This study evaluated the effects of TMC (trace mineral-fortified microbial culture) supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality parameters of Hanwoo steers during the last 4 months of finishing period. The TMC was a combination of 0.4% trace minerals, 20.0% Na-bentonite, and 79.6% feedstuffs, which was inoculated with a mixed microbial culture (Enterobacter ludwigii, Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Twenty-four steers were blocked by initial BW (634 ± 16 kg) and randomly allocated to one of two treatments (control vs. 3.3% TMC). The effect of TMC supplementation on the growth performance was not significant. There was no incidence of urolithiasis in TMCfed steers. However 3 out 12 steers (25%) fed the control diet were observed to have urinary calculi. The carcass yield and meat quality parameters were not affected by TMC supplementation, however marbling score was increased in TMC-fed steers (P = 0.08). There was no effect of TMC treatment on the chemical composition of longissimus dorsi muscle (LM). The TMC supplementation increased concentrations of manganese (P < 0.01), cobalt (P = 0.02), iron, and copper (P = 0.06) in LM. In conclusion, TMC treatment did not negatively affect growth performance and meat quality parameters, and positively affected the trace minerals profile of LM.
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) and urease inhibitor hydroquinone (HQ) on ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from pig slurry applied to Timothy (Phleum pretense L.) sward. The daily emission of ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) was monitored for 9 days in three different treatments; 1) control (only pig slurry application), 2) DCD treatment (pig slurry + DCD), and 3) HQ treatment (pig slurry + HQ). Most NH3 emission occurred after 4~5 days in three treatments. Total NH3 emission, expressed as a cumulative amount throughout the measurement time, was 1.33 kg N ha 1 in the control. The DCD and HQ treatment decreased total NH3 emission by 16.3% and 25.1%, respectively, compared to the control. Total N2O emission in the control was 47.1 g N ha 1. The DCD and HQ treatment resulted in a reduction of 67.9% and 41.8% in total N2O emission, respectively, compared to the control. The present study clearly indicated that nitrification and urease inhibitor exhibited positive roles in reducing N losses through NH3 and N2O emission.
The objective of this study was to construct a forage rye (FR) dry matter yield (DMY) estimation model based on climate data by locations in South Korea. The data set (n = 549) during 29 years were used. Six optimal climatic variables were selected through stepwise multiple regression analysis with DMY as the response variable. Subsequently, via general linear model, the final model including the six climatic variables and cultivated locations as dummy variables was constructed as follows: DMY = 104.166SGD + 1.454AAT + 147.863MTJ + 59.183PAT150 4.693SRF + 45.106SRD 5230.001 + Location, where SGD was spring growing days, AAT was autumnal accumulated temperature, MTJ was mean temperature in January, PAT150 was period to accumulated temperature 150, SRF was spring rainfall, and SRD was spring rainfall days. The model constructed in this research could explain 24.4 % of the variations in DMY of FR. The homoscedasticity and the assumption that the mean of the residuals were equal to zero was satisfied. The goodness-of-fit of the model was proper based on most scatters of the predicted DMY values fell within the 95% confidence interval.
Nitrogen (N) fertilizer management is one of the important aspects of economic production of sorghums in sustainable agriculture. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of different N application rates and its split N application methods on productivity, growth characteristics, N accumulation, N use efficiency (NUE), and feed value of Sorghum × Sudangrass hybrids. Treatments consisted of five N application rates (0, 150, 200, 250, and 300 kg ha-1) and two split N application methods (40% in basal N, 30% at the growing stage, and 30% after the first harvest vs. 50% in basal N and 50% after the first harvest). Plant height, leaf width, and stem diameter were increased (p≤0.05) with increasing N fertility rates at each harvest. Chlorophyll content (expressed as SPAD values) was the highest at a rate of 300 kg N ha 1 (first harvest, 46.32; second harvest, 33.09). It was the lowest at zero N (first harvest, 21.56; second harvest, 18.5). Total N, N uptake, and NUE were increased with higher N rates. Split N application had little effect on total N, amount of N uptake, or NUE. Total dry matter yields were the highest (21,715 kg ha-1) at a rate of 300 kg N ha-1. It was the lowest (10,054 kg ha-1) at zero N. Our results suggest that more than 300 kg N ha-1 can improve dry matter yield to be above 116% compared to zero N, thus enhancing the agronomic characters of sorghums. However, no significant effect had been found for split N application. Further work is needed to determine the optimal N levels and the effect of split N application rates.
