This study was designed to investigate the carryover effects of high-forage to concentrate (F: C) diet in bred heifers on feed intake, feed efficiency (FE) and milk production of primiparous lactating Holstein cows. The experiment was conducted for 589 days (d) from onset of pregnancy through to the end of first lactation. Twenty-four bred heifers (Body weight: BW= 345.8 ± 45.4 kg and 15 ± 1.2 mon of age) randomly assigned to two groups of 3 pens containing 4 heifers each and fed high forage (HF) diet with F: C ratio of 91.7: 8.3% and low forage (LF) diet with F: C ratio of 77.8: 22.2% throughout the pregnancy period. After calving, lactating cows were fed total mixed ration (TMR) based diet. No differences (p > 0.05) were observed in dry matter intake (DMI) of bred heifers and primiparous lactating cows in both HF and LF groups. The FE of mid-to-late lactation period was higher (p< 0.05) in HF than LF group. However, the HF group showed higher (p < 0.05) milk yield, 4 % fat corrected milk (FCM) and energy corrected milk (ECM) than LF group during the 305 d lactation. The LF group showed higher (p < 0.05) milk fat, crude protein (CP), milk urea nitrogen (MUN), solid not fat (SNF) and somatic cell count (SCC) than HF group. It is concluded that restriction of F: C ratio to 91.7: 8.3% to bred heifers has the potential carryover effects to maintain higher milk yield and FE with no adverse effect on feed intake and milk composition of primiparous lactating Holstein cows.

This study was aimed to find yield prediction model of Italian ryegrass using climate big data and geographic information. After that, mapping the predicted yield results using Geographic Information System (GIS) as follows; First, forage data were collected; second, the climate information, which was matched with forage data according to year and location, was gathered from the Korean Metrology Administration (KMA) as big data; third, the climate layers used for GIS were constructed; fourth, the yield prediction equation was estimated for the climate layers. Finally, the prediction model was evaluated in aspect of fitness and accuracy. As a result, the fitness of the model (R2) was between 27% to 95% in relation to cultivated locations. In Suwon (n=321), the model was; DMY = 158.63AGD –8.82AAT +169.09SGD - 8.03SAT +184.59SRD -13,352.24 (DMY: Dry Matter Yield, AGD: Autumnal Growing Days, SGD: Spring Growing Days, SAT: Spring Accumulated Temperature, SRD: Spring Rainfall Days). Furthermore, DMY was predicted as 9,790±120 (kg/ha) for the mean DMY(9,790 kg/ha). During mapping, the yield of inland areas were relatively greater than that of coastal areas except of Jeju Island, furthermore, northeastern areas, which was mountainous, had lain no cultivations due to weak cold tolerance. In this study, even though the yield prediction modeling and mapping were only performed in several particular locations limited to the data situation as a startup research in the Republic of Korea.

The objective of this study was to select a model showing high-levels of interpretability which is high in R-squared value in terms of predicting the yield in the mixed pasture using the factors of fertilization, seeding rate and years after pasture establishment in steps, as well as the climate as a basic factor. The processes of constructing the yield prediction model for the mixed pasture were performed in the sequence of data collection (forage and climatic data), preparation, analysis, and model construction. Through this process, six models were constructed after considering climatic variables, fertilization management, seeding rates, and periods after pasture establishment years in steps, thereafter the optimum model was selected through considering the coincidence of the models to the forage production theories. As a result, Model VI (R squared = 53.8%) including climatic variables, fertilization amount, seeding rates, and periods after pasture establishment was considered as the optimum yield prediction model for mixed pastures in South Korea. The interpretability of independent variables in the model were decreased in the sequence of climatic variables(24.5%), fertilization amount(17.8%), seeding rates(10.7%), and periods after pasture establishment(0.8%). However, it is necessary to investigate the reasons of positive correlation between dry matter yield and days of summer depression (DSD) by considering cultivated locations and using other cumulative temperature related variables instead of DSD. Meanwhile the another research about the optimum levels of fertilization amounts and seeding rates is required using the quadratic term due to the certain value-centered distribution of these two variables

This research was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding high and low forage diets with different forage sources on rumen fermentation characteristics and blood parameters of Holstein cows during the dry period. Eight Holstein cows were completely randomized assigned to two groups and repeated measurement was utilized in the analysis. Cows in two treatments were fed with diets with high (F:C = 70:30, 70F; forage source: mixed-sowing whole crop barley and Italian ryegrass silage, BIRG) and low (F:C = 55:45, 55F; forage source: tall fescue hay, TF) forage level. Rumen fluid pH was higher in 70F group. Levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid showed a similar pattern: from the lowest value at 07:30 h to the highest at 10:30 h and then decreased in both groups. The ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in 55F group at 09:30 and 10:30 h. Rumen fluid NH3-N concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in 70F group at 09:30 and 10:30 h. Blood urea nitrogen was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in 70F group. It was concluded that BIRG based diet with a high forage level had no adverse effects on rumen fermentation, some blood chemical parameters, and immune system in dry Holstein cows and could be used as a forage source instead of imported TF.

