide is a tedious operation requiring large amounts of reagent.

(b) Possible changes in the clay through heating and the dissolution of considerable amounts of sesquioxides are avoided.

(c) The reagents are cheaper and more stable, especially in the tropics.

(d) It makes possible further simplification in the technique of mechanical analysis.
The effect of sucrose supplementation on kinetics of nitrogen, ruminal propionate and plasma glucose in sheep
Authors: Sutoh M. , Obara Y. , Miyamoto S.
Published: March 2009

The effects of dietary sucrose on the metabolic rate of plasma glucose and ruminal propionate as well as the change in nitrogen kinetics were examined in four mature wethers fitted with rumen fistulas in Tsukuba, Japan in 1990. Wethers were fed at 12 equal intervals daily on crushed lucerne hay cubes (1233 g DM/day), with or without 204 g/day of sucrose. Plasma urea and glucose kinetics were determined following a single intravenous injection of [I5N]urea and [U-13C]glucose respectively; and the kinetics of ruminal ammonia and propionate were determined following a single intraruminal injection of [15N]ammonium chloride and [2–13c]sodium propionate respectively. Following supplementation of sucrose to the diet, nitrogen retention was increased (P< 0·05) with a decrease in plasma urea concentration (P< 0·05) and urinary urea excretion (P< 0·05). Sucrose supplementation decreased (P< 005) the concentration and irreversible loss rate of ruminal ammonia. Urinary allantoin excretion did not change with sucrose treatment, but the flow rate of non-ammonia-nitrogen from the rumen was increasedP< 0·05). The transfer rate of ruminal ammonia to plasma urea was also decreased (P< 0·01), whilst the transfer rate of plasma urea to ruminal ammonia was increased (P< 0·05) by dietary sucrose. Sucrose supplementation resulted in a higher concentration of propionate and butyrate (P< 0·05) in the rumen with no significant change in acetate or pH. The concentration of plasma glucose did not change with sucrose treatment, but the concentration of insulin, pool size (P< 0·05) and the irreversible loss rate of glucose (P< 0·01) were increased, reflecting the increase in the production rate of ruminal propionate (P< 0·05). It was concluded that the supplementation of sucrose affected the metabolism of urea and glucose in plasma via a change in ruminal production rate of ammonia and propionate, respectively.
Lovin on Trigg,Religion in Public Life
Authors: Lovin Robin W.
Published: March 2009

The relationship between religion and public life is a universal problem, but discussions of it quickly become very local. They begin with the global reality of religious diversity, then the analysis descends into the particulars of the legal and constitutional system immediately in view, assuming always the sociological features of religious diversity most familiar to the audience at hand. French analysts typically takelaïcitéas the standard for modern solutions to the problem, while they view with alarm the cultural gap which separates older French citizens from recent Muslim immigrants. American writers, by contrast, usually have a more benign view of cultural diversity, which has grown up over generations of immigration. They turn quickly to the ambiguities of church–state law which govern religious expression in public space. Roger Trigg provides a thoughtful alternative to these parochial analyses. HisReligion in Public Lifeexplores a variety of national settings and he formulates his questions in terms which avoid legal or religious assumptions that are already in place where the question is asked. At the same time, he makes no premature claims to rational universality or global solutions.Religion in Public Lifeis primarily an investigation of European and North American contexts, or in other places which share a British legal and cultural heritage. In these places, religion and public life are shaped by the realities of modern law and the modern state and appeals to reason still mean something, even if they cannot mean quite as much as liberal theorists thought they meant only a few decades ago. But even among these nations, linked by culture, commerce and commitment to democracy, there is a surprising range of legal arrangements relating to religious expression and religious institutions and there are considerable differences in the social facts behind the legal differences. This, Trigg suggests, is a large enough world to allow us to discuss real differences without succumbing to the confusion which sometimes results from too much information. It is also a world in which we are acutely aware that public life has problems in need of solutions. Instead of hurrying to keep religion out of sight or under control, we are perhaps more willing to see what it has to contribute.
National and Other Identities in Bukovina in Late Austrian Times
Authors: Stambrook Fred
Published: March 2009

Many years ago, Arthur J. May wrote, “Only the Bucovina provided a patch of blue in the beclouded nationality sky of Austria.” Without going into the comparative aspect of this assertion, the object of this study is to ascertain to what extent May's statement correctly reflects the complex relationships of the ethnoculrural or national groups in Bukovina. How blue was the sky really?

