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ABSTRACT: The use of nitrogen (N) in pastoral ecosystems leads to increased productivity, as it allows the plant to elongate its leaves and, therefore, grazing herbivores harvest the green leaves. However, there are very volatile N sources, which can be replaced by ammonium nitrate, which is less volatile and less dependent on the application in rainy days. The treatments are compound of Marandu palisade grass pastures managed under continuous stocking at a canopy height of 25 cm, with different levels of N fertilizer: 0, 75, and 150 kg ha-1year-1, as ammonium nitrate (32% of N), with four replicates (pastures) in a completely randomized design. Nitrogen uptake (54.9, 96.5, 113.8 kg N ha-1) and N nutrition index (0.67, 0.98, 1.15) were different between N level, respectively, 0, 75 and 150 kg ha-1 year-1. The N recovery (58.3, 40.9 %) differed between 75 and 150 kg ha-1 year-1, respectively. The dose of 75 kg N kg ha-1 year-1 results in better N utilization, while the dose of 150 kg N ha-1 year-1 enables greater stocking rate; therefore, requiring less grazing area.

The plant stand is one of the main yield components amending crop productivity, maximizing productive environment for culture. In this sense the objective with this study was to evaluate forage production and chemical composition of two cultivars of common vetch at different densities. The experiment was conducted in 2011, in an area of the Crop Science of the Department of the Federal University of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Treatments consisted of two genotypes of vetch (hairy vetch and common vetch) at four seeding rates (50, 100, 150 and 200 seeds m-2). The experimental design was a randomized blocks design, arranged in (2x4) factorial design with four replications. The ADF values increased with increasing seeding rate, which did not occur for the other qualitative characteristics evaluated. The optimum seeding rate should be adjusted according to the cultivar and cutting, ranging 66-200 viable seeds per square meter. The total dry matter production is maximized when the seeding rate is 136 seeds m-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Temperament often depends on the animals’ reaction to people, social and environmental conditions. However, little is known about the influence of changes in the pasture environment on cattle temperament. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate if an animals’ temperament changes in response to being kept in a silvopastoral system. This study evaluated the effect of the tree components in a pasture environment on the temperament of any grazing cattle in integrated crop-livestock systems. A total of thirty-two Angus steers were allocated to either a livestock (L) or livestock-forest (LF) system and observed from December 2019 to February 2020. Each animal was evaluated for their reactivity score, flight speed, and number of vocalizations. The statistical model established that the animals were random effects and that the treatments and periods were fixed effects using the MIXED procedure, and the means were compared using LSMeans. The flight speed and number of vocalizations were similar in both production systems, while the reactivity score was lower for animals kept in the LF system when compared to those in the L system. This suggested that the LF system interferes positively with the animal’s temperament in relation to the L production system. However, additional research is needed to understand the influence of the production system on animal temperament.

ABSTRACT: Composting and vermicomposting before addition to the soil is a viable alternative to the disposal of cattle manure. However, this residue has been used in the untreated form for seedling production. This study evaluated the use of cattle manure in natura, and the organic composted or vermicomposted variants of cattle manure on substrates used in the production of Eucalyptus urograndis seedlings. The treatments consisted of substrates formulated by mixing the organic fertilizers with washed sand in 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 (v/v) percentages, compared to a commercial substrate. The E. urograndis seedlings were grown in tubes in a greenhouse and evaluated after 120 days for shoot and root dry weights, plant height, stem diameter, shoot/root ratio, and Dickson quality index. The substrate formulated from a mixture of 80% (v/v) of cattle manure in natura and washed sand allows for better development in Eucalyptus seedlings. Substrate containing 100% bovine manure vermicompost or organic compost produced seedlings with lower quality than in natura bovine manure but superior to the commercial substrate. Due to the health risks associated with use of untreated bovine manure, organic compost and vermicompost are good alternatives for the production of E. urograndis seedlings.

ABSTRACT: Gallus gallus domesticus’ immune system is a promising tool for generation of antibody-based immunobiologics. Immunoglobulin y (IgY) is extracted from egg yolk and has equivalent functions to mammal’s igg antibody. Avian immune system can be stimulated to produce a high-quality antibody repertoire. In this review, we present an overview of avian immune system emphasizing igy and its applications as an immunobiologic.

O estande de plantas é um dos principais componentes do rendimento que altera a produtividade das culturas, maximizando o ambiente produtivo para a cultura. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar a produção de forragem e a composição química de duas espécies de ervilhaca em diferentes densidades de semeadura. O experimento foi conduzido no ano de 2011, em área experimental do Departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Os tratamentos constaram de duas espécies de ervilhaca (ervilhaca peluda e ervilhaca comum) em quatro densidades de semeadura (50, 100, 150 e 200 sementes m-2). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao caso, disposto em fatorial (2x4), em quatro repetições. Os valores de FDA aumentaram conforme o aumento da densidade de semeadura, o que não ocorreu para as demais características bromatológicas avaliadas. A densidade ótima de semeadura deve ser ajustada conforme a espécie e o corte, variando de 66 a 200 sementes viáveis por metro quadrado. A produção de massa seca total é maximizada quando a densidade de semeadura for de 136 sementes viáveis m-2