bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Growth and development of water buffalo and Friesian cross-bred cattle, with special reference to growth and distribution of carcass muscle and bone
Authors: Abdallah O. Y. , Shahin Karima A. , Latif M. G. A.
Published: March 2009

Right sides of carcasses of 12 buffalo, nine ½ Friesian ( Friesian x Egyptian Baladi) and nine ¾ Friesian ( Friesian x ½ Friesian) bulls slaughtered over the body-weight ranges 161–560 kg for buffaloes and 176–448 kg for cattle were cut according to the Chicago style of cutting. Allometric growth pattern and distribution of muscle and bone in the various cuts were examined.

Buffaloes were similar to cattle in that muscle and bone in the limbs showed an increasing distoproximal growth gradient. On the ventral line of the trunk, muscles showed an increase in growth impetus from plate to brisket while bone followed a reverse pattern. In buffaloes, growth coefficients of muscle and bone of all dorsal cuts were similar except in the sirloin and chuck where bone was later maturing. In cattle, there appeared a posterior-anterior increase in growth impetus of muscle from the shortloin towards sticking. Within and between genotype-group results indicated that growth of a fatless cut is governed by the growth of its muscle rather than that of its bone.

Compared with Friesian crosses, buffaloes had significantly greater percentages of their total muscle and muscle-plus-bone in the expensive cuts. As total muscle weight increased, the proportion of muscle in BLRC (see p. 318) decreased in cattle but remained almost constant in buffaloes. It was concluded that the previously reported inferior carcass composition of buffaloes relative to cattle is compensated by better carcass conformation and tissue distribution of buffaloes.
The effects of agronomy on C and N distribution in soil organo-mineral fractions
Authors: Adams T. McM.
Published: March 2009

Soils from grass-arable cropping sequences and from an experiment where grassland had been treated with slurry were dispersed by shaking as a soil-water mixture, followed by ultrasonic treatment. Organo-mineral particle size fractions were separated by sieving and by sedimentation.

Generally, concentration of C and N in the fractions decreased with increasing particle size. However, when expressed as weight of C per fraction maximum contents were in the 2–10 μm range. With N, maximum contents occurred about 2 μm. Largest differences in C and N contents between soils were found in the 0·2–20 μm size range.

Identification of the source of the materials in the various fractions was attempted by interpretation of the C/N ratios, but was generally inconclusive.
Potassium (Q/I) relationships as influenced by calcium and magnesium treated as separate ionic species, and by soil submergence
Authors: Pasricha N. S.
Published: March 2009

The quantity–intensity relationships between gains and losses of exchangeable K of the soil, and the K-intensity in the equilibrium solution, were determined for two soils incubated at 25 ± 1 °C for 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks under submerged conditions. The Kintensity modified to include the factor (F) by which Mg differs from Ca in its behaviour on the exchange complex, i. e. aK/(a½Ca + F.a½Mg), gave significantly lower values of equilibrium activity ratio, , and higher values of linear buffering capacity (LBCK), than when measured by the simple ratio, aK/(aCa + aMg)½. The mean value of the factor, F, was 0·46 for Conlubang sandy loam and 0–49 for Luisiana clay. Submergence up to 2 weeks resulted in an increase in the equilibrium activity ratio, , by 43–3% in Conlubang sandy loam. In Luisiana clay, , increased slightly after an initial decrease. In both soils, the readily exchangeable K, , increased with submergence, more so in Conlubang sandy loam than in Luisiana clay. Linear buffering capacity, LBCk, which is a measure of the rate of release of K to the soil solution, increased markedly with soil submergence.
Studies of grazing behaviour in relation to grassland management I. Variations in grazing habits of dairy cattle
Authors: Hancock John
Published: March 2009

1. A series of grazing behaviour observations on 10 sets of lactating identical twins is described. Four fortnights distributed over the main lactation period were covered. In three of the fortnights, the observations were made on six 24 hr. periods, while in the remaining fortnight the cows were observed on all 14 days.

2. Anoutstanding feature of the grazing behaviour of dairy cattle is its variability, due to external and internal conditions.

3. Of the external factors, climate (in a temperate zone) is relatively unimportant.

4. The quantity and quality of the herbage offered are of importance in modifying the grazing behaviour of dairy cattle. Under adverse pasture conditions there is, in general, an increase of total working time (grazing + ruminating): grazing time increases with scarcity of herbage and with mixed quality, while ruminating time is prolonged by poor quality grass.

5. Ruminating time is strongly dependent on the quantity and quality of the ingested grass, but the relationship is, for various reasons, obscured in a field trial such as the present.

6. The adaptation of grazing habits to new conditions is very rapid.

7. Feed requirement for milk production is the most important internal factor determining variation in the length of grazing time.

8. Inheritance × environment interactions as a source of variations in grazing times are due to the following factors:

(a) Differences amongst twin sets in lactational persistency, which presumably cause parallel differences in feed requirements.

(b) Differences in the response of high and low producing twin sets to varying pasture conditions.

(c) Non-analysable idiosyncrasies common to the members of some twin sets.

