In modern managed agro-ecosystems, the supply of adequate food from blooming crops is limited to brief periods. During periods of pollen deficiencies, bees are forced to forage on alternative crops, such as maize. However, pollen of maize is believed to be a minor food source for bees as it is thought to be lacking in proteins and essential amino acids. This study was conducted to verify this a...

The effects of grass maturity on the mean retention time of liquid and particles, digestibility and duodenal nutrient flows were measured by feeding second cuts of perennial ryegrass to 3 fistulated lactating dairy cows over 2 successive periods (late June and mid-July, 28 and 49 d regrowth, respectively). Fresh forage was given ad libitum with 12% (dry matter (DM) basis) concentrate. The incre...

to investigate the effect of different amounts of fe and mn on qualitative and quantitative traits of forage maize (zea mays l.) hybrid single cross 704, an experiment was conducted as a factorial in a randomized complete block design with 16 treatments and three replications at qaneat city (southern khorasan province) in 2010. treatments consisted of 4 levels of feso4 (no fertilizer as control...

Lignification of cell walls is the major factor controlling the digestibility of forage grasses. Thus far, from QTL analysis, about 15 locations involved in cell-wall lignification or digestibility have been identified in the maize genome, many of which colocalise with QTLs involved in corn borer susceptibility. Genetic diversity for enhancing cell-wall digestibility in maize must be identified...

Brown midrib mutants have been isolated in maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) arising by either spontaneous or chemical mutagenesis. The characteristic brown coloration of the leaf mid veins is associated with reduced lignin content and altered lignin composition, traits useful to improve forage digestibility for livestock. Brown midrib phenotype i...

Forage legumes have a relatively high biomass yield and crude protein content, but their grazed and harvested biomass lacks the high-energy carbohydrates required to meet the productivity potential of modern livestock breeds. Because of their low carbohydrate content, forage legume diets are typically supplemented with starch rich cereal grains or maize (Zea mays), leading to the disruption of ...