BACKGROUND Current plant--herbivore interaction models and experiments with mammalian herbivores grazing plant monocultures show the superiority of a maximizing forage quality strategy (MFQ) over a maximizing intake strategy (MI). However, there is a lack of evidence whether grazers comply with the model predictions under field conditions. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS We assessed diet selection of sh...

take potential (Van Soest, 1994). The concentration of NDF is heritable in several forage species, and rates of gain Voluntary intake is generally considered to be the single most from selection for reduced NDF concentration of herbimportant factor limiting animal performance on high-forage diets. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) is the laboratory variable most closely age are reported to be as hi...

Forage age and maturity generally have a larger influence on forage quality than environmental factors. Plant environment, however, cause deviations in forage quality even when harvested at the same maturity. Temperature usually has greater influence on forage quality than other environmental factors. Although increasing temperature normally hastens maturity, the primary effect may be through i...

A control group of 6 rabbits (Group A) received forage from uncontaminated areas. Two other groups (B and C) of 6 and 8 rabbi ts, 'respectively, were fed forage grown near Chizzola exclusively. Seventy days after the beginning of the experiment, the S rabbits of Group C were given forage artificially polluted with material obtained from the purifying equipment of the factory after it had been t...

Forages comprise 35% to 70% of the dry matter (DM) in diets for lactating dairy cows. Variation in forage quality can impact DM intake, diet energy density, dietary grain and protein supplementation amounts, feed costs, lactation performance, and cow health. Forage quality is highly variable among and within forage types (NRC, 2001). Forage species, variety or hybrid, stage of maturity at harve...

The beef cattle industry in the southeastern US relies primarily on the use of high-forage diets to develop replacement heifers, maintain the cow herd, and sustain stocker operations. However, forage quantity and quality changes with season and environmental conditions. Depending on the physiological state and animal category, forage-based diets may not always meet 100% of the nutritional requi...

Preservation of forage crops as silage offers opportunity to avoid the high risk of rain-damaged hay in the humid south-central USA. Recent developments with baled silage or baleage make silage a less expensive option than typical chopped silage. Silage has been important in the region primarily for dairy production, but baleage has become an option for the more extensive beef cattle industry i...

This study was undertaken in order to examine whether any connection existed between the amounts of iron in forage and the sporadic occurrence of scrapie observed in certain parts of Iceland. As iron and manganese are considered antagonistic in plants, calculation of the Fe/Mn ratios was also included by using results from Mn determination earlier performed in the same samples. Forage samples (...

Forage crops are the staple ingredients of dietary rations fed to ruminant animals. They provide the animal with a large source of dietary fiber, critical for normal functioning of the rumen and its associated microenvironment (Driehuis and Oude Elferink, 2000). The preservation of forage crops into a fermented feedstuff known as silage has been an important practice in agriculture, especially ...

1. Foraging range is a key aspect of the ecology of 'central place foragers'. Estimating how far bees fly under different circumstances is essential for predicting colony success, and for estimating bee-mediated gene flow between plant populations. It is likely to be strongly influenced by forage distribution, something that is hard to quantify in all but the simplest landscapes; and theories o...