9. Twin sets graze and ruminate at a characteristic rate.
Amylolytic activity in the rumen of the sheep
Authors: Nasr Hamed
Published: March 2009

1. Rumen contents of sheep given three different diets contained free bacterial α-amylase. The method of obtaining a cell-free rumen filtrate containing the enzyme is described.

2. Amylase potency in the rumen was highest in the sheep given a diet of flaked maize, intermediate in that given a mixed diet of hay and concentrate and lowest in that given a diet of casein.

3. The effect of rumen amylase on structural maize and potato starches has been investigated.

4. Absence of amylase from sheep saliva was confirmed.

5. Where flaked maize is fed, one of the organisms responsible for amylase production in the rumen of the sheep isCl. butyricum.
The chemical composition of oats II. The nitrogen content of oats and groats
Authors: Hutchinson J. B. , Martin H. F.
Published: March 2009

The nitrogen content of oats depends chiefly on the nitrogen content (1·4–3·9%) of the kernel and the kernel content (64–81%) of the oats, the husk containing only 3–10% of the total nitrogen in the grain.

Varietal differences are significant but small in comparison with the overall variability: they reach 0·3% nitrogen in a few cases. Variation between random samples is largely due to soil differences, with region and harvest year responsible for smaller effects. The predominant factor governing nitrogen level in oats of all varieties probably is, as for wheat, the level of available nitrogen in the soil in late spring and early summer, just prior to heading and during development of the grain.

Within the variety there is a pronounced inverse correlation between nitrogen and oil content which is independent of grain size: the variability of the oil content within the variety is, however, smaller than the corresponding variability of the nitrogen content. At some localities environmental factors of soil and season, particularly the former, inhibit the filling out of the grains which then ripen prematurely to give small oats with lean kernels of high nitrogen content, and favour within the variety a negative correlation between grain size and nitrogen which otherwise might not be apparent.
The availability of potassium in soils to crops as measured by its release to a calcium-saturated cation exchange resin
Authors: Goulding K. W. T.
Published: March 2009

The amounts and rates of release of the different categories of soil K were measured on 21 soils from field experiments in England, Wales and West Germany using a calcium saturated cation exchange resin. The soils contained various amounts of exchangeable, fixed and matrix K; some contained no fixed K at all. These amounts could be qualitatively related to the clay contents of the soils.

Regression analyses of K removed at harvest by spring barley, winter wheat, field beans and sugar beet, grown in the field experiments, were made on the quantities measured by the Ca-resin method and on K exchangeable to M ammonium acetate (EK). The Ca-resin method proved a better predictor of K availability than EK for all four crops. A multiple regression of the amount and rate of release of exchangeable K, and the rate of release of fixed K, as measured by Ca-resin, gave the best correlation with K removed. The contribution of fixed K to the regression increased with the demand of the crop for K and with the length of time the crops had been grown without K fertilizer. For the cereals, fixed K appeared to be either completely available or unavailable depending on whether its rate of release exceeded a critical value characteristic of each crop.

The Ca-resin method is probably the best method available for measuring K reserves. It is, perhaps, too laborious for routine soil analysis, but could be used to characterize the long-term K release properties of a soil.
Survival of spermatozoa in the genital tract of the mare
Authors: Day F. T.
Published: March 2009

1. With insemination of approximately 2 billion sperms, pregnancy resulted from inseminations up to 6 days prior to ovulation, but not when inseminations were made earlier, or on the day after ovulation.

2. Ovulation was induced in one mare by injecting pregnancy urine extract when a large follicle was present in one ovary, although the mare remained anoestrous, as judged by vaginal and cervical secretions. This mare became pregnant from an insemination 2 days prior to the induced ovulation.
Yield characters of selected oat varieties in relation to cereal breeding technique
Authors: Stephens S. G.
Published: March 2009

1. Results obtained from two seasons' population studies of selected spring oat varieties in Scotland indicated that extent of tillering had little or no effect on yield. These results are in sharp contrast with those obtained by workers with wheat.

2. The yield of individual plants under the conditions of the experiments became adjusted to differences in population density primarily by variation in number of grains per panicle. Spikelet weight tended to be negatively correlated both with population density (external competition) and with number of grains per panicle (intrapanicle competition). These factors tended to neutralize each other.

3. The decrease in size of additional grains in spikelets with more than one grain was balanced by increased weight of the basal grains as compared with the weight of a single grained spikelet. Average grain weight per spikelet therefore tends to remain constant.
Studies of soil after fifty years of wheat or barley cropping, especially of soil made acid with sulphate of ammonia
Authors: Mann Harold H. , Barnes T. W.
Published: March 2009

1. Monthly aqueous extracts of soils which have been under wheat and barley cropping on the Woburn light sandy loam soils, with various manuring show very great similarity in the amount and character of the materials extracted in the wheat and the barley soils.