Acquired by Austria in 1774–75, Bukovina prior to 1918 was a small Crownland in the northeastern corner of the Austrian Empire. It bordered on Hungary, Romania, the Russian Empire, and the Austrian province of Galicia. Its area was about 410,000 square kilometers, and its population in 1910 was just over 800,000. Some of the land was rolling and fairly fertile countryside, especially in the north and east, merging into the foothills that in turn gave way to the Carpathian Mountains in the south and west. Much of Bukovina was forested. The estates of the large landowners, sometimes with a palace or large manor house, stood in glaring contrast to the small landholdings of the peasantry and their cramped housing. The capital, Czernowitz (Chernivtsi), with a population in 1910 of around 87,000, was the only sizable city.
Topologically transitive skew-products of operators
Authors: BAYART FRÉDÉRIC , COSTAKIS GEORGE , HADJILOUCAS DEMETRIS
Published: March 2009

The purpose of the present paper is to provide a link between skew-product systems and linear dynamics. In particular, we give a criterion for skew-products of linear operators to be topologically transitive. This is then applied to certain families of linear operators including scalar multiples of the backward shift, backward unilateral weighted shifts, composition, translation and differentiation operators. We also prove the existence of common hypercyclic vectors for certain families of skew-product systems.
The New Spatial Turn in Jewish Studies
Authors: Fonrobert Charlotte Elisheva
Published: March 2009

During the past decade or so, there has been a “veritable boom … of projects that investigate questions of place and space” in Jewish studies. In this arena, scholars in various fields of Jewish studies have begun to engage with developments in the humanities at large. Since the 1980s, many disciplines in the humanities and social sciences have become more attentive to the cultural challenges of globalization, prominent among them the effects of increased movements of migration. From these movements have arisen questions about the effect and meaning of uprooting and dislocation, the significance of belonging to a place (or to various places), the emergence of diaspora communities, and so on. The spatial dimension of human existence began to move to the forefront of scholarly considerations, and with it, new names of fields of study, such as human, critical, or cultural geography. While Jewish studies has, of course, for the longest time been aware of “diaspora” as a dimension of human existence, often perhaps with the understanding that diaspora was historically a uniquely Jewish experience, to a certain degree our field remained caught in the binarism of diaspora versus nationalism or Zionism, at least until the advance of this new impulse in the humanities, identified by some as a “spatial turn.” Against such binarisms, the volumes under discussion repeatedly appeal to “multidimensionality” in Jewish topographies and in our approaches to them.
Morbidity, mortality and spatial distribution of meningococcal disease, 1974–2007
Authors: HOWITZ M. , LAMBERTSEN L. , SIMONSEN J. B. , CHRISTENSEN J. J. , MØLBAK K.
Published: March 2009

To identify determinants for mortality and sequelae and to analyse the spatial distribution of meningococcal disease, we linked four national Danish registries. In the period 1974–2007, 5924 cases of meningococcal disease were registered. Our analysis confirms known risk factors for a fatal meningococcal disease outcome, i.e. septicaemia and high age (>50 years). The overall case-fatality rate was 7·6%; two phenotypes were found to be associated with increased risk of death; C:2a:P1.2,5 and B:15:P1.7,16. B:15:P1.7,16 was also associated with excess risk of perceptive hearing loss. The incidence rates of meningococcal disease were comparable between densely and less densely populated areas, but patients living further from a hospital were at significantly higher risk of dying from the infection. To improve control of meningococcal disease, it is important to understand the epidemiology and pathogenicity of virulent ‘successful clones’, such as C:2a:P1.2,5 and B:15:P1.7,16, and, eventually, to develop vaccines against serogroup B.
Risk factors for the occurrence ofEscherichia colivirulence geneseae,stx1andstx2in wild bird populations
Authors: HUGHES L. A. , BENNETT M. , COFFEY P. , ELLIOTT J. , JONES T. R. , JONES R. C. , LAHUERTA-MARIN A. , McNIFFE K. , NORMAN D. , WILLIAMS N. J. , CHANTREY J.
Published: March 2009

Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli(STEC) can cause serious disease in human beings. Ruminants are considered to be the main reservoir of human STEC infections. However, STEC have also been isolated from other domestic animals, wild mammals and birds. We describe a cross-sectional study of wild birds in northern England to determine the prevalence ofE. coli-containing genes that encode Shiga toxins (stx1and stx2) and intimin (eae), important virulence determinants of STEC associated with human disease. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified unique risk factors for the occurrence of each virulence gene in wild bird populations. The results of our study indicate that while wild birds are unlikely to be direct sources of STEC infections, they do represent a potential reservoir of virulence genes. This, coupled with their ability to act as long-distance vectors of STEC, means that wild birds have the potential to influence the spread and evolution of STEC.
Decision Trees and Influences of Variables Over Product Probability Spaces
Authors: HATAMI HAMED
Published: March 2009

