The objective of this study was to determine the effect of goat grazing on the surface water quality of the alpine grasslands. Seven sites were selected across the goat farm for water sample collection and analysis. Samples were analyzed for BOD (Biological oxygen demand), total nitrogen, total phosphorous, electrical conductivity and water turbidity. All the above-mentioned parameters remained below the standard limit of Korean government at the end site. Puddles showed higher values, but below standard, as stagnant water has lower physico-chemical properties as of flowing water. The present study clearly showed that goat grazing doesn’t affect water quality in grasslands if grazing is according to carrying capacity of grassland and fertilizer application is judicious.

Soybeans have been the favored livestock forage for centuries. However, little studies have been succeed in estimating forage quality of soybean by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). To establish NIR equations for soybean forage quality, 353 forage soybean samples, including an 181 recombinant inbred line population derived from PI 483463 (G. soja) ´ Hutcheson (G. max), 104 cultivated soybeans (G. max) and 68 wild soybeans (G. soja) were used to develop NIR for four quality parameters: crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Two NIR spectroscopy equations developed for CP and CF (2,5,5,1; multiple scatter correction [MSC]) and for NDF and ADF (1,4,4,1; MSC) were the best prediction equations for estimating these parameters. The coefficients of determination in external validation set (r2) were 0.934 for CF, 0.909 for CP, 0.767 for NDF, and 0.748 for ADF. The relative predictive determinant (RPD) ratios for MSC (2,5,5,1) calibration indicate that the CP (3.34) and CF (3.45) equations were acceptable for quantitative prediction of soybean forage quality, whereas the NDF (2.34) and ADF (1.97) equations were useful for screening purposes. The NIR calibration equations developed in this study will be useful in predicting the contents of forage qualities and in breeding soybean for forage

Soybean is desirable as a forage crop because of it has high protein and oil concentration. Wild soybean, a progenitor of cultivated soybean, has a softer stem and higher protein content in seed than cultivated soybean. There is little information on yield and forage quality for wild soybean and its derivatives. The objective of this study was to determine the forage yield and quality of wild soybeans and selected soybeans derived from a cross G. max ×G. soja. Forage yield and quality were assessed for three grain soybean cultivars, three wild soybeans and three selected lines from G. max×G. soja. Forage quality attributes such as crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), digestible dry matter (DDM), dry matter intake (DMI) and relative feed value (RFV) were determined at the R2, R4 and R6 developmental stages. Forage yield and CF were highest at stage R6 in G. max, G. soja and selected G. max×G. soja lines. CP content was similar between R2 and R4 but increased sharply after R4 and peaked at R6 in G. max and selected lines from G. soja×G. max. On the other hand, CP content was similar between R4 and R6 stage in wild soybeans. Generally, NDF and ADF were highest at stage R4 but decreased at stage R6. DDM, DMI, and RFV increased between R4 and R6. These results suggest that R6 was the optimal harvest stage to provide forage of highest quality and yield. A study was conducted in 2011 to evaluate forage yield and quality at stage R6 in 25 lines from PI483463 (G. soja)×Hutcheson (G. max) and four cultivated grain soybeans. Hutcheson had the highest forage yield with 24.7t/ha infresh weight (FW) among grain soybeans. Line W11 had the highest forage yield(25.7t/ha,FW) among G. soja×G. max selections and four other lines had similar forage yield compared to Hutcheson. Generally the 25 lines from this G. max×G. soja cross had thinner main stems and branches than cultivated soybeans. When the 25 lines were evaluated for their feed quality as per forage grade by AFGC, nine lines rated prime grade and all 25 lines were classified as forage Grade 1. Results of this study indicate crosses between wild and cultivated soybean show promise for improving soybean as a forage crop.