2. Water-soluble phosphoric acid and potash are in extremely small amount where these manures have not been applied during the fifty years’ treatment, but, in spite of this, the amount of these constituents does not appear to be a limiting factor in determining the yield of either wheat or barley. The phosphoric acid is much higher in the plots treated with phosphatic manures, and the potash is slightly higher in those treated with potash manures, but these facts do not seem to have secured a seriously higher yield.
Weaning weight of pigs and litter sampling with reference to litter size
Authors: Smith A. D. Buchanan , Donald H. P.
Published: March 2009

1. Following an examination of weaning weight with respect to litter size, it is concluded that no general relation between the two exists. Although a significant regression of weight on litter size was found, it appears probable that in herds where the relation between fertility and milk yield is different, such a regression will not necessarily be found.

2. A sampling experiment was carried out to determine the extent to which a sample might be expected to represent the whole litter. A correlation of 0·96 was found between the mean growth rate of samples consisting of the four pigs nearest the average at weaning and the mean of the whole litter. This represents a loss of 8 per cent of the information. With three or two pigs chosen in the same way the loss was greater. Samples of four pigs chosen at random did not give results significantly different from those of the four pigs nearest the average. The choice of the heaviest four pigs resulted in a loss of 15 per cent of the information.

3. The slight difference between the results from the random sample and the sample of the four average pigs indicated that there must have been only a small correlation, between weaning weight and subsequent rate of growth. An analysis of post-weaning rate of growth showed that the intra-class correlation of pigs of the same weaning weight was 0·15. Individual weight at weaning would therefore appear to be of slight value in estimating subsequent performance.

4. Intra-litter correlations of growth rate for litter classes eight and nine were found to be 0·3 and 0·5. These values are higher than those found by others, probably as a result of the inclusion of the pre-weaning period in the calculation of the growth rates. There would appear to be grounds for believing that at least a fifth of the individual variance may be accounted for by additive gene effects.
The nitrogen cycle in grassland soils: with especial reference to the Rothamsted Park grass experiment
Authors: Richardson H. L.
Published: March 2009

1. In an examination of Park Grass soils extending over 3 years, and in shorter studies of other grassland soils, the fresh soil always contained more ammonia than nitrate nitrogen. The levels of both were low, and in spite of minor fluctuations were sufficiently constant to suggest the existence of equilibrium conditions in the nitrogen cycle. Climatic factors had no appreciable influence except on one very acid plot; here frost or drought, severe enough to kill the herbage, allowed ammonia to accumulate. Otherwise, treatment had little effect, but liming tended to give higher ammonia and lower nitrate levels. The equilibrium levels of both ammonia and nitrate were higher in old grassland soils than in land newly put down to grass.

2. “Mineralizable” nitrogen, produced by incubating the fresh soils under standard conditions, showed a seasonal rhythm the opposite of the annual temperature rhythm, tending to a maximum in winter and early spring and a minimum in summer and early autumn. This was related to the addition and decay of organic residues in the soil. An abnormally dry summer caused a temporary rise, especially on the more acid plots. An extremely acid plot, on which a mat accumulated in the field, produced as much mineralizable nitrogen on incubation as more normal soils.

3. Ammonia and nitrate production on incubation differed greatly with different treatments, apparently as a result of the influence of treatment on soil reaction. The more acid soils, withpH less than 6.0, produced chiefly ammonia, while the less acid soils produced chiefly nitrate. There was a significant correlation between reaction and percentage nitrification.
The proximate analysis of the organic constituents in north-east scottish soils, with some notes on the methods
Authors: Shewan James M.
Published: March 2009

1. The proximate analysis has been made of several profiles from the north-east of Scotland, these including Scots pine, beech, birch andCallunaheath.

2. The system of proximate analysis proposed by Waksman has been used as a basis for the investigation, but various modifications have been introduced, e.g. sugar and cellulose determinations, with a view to obtaining greater accuracy.

3. Although a restricted number of profiles has been investigated, the results indicate that these may be divided into two groups, viz. raw humus and mull types, according to the manner in which the various fractions have been decomposed.
Seed disinfection: II. Large-scale field trials on the disinfection of seed corn with mercury dust disinfectants
Authors: Weston W. A. R. Dillon , Hanley F. , Booer J. R.
Published: March 2009

1. Treatment in bulk of the grain of wheat, barley, winter oats and spring oats with a proprietary dust, and two experimental dusts A and B which contained organic compounds of mercury, had no harmful effect on germination when drilling followed shortly after treatment. In the case of spring oats, drilling was delayed 7½ weeks after treatment without any harmful effects on germination.

2. The proprietary and experimental dusts both proved effective in controlling bunt disease of wheat, and the leaf-stripe and net-blotch diseases of barley.

3. In the case of barley, the proprietary and experimental dusts both increased the speed of “brairding” but not the final plant population. This hastening of seedling growth did not lead to a higher yield.

4. In the case of winter oats, only the experimental dust A gave a significant increase in plant population and a satisfactory control of the loose smut disease.
The vitamin A content of the colostrum of dairy cows
Authors: Stewart James , McCallum Jennie Whitelaw
Published: March 2009

1. The vitamin A content of the colostrum of one hundred cows, kept under the same conditions of dietary and management, was found to range from 1181 to 35 I.U. per 100 ml.