A celebrated theorem of Friedgut says that every function f : {0, 1}n → {0, 1} can be approximated by a function g : {0, 1}n → {0, 1} with $\|f-g\|_2^2 \leq \epsilon$, which depends only on eO(If / ε) variables, where If is the sum of the influences of the variables of f. Dinur and Friedgut later showed that this statement also holds if we replace the discrete domain {0, 1}n with the continuous domain [0, 1]n, under the extra assumption that f is increasing. They conjectured that the condition of monotonicity is unnecessary and can be removed.

We show that certain constant-depth decision trees provide counter-examples to the Dinur–Friedgut conjecture. This suggests a reformulation of the conjecture in which the function g : [0, 1]n → {0, 1}, instead of depending on a small number of variables, has a decision tree of small depth. In fact we prove this reformulation by showing that the depth of the decision tree of g can be bounded by eO(If / ε2).

Furthermore, we consider a second notion of the influence of a variable, and study the functions that have bounded total influence in this sense. We use a theorem of Bourgain to show that these functions have certain properties. We also study the relation between the two different notions of influence.
Self‐consistent model of magnetospheric electric field, ring current, plasmasphere, and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves: Initial results
Authors: Gamayunov K. V. , Khazanov G. V. , Liemohn M. W. , Fok M.‐C. , Ridley A. J.
Published: March 2009

Further development of our self‐consistent model of interacting ring current (RC) ions and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is presented. This model incorporates large‐scale magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling and treats self‐consistently not only EMIC waves and RC ions, but also the magnetospheric electric field, RC, and plasmasphere. Initial simulations indicate that the region beyond geostationary orbit should be included in the simulation of the magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling. Additionally, a self‐consistent description, based on first principles, of the ionospheric conductance is required. These initial simulations further show that in order to model the EMIC wave distribution and wave spectral properties accurately, the plasmasphere should also be simulated self‐consistently, since its fine structure requires as much care as that of the RC. Finally, an effect of the finite time needed to reestablish a new potential pattern throughout the ionosphere and to communicate between the ionosphere and the equatorial magnetosphere cannot be ignored.
Analysis of drought severity‐area‐frequency curves using a general circulation model and scenario uncertainty
Authors: Mishra A. K. , Singh Vijay P.
Published: March 2009

With increasing water scarcity around the world, exacerbated by spatial and temporal variability of drought incidences along with the uncertainties associated with climate change, droughts are receiving much attention these days. This paper investigates the impact of climate change on severity‐area‐frequency (SAF) curves for annual droughts in the Kansabati River basin, India. Historical droughts are compared with historical SAF curves and with SAF curves developed on the basis of projected rainfall using a general circulation model and scenario uncertainty. A downscaling method, based on Bayesian Neural Network (BNN), is applied to project precipitation from six GCM models using two scenarios. Standardized precipitation indices (SPI 3 and SPI 12) are used as drought indices for construction of SAF curves for two periods (2001–2050 and 2051–2100). The results show that there are likely to be more severe droughts in 2001–2050 with more spatial extent than those that have occurred historically.
Metal Ion-Binding Properties of Phytochelatins and Related Ligands
Authors: Devez Aurélie , Achterberg Eric , Gledhill Martha
Published: March 2009

The development of human activities and industrialization has led to an increased release of metals to the aquatic environment. Several metals (such as copper, zinc, and iron) are essential for many physiological processes but can be toxic at enhanced concentrations; others (such as cadmium, lead, and mercury) are not physiologically essential and are toxic at very low concentrations in both plant and algal cells. To cope with the deleterious effects of metals, eukaryotic cells produce strong metal-binding proteins and peptides (including the thiol phytochelatins) involved in metal tolerance and detoxification mechanisms. Plants and algae are also able to maintain the homeostasis of essential metal ions in different cellular compartments by interactions between metal transport, chelation, trafficking and sequestration activities, which regulate the uptake and distribution of these metal ions.

In this chapter, we present an overview of the metal ion-binding properties of phytochelatins and related ligands and their involvement in metal ion homeostasis, metal tolerance and detoxification mechanisms. Enzymatic processes implicated in thiol biosynthesis and regulation, and in metal ion sequestration activities, are also described. In addition, this chapter assesses our state of knowledge on the induction of thiols by phytoplankton in laboratory and field experiments.