A diversity of forage species and forage ecosystems suited to different management practices exists in the United States. The future of cultivar development in forages includes the new and evolving areas of genomic and transgenic technologies. Genomic research gained momentum with the publication of the complete DNA sequence of the human genome and has since expanded to plant species including ...

Nine multiparous (250 +/- 6 d in milk) and 3 primiparous (204 +/- 6 d in milk) Holstein cows were utilized in a 3 x 3 Latin square design to evaluate the lactation performance of cows fed a diet containing dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) with either corn silage or alfalfa hay as forage. Cows were fed total mixed diets containing corn silage (CS), 50% corn silage and 50% alfalfa hay...

maturation on stem quality may have the largest potential benefit. Declining cell wall degradability of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) The tools of molecular biology offer the potential of stems with maturation limits the nutritional value of alfalfa for ruminants. This study characterized changes in cell wall concentration, altering the development of alfalfa stems in very precise composition, a...

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding legume hay (alfalfa; Medicago sativa L.) or mixed-grass hay on ADG and carcass characteristics of growing goats. In Experiment 1, 24 Spanish kids, equally representing female, intact male and wether goats, were pen-fed ad libitum either chopped alfalfa (16.8 percent CP) or mixed grass hay (9.4 percent CP) (3 pens/diet) and a corn/...

Two studies evaluated the proteolysis of alfalfa that was ensiled in laboratory silos under different modified atmospheres. In the first study, fourthcutting alfalfa was ensiled at 25% dry matter (DM) for 28 d. The forage treatments were a modified atmosphere of 3% O2:20% CO2:77% N2, or formic acid (6 ml/kg of fresh weight); an untreated control was used for comparison. Proteolysis was assessed...

This study investigated the dose-dependent response in lamb meat of stable nitrogen isotope ratio to the dietary proportion of legumes, and the ability of the nitrogen isotope signature of the meat to authenticate meat produced from legume-rich diets. Four groups of nine male Romane lambs grazing a cocksfoot pasture were supplemented with different levels of fresh alfalfa forage to obtain four ...

Two laboratory-prepared ferric hydroxy bi-selenites and CuSeOs applied to Portneuf silt ham in the field provided slowly available Se to alfalfa, resulting in Se concentration adequate but nontoxic for livestock. These materials have potential as Se fertilizers at low application rates. The ferric hydroxy bi-selenites offer little or no advantage over CuSe0s. Se from BaSe04 alone, BaSeO4—BaSO4 ...

The alfalfa leafcutting bee (ALCB), Megachile rotundata F. (Megachildae), was accidentally introduced into the United States by the 1940s. Nest management of this Eurasian nonsocial pollinator transformed the alfalfa seed industry in North America, tripling seed production. The most common ALCB management practice is the loose cell system, in which cocooned bees are removed from nesting cavitie...

Production of energy from renewable biomass resources would reduce atmospheric CO2 increase associated with fossil fuel use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the energy potential of a thermochemical conversion platform of three herbaceous biomass crops. The biomass crops tested were stems of alfalfa, a legume, and whole herbage of reed canarygrass and eastern gamagrass, cooland warms...