2. It has been established that this wide range was not due to any differences in dietary, breed or date of calving in animals kept under the same conditions of management.

3. It is suggested that the vitamin A content of the colostrum may be materially affected by the length of the non-lactating period between successive calvings.
On the exchange of bull semen between England and Holland
Authors: Edwards Joseph , Walton Arthur , Siebenga Jan
Published: March 2009

In the spring of 1937 an experiment was conducted to test existing commercial facilities for the transport of bull semen between England and Holland. Samples were sent to and received from Holland via Royal Dutch Air Lines, to whom the authors wish to express their sincere thanks for most useful co-operation. The minimum interval between collection in one country and insemination in the other was 28 hr. and the maximum, 57 hr.
Nutritive value of pasture: XIII An inquiry into the residual effects of the intensive use of sulphate of ammonia on pastures
Authors: Woodman H. E. , Evans R. E.
Published: March 2009

This publication should be read in conjunction with the paper immediately preceding it in the present issue of this Journal (Woodman & Evans, 1938). It deals with a particular phase of the general problem described in the first paper, to which reference should be made for details about the wider objects of the trials, the design of the experiments and the different manurial treatments to which the subplots were subjected.
Nitrogen metabolism in the ovine stomach: 1. The transfer of urea from the blood to the rumen
Authors: Harrop C. J. F. , Phillipson A. T.
Published: March 2009

The effect of single, intravenous injections of urea on the concentration of ammonia in the rumen has been examined in conscious and anaesthetized sheep.

In conscious sheep maintained on a diet providing 11·4 g nitrogen/day, the net increase in concentration of rumen ammonia after the injection of urea showed negative correlations with the pre-injection concentrations of rumen ammonia and of plasma urea. The maximum concentration of ammonia attained in the rumen after the injection wasx 16·6 ± 0·28 mg NH3-N/100 ml. No such correlations were found in conscious sheep given a diet providing 20·7 g N/day. In addition, the maximum concentration of ammonia attained in the rumen after the injection of urea was significantly lower at 10·7 ± 0·91 mg NH3-N/100 ml, and the net increases in concentration were smaller.

Starvation for one day reduced the net increment in rumen ammonia concentration after urea injection in animals given the lower-N diet, to the same low level observed in fed or starved sheep maintained on the higher-N diet.

Differences were observed in the transfer of blood urea to the rumen in experiments with anaesthetized sheep which had been maintained on the lower-N diet for long or short periods beforehand. Animals which had been left to graze, and then housed indoors and given the lower-N diet for a short period before the experiment, showed much smaller increases in rumen urea plus ammonia concentration after the injection of urea than sheep which had been given the same diet for a long period. There was no difference in the response of the salivary secretions to the urea injections.
Permeability of saturated sands, soils and clays
Authors: Carman P. C.
Published: March 2009

It is shown that the permeability of a water-saturated sand or fine powder can be calculated with considerable accuracy, if the porosity and the specific surface are known. In particular, the Kozeny theory here discussed leads to a very useful relationship between permeability and porosity. It is shown that clays do not conform to the theory in its simple form, but that it may be modified to give a satisfactory representation of the data available. The physical grounds for this modified theory are discussed in some detail, and it is shown that, while it is open to criticism, it is at least in harmony with our present knowledge of clays.

An important deduction which follows from the modified theory is that clays may have zero permeability at quite considerable porosities, e.g. at ∈ = 0·207 for a clay soil, and ∈ = 0·355 for a plastic clay.
The incorporation of radioactively labelled amino acids into skeletal muscle protein by Pietrain and Large White pigs
Authors: Perry B. N.
Published: March 2009

The changes in muscle protein and plasma radioactivity with time have been observed in anaesthetized pigs receiving constant infusions of [14C]glycine and [3H]tyrosine. The specific radioactivity of muscle protein was found to increase linearly with time. However, it was not possible to calculate absolute rates of muscle protein synthesis for the plasma radioactivity had not reached a plateau after 8 h infusion.

The specific radioactivities of Pietrain muscle protein increased more rapidly than those of Large Whites when animals of the same lean mass, receiving the same dietary amino acid supply per unit of lean mass, were compared. However, when considered with respect to published biochemical data, these results support the hypothesis that the differences arise from inequalities in plasma specific radioactivities; which appeared to be related to differences in blood volumes, between pigs of the two breeds, at the same age. When plasma specific radioactivity/time relationships were adjusted so as to account for this variation no significant differences were found, indicating that muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth proceed at similar rates in the two breeds.
Response of cotton to water and nitrogen in a tropical environment: I. Frequency of watering and method of application of nitrogen
Authors: Hearn A. B.
Published: March 2009

