Quebec's agriculture is new becoming a major industry, but there are still notorious deficiencies in many areas which are obviously in need of improvement. Nevertheless, the economic and social situation of the farmers has been changing during the last twenty years. Subsistence has been slowly disappearing. [...]

The influence of irrigation on timothy, alfalfa, ladino, bromegrass, and birdsfoot trefoil was investigated. Equal amounts of water were applied at four rates. Irrigation effected greater root and forage yields. The most efficient rate of irrigation was 0.1 inch followed by 0.4 inch and 1.0 inch per hour. [...]

Agricultural soils in Nova Scotia are usually limed in order to raise soil pH to ensure optimum availability of soil nutrients. Wood ash, produced by burning wood-based fuels, is promoted as a substitute for agricultural lime. This study individually assessed two wood ash sources available to Nova Scotia producers through on-farm sampling as well as greenhouse bioassay and incubation experiments. The variables measured were soil pH, plant-available and total element concentrations in soil, total element concentrations in above ground plant tissue, botanical composition and pasture condition scores (PCS). Soil pH was significantly increased after the application of wood ashes, however the effect was short-lived for one ash (NewPage). Agricultural lime was the most effective at increasing pH. Total soil concentrations of Al, Cr, K and Na remained elevated one year after ash application to NewPage sites. Brooklyn Power ash contained excessive levels of Zn, Cd, Pb and As.

In many pasture and rangeland scenarios, low-quality forages (< 6-8% CP) are the primary energy source for some portion of the year. At these times, energy is typically the first limiting nutrient to the ruminant. Low-quality forages are generally not limited in availability; however, the high cell wall content and reduced levels of CP prevent ruminants from being able to extract the harvested energy. Without provision of supplemental nutrients, the available energy may be inadequate to meet performance expectations. Protein supplementation during periods of inadequate forage quality has been observed to alleviate ruminal nitrogen deficiencies and increase forage utilization. Increased forage utilization translates into greater energy extraction allowing for increased animal performance. The first trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of utilizing non-protein nitrogen (a slow-release urea compared to urea) on intake and digestion of beef steers consuming low-quality bermudagrass hay. Steers were provided ad libitum access to a low-quality bermudagrass hay (7.3 % CP and were ruminally dosed once daily with either urea or slow-release urea (SRU) at levels to provide 0, 64, 128, or 192 mg of N/kg of initial BW per day. Additionally, steers were supplemented with glycerol at levels of 0 or 0.1% of initial BW per day. Total OMI and forage OMI (FOMI) increased quadratically (P < 0.01) with NPN supplementation. However there was not a difference in total OMI or FOMI between urea and the SRU (P = 0.24 and 0.21, respectively). The largest increases in FOMI and total OMI occurred with the first level of supplementation (64 mg N/kg BW) for both urea and SRU and intake peaked when 128 mg N/kg BW was supplemented. Total OMD was not affected by N supplementation level however N from urea tended to elicit a greater response than from the SRU (P = 0.01). Ruminal OMD increased linearly (P = 0.07) and ruminal NDF digestion increased quadratically (P = 0.09) with N supplementation. The second experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of hay crude protein and protein supplementation on intake and digestion in beef steers. Steers received one of three bermudagrass (Cynodon Dactylon) hays of differing nutritive value (7.0, 8.4, or 13.4% CP) and either 0 or 156 mg N/kg BW supplemented as cottonseed meal once daily. No significant Hay x CSM interactions were observed for hay OMI, total OMI, TDOMI, or digestible NDF intake (P >= 0.67). Hay OMI and total OMI increased linearly (P < 0.01) with hay nutritive value. A quadratic response (P = 0.03) was observed for TDOMI with increasing hay nutritive value. This response was largely driven by a quadratic increase (P < 0.01) in OM digestion with increasing nutritive value of hays. Supplementing CSM generally did not affect HOMI (P = 0.63) although TDOMI (P = 0.03) was increased. Similarly, OM digestion (P = 0.61) and NDF digestion (P = 0.11) were not impacted by CSM supplementation.

Eight cecally cannulated Quarter Horse geldings were utilized in a crossover design with two 28 d periods with a 21 d washout period between. Horses were adapted to dietary treatments from d 1 to 19, dry matter intake was determined from d 20 to 24, and cecal fluid was collected on d 28. Horses were paired by age and body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to treatment. Treatments consisted of housing horses individually in stalls or group housed in a dry lot pen. Regardless of treatment, all horses were individually fed a pelleted concentrate at 1% BW (as fed) offered twice daily 12 h apart. All horses had ad libitum access to coastal bermudagrass hay. Hay was offered to stalled horses initially at 2% BW (as fed) then adjusted based on 120% of a previous 3 d average of voluntary intake. A dual marker system was utilized for estimation of voluntary intake in all horses using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as the external marker and acid detergent insoluble ash (ADIA) as the internal marker. Cecal samples were collected 4-h after the morning meal and immediately analyzed for pH. Samples were transported to the USDA/ARS laboratory to enumerate total anaerobic bacteria and lactic acid bacteria, and to determine methane and ammonia activity. Cecal pH was influenced by housing (P = 0.02) with group housed horses having lower cecal pH values when compared to stalled horses (6.52 +/- 0.04 and 6.69 +/- 0.04, respectively). The cecal pH values of this study are similar to other reported values when feeding similar diets (5). Populations of cecal total anaerobic bacteria and lactobacillus were not influenced by housing (P >= 0.21). Treatments did not affect the production of acetate, propionate, or butyrate (P &gt;= 0.15). Additionally, methane and ammonia production were not affected by treatments (P &gt;= 0.17). Forage intake was greater for group housed horses (P = 0.04) than stalled (8.47 +/- 0.89 kg DM/d and 5.17 +/- 0.89 kg DM/d, respectively). In conclusion, confinement housing did not greatly influence the cecal environment of a horse when similar diets were offered.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Department of Agronomy, 1979.

Thesis (M.S.)--Texas State University--San Marcos, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-51). Also available on microfilm.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-94). Also available via the Internet.

Th. doct.--Paris--Éc. natl. des ponts et chaussées, 1989. / 1989 d'après la déclaration de dépôt légal. Bibliogr. p. 259-271.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1959. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-123).