The objective of this study was to construct Italian ryegrass (IRG) dry matter yield (DMY) estimation models in South Korea based on climatic data by locations. Obviously, the climatic environment of Jeju Island has great differences with Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, many data points were from Jeju Island in the prepared data set. Statistically significant differences in both DMY values and climatic variables were observed between south areas of Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island. Therefore, the estimation models were constructed separately for south areas of Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island separately. For south areas of Korean Peninsula, a data set with a sample size of 933 during 26 years was used. Four optimal climatic variables were selected through a stepwise approach of multiple regression analysis with DMY as the response variable. Subsequently, via general linear model, the final model including the selected four climatic variables and cultivated locations as dummy variables was constructed. The model could explain 37.7% of the variations in DMY of IRG in south areas of Korean Peninsula. For Jeju Island, a data set containing 130 data points during 17 years were used in the modeling construction via the stepwise approach of multiple regression analysis. The model constructed in this research could explain 51.0% of the variations in DMY of IRG. For the two models, homoscedasticity and the assumption that the mean of the residuals were equal to zero were satisfied. Meanwhile, the fitness of both models was good based on most scatters of predicted DMY values fell within the 95% confidence interval.
Copper (Cu) is a necessary microelement for plants. However, high concentrations of Cu are toxic to plants that change the regulation of several stress-induced proteins. In this study, an annealing control primer (ACP) based approach was used to identify differentially expressed Cu-induced genes in alfalfa leaves. Two-week-old alfalfa plants (Medicago sativa L.) were exposed to Cu for 6 h. Total RNAs were isolated from treated and control leaves followed by ACP-based PCR technique. Using GeneFishing ACPs, we obtained several genes those expression levels were induced by Cu. Finally, we identified several genes including UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase, transmembrane protein, small heat shock protein, C-type cytochrome biogenesis protein, mitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate, and trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase in alfalfa leaves. These identified genes have putative functions in cellular processes such as cell wall structural rearrangements, transduction, stress tolerance, heme transport, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, and lipid biosynthesis. Response of Cu-induced genes and their identification in alfalfa would be useful for molecular breeding to improve alfalfa with tolerance to heavy metals.
Arsenic (As) is a toxic element that easily taken up by plants root. Several toxic forms of As disrupt plant metabolism by a series of cellular alterations. In this study, we applied annealing control primer (ACP)-based reverse transcriptase PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in alfalfa roots in response to As stress. Two-week-old alfalfa seedlings were exposed to As treatment for 6 hours. DEGs were screened from As treated samples using the ACP-based technique. A total of six DEGs including heat shock protein, HSP 23, plastocyanin-like domain protein162, thioredoxin H-type 1 protein, protein MKS1, and NAD(P)H dehydrogenase B2 were identified in alfalfa roots under As stress. These genes have putative functions in abiotic stress homeostasis, antioxidant activity, and plant defense. These identified genes would be useful to increase As tolerance in alfalfa plants.
The present study investigated the effect of enzyme inclusion on silage quality using meta-analysis tool. A total of 16 research papers reporting the effect of enzyme application on silage quality were employed in the meta-analysis of this study. Mixed model for integrating quantitative results from multiple studies was used first to calculate the predicted error of each study. Individual error from the estimated model was the applied into standard deviation of each study to calculate the mean difference. Finally, summary effect was determined using standard mean difference (SMD) and inversed variance weighting. Mixed model analysis and SMD analysis showed the same effect patterns in all analysis items. Enzyme inclusion in silage significantly (p < 0.05) altered all silage quality characteristics investigated compared to control when enzyme was not included. Our results showed that enzyme treatment increased dry matter content, preserved crude protein effectively, and elevated water soluble carbohydrate content. However, the pH value, acetic acid, propionic acid, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber contents in silage with enzyme inclusion were lower than those of the control.