Two experiments were made in successive years in which three frequencies of watering were combined factorially with several rates and methods of applying nitrogen. Soil water content and leaf water potential were measured. The least frequent watering treatment decreased yield and nitrogen applications increased yield. All of the effect of water and most of the effect of nitrogen were associated with changes in the number rather than the weight of bolls. Although the combination of heavy nitrogen with frequent watering caused the crop initially to set fruit more slowly than did heavy nitrogen with infrequent watering, it prolonged flowering and increased the number of fruit ultimately set. Thus yield and the potential duration and cost of insect control were also increased. There were no differences in yield nor rate of setting between the following methods of application of the nitrogen: all applied to the seed bed; split application between the seed bed and side dressing 2 months later; and split application between the seed bed, side dressing, and irrigation water. However, when application was split so that most was applied in the water, the response was not as great. Application of nitrogen combined with frequent watering decreased the weight of the early bolls by decreasing fibre per seed. Nitrogen increased the weight of later bolls by increasing the number and weight of seeds. The practical and physiological implications of these results are discussed and a crop nutritional hypothesis for cotton developed further.
The rate of decay in relation to soil types and vegetative covering in Glamorgan
Authors: Isaac W. E.
Published: March 2009

1. The object of this investigation was to determine the extent to which the decomposing power of soils within a climatic region is influenced by:

(a) the geological character of the rocks from which the soils are derived,

(b) the nature of the vegetative covering.

2. A short account is given of the geography, climatology, geology and pedology of Glamorgan. The soils of South Glamorgan appear in general to be Brown Earth types.

3. In studying the rate of decay it is necessary to obtain an index of the intensity of the total biochemical processes taking place. One of the best and most suitable of indices for this purpose is CO2evolution.

4. A type of apparatus used by a previous investigator (Neller) to measure the CO2 evolved from soil was tested and found to be unsatisfactory. Thus a suitable apparatus had to be evolved. This apparatus is described in detail.
Growth and Yield in Pure and Mixed Crops of Potato Cultivars
Authors: Chowdhury A. R. , Hodgson D. R.
Published: March 2009

Experiments were made between 1977 and 1979 to investigate the possibility of raising potato yields by mixing together cultivars having different growth patterns. The experiments also included mixtures of unsprouted and sprouted seed of the same or different cultivars. In the first experiment (1977) Pentland Crown was mixed with Arran Pilot, Red Craig's Royal or Désirée and the binary mixtures (1:1) compared with the pure stands of each. Yield of tubers from the mixtures did not differ significantly from the mean of two components planted alone at wide or narrow spacing of the seed tubers. Two experiments with identical treatments (1978) included mixtures of Majestic and Désirée and of each cultivar with unsprouted and sprouted seed. Mixtures (1:1) yielded more tubers than the mean of the two components planted alone and at final harvest in one experiment unsprouted and sprouted Majesties gave 7·6 t/ha more than the mean of these and 6·9 t/ha more than the more productive culture (P < 0·05). Similar differences were obtained in the second experiment.

In the final experiment (1979) the degree of sprout development at planting time was varied in the cultivar Majestic. Short or long sprouted seed was mixed with unsprouted seed and long sprouted Désirée was also mixed with unsprouted Majestic. Mixtures of the unsprouted cultivar with either long sprouted Majestic or Désiré exceeded, significantly, the mean yield of components planted alone by 4·1 and 5·8 t/ha, respectively, at a high level of fertilizer. As a mean of three experiments the mixture of sprouted and unsprouted Majesties yielded 6·26 t/ha more tubers than the mean of the components and 4·27 t/ha more than the higher yielding component in pure culture. Better light interception due to higher leaf area duration and a more persistent leaf canopy appeared to produce these effects.
Comparative growth of maize cultivars with different leaf orientation
Authors: Remison S. U. , Fajemisinf J. M.
Published: March 2009

Two maize hybrids, NHYB-1 and NHYB-2 with upright leaf orientation, and two composites, FARZ 27 and 34 with lax leaf orientation, were compared. The crops were grown at three levels of nitrogen (0, 75 and 150 kg N/ha) at Ibadan in the rain forest zone of Nigeria in 1979 and 1980.

N application increased leaf area index (LAI) and hastened flowering. The composites had greater LAI than the hybrids. Lodging was greater at harvest than at mid-silk and severer in the hybrids than in the composites. Grain, stover and total dry-matter yields were greater for the composites.

The hybrids were more responsive to N application in 1979 but the pattern was not consistent in 1980. More dry matter was partitioned to the grain in the hybrids as shown by their higher harvest index, especially in 1979. The concentration of N in ear leaf and stover increased with increase in N application, but P and K concentrations in the stover were highest in the control treatment.
An evaluation of the use of dihaploids and unreduced gametes in breeding for quantitative resistance to potato pathogens
Authors: Maine M. J. De
Published: March 2009

In a breeding programme to combine quantitative resistance to two important potato pathogens, Phytophthora infestans causing late blight in foliage and Qlobodera pallida (the cream potato cyst-nematode), tetraploid (4 ×) off spring were obtained by crossing dihaploids, mainly as females, with tetraploids. Glasshouse and field tests in the first and second tuber-years showed that most of the off spring of highly blight-resistant dihaploids had high resistance to P. infestans. Two such dihaploids, PDH 182 and PDH 247, crossed with a tetraploid selected for high general combining ability for potato cyst-nematode (PCN) resistance, gave off spring all of which were highly blight resistant. About one third also had high PCN resistance.