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.

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.

The objective of this research was to determine the effects of harvesting frequency and fertilization levels on botanical composition, dry matter yield, and forage feed compositions of Alpine grassland at 800 m altitude. This research lasted for three years at National Alpine Agricultural Research Institute in Pyeongchang with two harvesting frequency schedules (two and three times annually) and two levels of fertilizer application (conventional level of fertilizer at 280-200-240 kg/ha and a lower level of fertilizer at 200-200-200 kg/ha for N, P2O5, and K2O). Mixture combinations with seeding rate (kg/ha) were as follows: Orchardgrass 18, Tall fescue 9, Timothy 8, Kentucky bluegrass 3, and Ladino Clover 2. The gramineae ratio ranged from 93.2 to 95.3%. Therefore, gramineae forage was considered as the dominant plant in this experiment. No significant (p>0.05) difference was observed in forage dry matter yield between the two harvesting frequency treatments (two times at 9.8 ton/ha and three times at 8.6 ton/ha). However, forage dry matter yield in the two times of harvesting frequency tended to be greater than that in the three times of harvesting frequency. Significantly (p<0.05) higher forage dry matter yield in the standard fertilization level group than the lower fertilization level group (9.8 ton/ha vs. 8.7 ton/ha) was observed. However, there was no significant (p>0.05) difference in forage crude protein concentration between the two harvesting frequency treatment groups, although the concentration in the group with three times of harvesting frequency tended to be higher. In contrast, crude fiber concentration in the group with two times of harvesting frequency tended to be higher, although the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, and organic matter concentrations were not significantly (p>0.05) different between the two groups with different fertilization levels. Based on these results, it was concluded that the group with two times of harvesting frequency with conventional fertilization level might be proper for obtaining better forage productivity for Alpine grassland at 800 m altitude.

This study was conducted to evaluate the nutritive value and the quality of ensiled kenaf after fermentation with three cultivars at three different times of harvesting. Experimental plot were allocated with three harvest date (Early;8/3, medium;8/15 and late;8/28) and three cultivars (Tainung-a, Everglade, Whitten). The DM (dry matter) yield increased with maturity in all three cultivars, especially in Whitten which showed the highest yield at each harvest time. The DM content in Whitten at late harvesting time was higher than other treatments (231 g kg 1DM). The CP (crude protein) contents of the kenaf silage of all three cultivars ranged from 151 to 164 g kg 1. Highest content of NDF (neutral detergent fiber) was observed in Everglade at medium harvesting date, but the ADF (acid detergent fiber) content was highest in Everglade at early harvesting date (p<0.05). All treatments produced a pH less than 4.0, which is sufficient for stable storage. The pH of Tainung-a was higher than other cultivars at all harvesting times (p<0.05). Whitten showed the higher content of lactic acid (25.8 g kg 1 DM) showed at early harvesting date than other cultivars (p<0.05), while the acetic acid content (21.1 g kg 1 DM) was higher in Tainung-a at medium harvesting date (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed in ammonia-Nand butyric acid concentrations among all treatments. These results indicate that a kenaf silage could be used as fodder for ruminants. Especially, the Whitten harvested at late growing stage showed promise as a forage silage crop under Koran environments.

Our study is performed to confirm the level of genetic diversity and population structure with 80 maize inbred lines (40 waxy inbred lines and 40 flint inbred lines) and to explain the genetic basis of agronomic traits using an association mapping. The 200 SSR loci are confirmed a total of 1,610 alleles in total 80 maize inbred lines. The average number of alleles per locus was 8.05. The average GD was 0.72. The average PIC value was 0.68. The average MAF was 0.40. Population structure was revealed for K=2. Total 80 maize inbred lines were divided by groups I, II and admixed group. The 14 waxy inbred lines were assigned to group I. The 45 inbred lines include 5 waxy inbred lines and 40 flint inbred lines were contained to group II. The 21 waxy inbred lines were contained in the admixed group with lower than membership threshold 0.8. Association mapping between 200 SSR markers and 10 phenotypic traits of waxy/flint maize inbred lines were performed by Q GLM and Q+K MLM. In significant level at 0.01, 72 SSR markers were associated with 10 phenotypic traits using Q GLM. The 4 marker-trait association were detected in Q+K MLM. The results derived from this study will be used for designing efficient new maize breeding programs.