• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.463-472
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• 2003

Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz), an annual tropical tuber crop, was nutritionally evaluated as a foliage for ruminants, especially dairy cattle. Cultivation of cassava biomass to produce hay is based on a first harvest of the foliage at three months after planting, followed every two months thereafter until one year. Inter-cropping of leguminous fodder as food-feed between rows of cassava, such as Leucaena leucocephala or cowpea (Vigna unculata), enriches soil fertility and provides additional fodder. Cassava hay contained 20 to 25% crude protein in the dry matter with good profile of amino acids. Feeding trials with cattle revealed high levels of DM intake (3.2% of BW) and high DM digestibility (71%). The hay contains tannin-protein complexes which could act as rumen by - pass protein for digestion in the small intestine. As cassava hay contains condensed tannins, it could have subsequent impact on changing rumen ecology particularly changing rumen microbes population. Therefore, supplementation with cassava hay at 1-2 kg/hd/d to dairy cattle could markedly reduce concentrate requirements, and increase milk yield and composition. Moreover, cassava hay supplementation in dairy cattle could increase milk thiocyanate which could possibly enhance milk quality and milk storage, especially in small holder-dairy farming. Condensed tannins contained in cassava hay have also been shown to potentially reduce gastrointestinal nematodes in ruminants and therefore could act as an anthelmintic agent. Cassava hay is therefore an excellent multi-nutrient source for animals, especially for dairy cattle during the long dry season, and has the potential to increase the productivity and profitability of sustainable livestock production systems in the tropics.

• Mycobiology
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.223-234
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• 2021

Itajahya rosea was found growing in association with Leucaena leucocephala plants at Savitribai Phule Pune University campus in India. The species identity was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis based on ITS and LSU regions of rDNA, wherein, our fugus was placed along with I. rosea in phylogenetic tree. It represents first record of I. rosea from India. Frequent visitation by Drosophila species on I. rosea fruiting body particularly on gleba was observed. The Drosophila got attracted to the detached gleba under the laboratory conditions and even sometimes, they prefer to sit over the gleba as compare to their food banana. It suggested that I. rosea gleba or pseudostipe produces some compounds for attraction and feeding behavior of Drosophila species. Therefore, we characterized the volatile attractants produced by gleba and pseudostipe of I. rosea by GC-MS analysis. Nineteen compounds were identified from gleba while nine compounds were recovered from the pseudostipe. Out of them, blends of three abundant odor producing volatile compounds were reported namely, Hexadecane, Pentadecane and Nonadecane, which are responsible for attraction of Drosophila toward the gleba. Three fatty acids namely 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z), hexadecanoic acid and benzoic acid ethyl ester produced are served as an appetitive signal through olfactory response of Drosophila, so the flies were feed on the gleba. Two pheromones' compounds, heneicosane and (+)-(5S,9S)-5,9-dimethylpentadecane, were also reported in pseudostipe and gleba, respectively, which play a role in Drosophila for breeding. Our study highlights an intriguing chemical ecology of fungus-Drosophila interaction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제14권7호
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• pp.986-993
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• 2001

In balance experiments with rats either 25 or 50% of the casein protein in the control diet was replaced with one of the following eight sun-dried tropical biomass products: water spinach plants (WS) (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk), leucaena leaves (LL) (Leuceana leucocephala), duckweed plants (DW) (Lemma minor L.), groundnut foliage (OF) (Arachis hypogaea L.), trichantera leaves (Tric) (Trichantera gigantea), indicago leaves (Ind) (Indigofera hirsuta), mungbean foliage (Mb) (Phaseolus aureus), and cassava leaves (CL) (Manihot esculenta Crantz). The experiment included 102 rats with six individuals per treatment group. In three of the 16 biomass treatment groups, feed intake and weight gain of the rats were unacceptably low, and therefore they were excluded from the statistical evaluation, The crude protein (CP) content of the biomass products varied between 20.9% (Tric) and 33.2% (DW), whereas the content of NDF varied between 18.5% (Ind) and 32.2% (DW) of dry matter (DM). The total content of essential amino acids (g/16 g N) was comparable with that of alfalfa meal, except for GF and Tric, which were inferior. Between plant species, differences in dietary digestibility of organic matter (dOM) and CP (dCP) were observed (p<0.001). Also, the replacement level negatively influenced dOM and dCP (p<0.001). The lowest values for dOM (p<0.001) were observed for diets including biomass products with the highest content of NDF (OF, Tric, Mb, LL). Digestibility of CP was negatively affected by level of protein replacement. Significant (p<0.001) differences were found in N-retention and biological value among diets with different biomass products. The most favourable overall results were obtained for DW, WS and CL. The main factors affecting the nutritive value of the diets tested were their NDF content, dCP and AA profile of the biomass. Also antinutritive component(s) may have influenced the process of digestion and metabolism of some of the biomass products.