Detached leaflet tests were used for rapid blight resistance screening of other progenies from dihaploid × 4 × crosses in their seedling year. Differences were found in the effects of 4 × parents on the mean resistances of progenies from blight-resistant dihaploids.

The results also showed differences between dihaploids in their effectiveness in transmitting blight resistance to 4 × offspring. This could be due to differences in the mode of unreduced female gamete formation, i.e. first division restitution or second division restitution (SDR). If all the unreduced gametes were produced by SDR, the differences could be due to differences in homozygosity between dihaploids with respect to blight resistance genes.

The dihaploid × 4 × crosses gave few offspring per pollination. The few seedlings obtained may be offset by a higher frequency with the required characters. Since fewer seedlings would have to be grown in order to find the required combination of characters, savings could be made in planting and resistance-testing facilities over those required in conventional breeding.

The tetraploid hybrids obtained can be used in a second cycle of breeding in three ways simultaneously: by crossing with other tetraploids, by crossing with dihaploids selected for complementary characters and to produce dihaploids with combined resistances.
Growth, mineral composition and grain yield of irrigated and rainfed millets and sorghum
Authors: Muldoon D. K.
Published: March 2009

Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum americanum, Echinochloa utilis, Panicum miliaceum, Setaria italica and Eleusine coracana were grown with and without full irrigation on an alkaline clay soil at Trangie, Australia. Dry-matter yields and forage quality changes with time were measured in the 1st year. Grain yield was recorded over 2 years.

Dry-matter accumulation was initially most rapid in sorghum and Japanese barnyard millet. Sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet produced the most dry matter; these were the latest to reach head emergence. The early-maturing proso millet and foxtail millet produced only 7 and l i t dry matter/ha respectively. These two millets, like sorghum and pearl millet, had a high nitrogen: sulphur ratio and low sodium concentration in the forage. Finger millet had a lower nitrogen: sulphur ratio and a sodium concentration that was surpassed only by Japanese barnyard millet.

Irrigated sorghum consistently produced the highest grain yields: over 9 t/ha. Yields from the millets were: foxtail 6·0, finger 5·0, proso 3·5, pearl and Japanese barnyard millet 2·8–2·9 t/ha. Special features of the millets are discussed.
Interactions between fungicides, insecticides and spraying regimes in the control of fungal diseases, insect pests and yield of cow pea Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.
Authors: Oladiran A. O. , Oso B. A.
Published: March 2009

The fungicides benomyl and captafol separately were tank mixed with each of the insecticides decis (decamethrin), permethrin, and cypermethrin (synthetic pyrethroids) and nuvacron (monocrotophos). The mixtures were tested as foliar sprays at three spraying regimes to protect cow-pea plants against pod and foliar diseases and insect pod borers.

Two sprays, 1·5 kg a. i. /ha of benomyl mixed with 0·75 kg a. i. /tia of monocrotophos at 35 and 49 days after planting, gave the best control of brown blotch, web blight, Cercospora leaf spot and the pod borer, Maruca testulalis. This regime also gave the highest grain yield for two consecutive years. The mixtures were not phytotoxic. Interactions between the test fungicides, insecticides and spraying regimes in relation to disease and pest control and yields are discussed.
The effects of fasting on the concentrations of intermediate metabolites in the blood and hepatic tissues of pregnant and non-pregnant ewes
Authors: Herriman I. D. , Heitzman R. J.
Published: March 2009

Blood and liver samples were taken from four fasted pregnant and five fasted non-pregnant Finnish Landrace × Dorset Horn ewes. The following metabolites were measured: adenine monophosphate (AMP), adenine diphosphate (ADP), adenine triphosphate (ATP), citrate, 2-oxoglutarate, phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate, lactate, 2-phosphoglycerate, 3-phosphoglycerate, α-glycerophosphate, malate, β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, glutamate, alanine and NAD+.

The effects of a 6-day fast on non-pregnant ewes were shown as significant reductions in the hepatic concentrations of 2-phosphoglycerate, alanine, NAD+ and ADP, together with significant increases in the hepatic concentrations of 3-hydroxybutyrate, malate and the ratio of 3-hydroxybutyrate:acetoacetate. In the blood there were significant reductions in the concentrations of urea, citrate and in the ratio of 3-hydroxybutyrate: acetoacetate.

Similar but more marked changes occurred in the late pregnant ewes, with additional significant reductions in the hepatic concentrations of citrate, ATP and the level of cell energy, and additional increases in the blood of the ratio of lactate: pyruvate and the concentrations of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 2-oxoglutarate. However, unlike the non-pregnant ewes no significant changes in either the plasma concentration of urea or the hepatic concentration of ADP were observed in the late pregnant ewes.
The induction and synchronization of parturition in sows treated with I.C.I. 79,939, an analogue of prostaglandin F2x
Authors: Ash R. W. , Heap R. B.
Published: March 2009

I.C.I. 79,939, a potent analogue of prostaglandin F2a, was used to induce and synchronize parturition in seven gilts and three sows. A total dose of up to 750 μg injected intra-muscularly during a treatment period of about 24 h on days 109–111 of gestation induced parturition approximately 26 h after the start of treatment. The length of gestation, which was 114 ± 0·2 days in 147 normal untreated pigs, was significantly reduced to 111 ± 0·2 days (P < 0·01) in ten pigs in the same herd treated with I.C.I. 79,939. In this trial, no side-effects were detected, the average birth and 3-week weights of piglets were within the normal range, and sows usually returned to normal oestrus within a week after weaning.
Some effects of planting density and variety on the relationship between tuber size and tuber dry-matter percentage in potatoes
Authors: Wurr D. C. E. , Allen E. J.
Published: March 2009

Three experiments are reported which investigated the effects of planting density and variety on the relationship between tuber dry-matter percentage and tuber size. In the first experiment dry-matter determinations were made on samples of tubers less than 3·8 cm and greater than 3·8 cm from different planting densities obtained at eight fortnightly harvests. Standard analysis of variance was used for each harvest date and apart from Maris Piper giving consistently higher dry-matter percentages than Pentland Crown for the same tuber sizes, effects were small and difficult to interpret. The reasons for the problems in interpretation, which were mainly due to differences in tuber size distribution, are discussed.

In the second and third experiments the effects of tuber-size distribution were removed by regression analyses of tuber dry-matter percentage on tuber size in definable grades and curves were fitted to the data. These curves revealed that tuber dry-matter percentage tends to show a quadratic response to increasing tuber size and is affected by variety and stem density. The significance of these results is discussed.
Pollination and fertilization in commercial crops of field beans (Vicia faba L.)
Authors: Stoddard F. L.
Published: March 2009

Incidences of pollination and fertilization were surveyed in 21 commercial crops of field beans (16 of winter, 5 of spring) in southern Cambridgeshire (England) in 1982 and 1983. During the first part of the flowering season of winter beans, from 30 to 75% of flowers were not pollinated, and thus could not set pods. Where the pollination was largely spontaneous, relatively few pollinated flowers were fertilized and within them, relatively few ovules were fertilized. Later in the season and through most of the spring-bean flowering season, over 90% of flowers were pollinated and over 75% of ovules were fertilized. Incidences of pollination and fertilization varied greatly among the fields, and provision of hives of honeybees in fields of winter beans was associated with an improvement in the incidence of pollination from poor to moderate in 1983 but not in 1982. It is concluded that the incidence of pollination in many fields of winter beans is too low early in the season for an optimum distribution of yield along the stems.
Effect of some soil amendments on plant growth, survival and yield of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in relation to sodium toxicity
Authors: Ayoub Ali T.
Published: March 2009

Soil amendments, gypsum, wheat straw mulch and animal manure, were tested on P. vulgaris at toxic and nontoxic sodium chloride levels in the soil. Slower growth rate and gradual death of seedlings were found under saline conditions.

Gypsum and straw mulch increased bean tolerance to salinity which was associated with higher plant survival and greater plant vigour.

Seed yield/ha was increased by an average of about 30 and 50% with gypsum and straw mulch treatments, respectively, and the gypsum plus straw mulch treatment resulted in an increase of about 100% in seed yield. Number of plants survived and to a lesser degree seed weight were the predominant factors affecting seed yield/ha. The analysis of multiple correlation showed that variation in yield/ha was attributable most to the number of plants/m2.
Genotype X macro- and micro-environment interactions in barley populations (Hordeum vulgare L.)
Authors: Tripathi I. D. , Singh M. , Chandra S.
Published: March 2009

Triple test cross progenies arising from F2 of three crosses, namely, C164 x EB1556 BG25 x NP21 and BH15 x RD103, were used for investigating their interactions with macro- and micro-environments for number of days to heading, plant height, number of tillers per plant, ear length, number of grains per ear, 100-grain weight and yield per plant in barley. The analysis indicated, in general, that the additive component of genetic variance was more sensitive to macro-environment than non-additive components. In order to have a more precise estimate of this component, an experiment repeated over a larger number of locations and years would be desirable. The ‘j and l’type of epistasis showed sensitivity equal to the dominance components in response to the change of soil conditions. Covariances between family means and variances were used to detect the interactions of genetic components with the micro-environmental differences. The additive and the dominance components showed sensitivity to microenvironmental changes and were not differentially affected by the adverse soil condition compared with normal soil. The additive gene effects were relatively more sensitive, indicating the probable superiority of heterozygotes over the corresponding homozygotes with regard to stability.

Amongst the three populations, the population resulting from BH15 x RD103 was found to be most sensitive. Although the genotype x environment interaction for a character was population-specific, number of grains per ear and yield per plant were invariably the most sensitive.
Plant traits and yield stability of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivars under drought stress
Authors: Acosta-Gallegos J. A. , Adams M. W.
Published: March 2009

The objective of this study was to identify traits related to growth and yield response under drought stress in the field which would show less variation than yield itself. Experiments were conducted in 1987, at Durango, Mexico and at Michigan, USA. Twenty-six dry bean genotypes were sown under supplementary irrigation and terminal drought stress. Plant samples were taken at 50% flowering, mid-pod-filling and physiological maturity. At both sites, leaf expansion rate and crop growth rate at mid-pod-filling were greatly reduced by drought stress, resulting in significant reductions in total dry matter (DM) above ground and seed yield at physiological maturity. Because of differences in the timing and intensity of the drought stress, the yield components were affected differently at each location. Total DM content at physiological maturity, harvest index and number of pods/m2 were the only traits positively correlated with yield under stress at both locations. In order to evaluate a group of genotypes for adaptation to drought on the basis of seed yield, the genotypes should be grouped according to their phenological characteristics to stress them evenly.
Ammonia emission from slurry applied to wheat stubble and rape in North Germany
Authors: Bless H.-G. , Beinhauer R. , Sattelmacher B.
Published: March 2009

In 1989 three experiments with up to three different treatments each were carried out in North Germany to determine the ammonia flux densities after the application of liquid slurry using the micrometeorological mass balance method.

In Expts 1 and 2, pig slurry was applied with a conventional surface spreader to wheat stubble. The results demonstrated the influence of meteorological conditions and that of incorporation on the extent of ammonia volatilization. In comparison to warm and windy conditions, NH3 losses decreased from 56% of the NH4-N applied to wheat stubble to 42% during a cool and rainy period. When slurry was incorporated immediately into the soil, ammonia losses were significantly reduced to 20 and 10%, respectively, of the applied NH4-N. The highest losses (67% NH4-N) were found when slurry was applied during warm weather on wheat stubble covered with chopped straw. Soil cultivation of the wheat stubble before the application of slurry diminished the ammonia emission from 42 to 28% of the NH4-N.

In Expt 3, cattle slurry was applied to rape. It was found that compared with a conventional surface spreader the ammonia volatilization was reduced from 68 to 58% of the NH4-N when an alternative distribution system consisting of drag hoses was used for the application.
The fate and behaviour of imbibed water in the rumen of cattle
Authors: Cafe L. M. , Poppi D. P.
Published: March 2009

The quantity of imbibed water that bypassed the rumen directly or rapidly effluxed from the rumen was investigated in four steers offered water marked with CrEDTA. Water was offered for short periods designed to simulate the drinking patterns that occur under extensive grazing conditions. Animals were fed either low quality pangola hay in the long form or a concentrate diet. Bypass of imbibed water was calculated by difference from marker imbibed and that present in the rumen on emptying after water had been imbibed. It thus represents the passage of marked water directly to the omasum/abomasum and that which rapidly effluxed from the rumen before emptying. Bypass of imbibed marked water was 19·0 and 25·3% for animals consuming pangola and concentrate respectively (significantly different from zero but no significant diet effect). Imbibed water entering the rumen mixed rapidly so that liquid from a posterior site in the rumen had a similar concentration of Cr to that from an anterior site in the proximity of the reticulum and cranial sac by about 1 h after drinking. There was no effect of rumen sampling site on the fractional outflow rate of CrEDTA (from imbibed marked water) from the rumen. It was concluded that most water which is drunk after a period of water deprivation will enter the rumen, mix rapidly and have a fractional outflow rate similar to other fluid in the rumen. The values derived may be used to calculate the amounts of supplement needed in drinking water if the target site is the rumen or intestines of cattle with intermittent access to water under extensive grazing conditions.
Food intake and ruminal osmolality in sheep: differentiation of the effect of osmolality from that of the products of maize silage fermentation
Authors: Phillip L. E. , Buchanan-Smith J. G. , Grovum W. L.
Published: March 2009

Five rumen-cannulated Cheviot lambs were used in two successive experiments to differentiate the effect of osmolality from the specific effects of the soluble compounds in maize silage on voluntary intake and ruminal motility. In Expt 1, extracts from fresh (FCE) and ensiled (CSE) maize were adjusted to pH 6·5 andtonicities of 200, 400, 800, and 1600 m-osmol/kg with NaCl, then infused into the rumen according to a 5×5 repeated latin-square design. Water was infused as the control. In Expt 2 solutions of NaCl, with tonicities similar to those in Expt 1, were also infused into the rumen. The lambs were fed ad libitum a diet of pelleted lucerne, but on the morning of infusion they were deprived of food for 4 h and infused continuously for 4 h commencing after 1 h of food deprivation. The infusion of FCE and CSE resulted in no significant difference in cumulative dry matter (D.M.) intake. However, increasing the tonicities of the infusates caused a linear increase (P < 0·05) in ruminal osmolality and a corresponding linear reduction in food intake during the first 30 min of feeding. Infusion of NaCl alone produced a similar effect on intake. The linear regression coefficients of food intake (Y) (g D.M./kg W0·75) against rumen osmolality (X) (m-osmol/kg) were –0·077±0·0085 (r2 = 0·78), –0·082±0·0095 (r2 = 0·76) and –0·073±0·0065 (r2 = 0·84) for FCE, CSE and NaCl, respectively, with no significant differences among the infusates. The frequencies of ruminal contractions during the infusion of FCE and CSE were similar (P > 0·05) and were unaffected (P > 0·05) by ruminal osmolality up to 550 m-osmol.