跳至主要内容

Potassium and Manganese Fertilization and the Effects on Millet Seed Yield, Seed Quality, and Forage Potential of Residual Stalks

Millets are an important grain and pasture crop. Millet seeds have less anti-nutrient factors and are better choices for feed formulation in small ruminant, poultry, hog, and swine operations. Domesticated millet seed can be used as feed/or feed supplements in swine and poultry production, and has also been fed directly to wild and pet birds by bird enthusiasts. Pearl millets is one such millet that has high protein and essential amino acid content and is used as feed in poultry and hog operations. However, the changes in global climate affect the nutritive quality of crops and therefore directly affecting human and animal food/feed.

Mineral element fertilizer application improves both the quantity and quality of harvestable plant parts like forage and seeds. However, there is limited information on micronutrient elements requirements and their effects on seed and stalk forage quality. In this study, two millets: Pennisetum glaucum L. R. Br. (Pearl millet var. TifGrain 102) and Panicum ramosum L. (Browntop millet) were evaluated for their response to potassium (K) and manganese (Mn) fertilizer. The experiment was a randomized complete block with treatments in a split-split arrangement. Potassium and Mn were supplied as K fertilizer (0-0-60) and manganese sulfate (MnSO4·2H2O), respectively.

Potassium and Mn fertilizer rates and their interaction with each other and variety had no effect on determined parameters. TifGrain 102 grain yield averaged at 5900 kg·ha-1 was significantly greater than 4680 kg·ha-1 obtained for Browntop millet. While grain oil contents were similar, Browntop grain had greater contents of crude proteins. And except for K, Browntop seed had greater contents of all determined macro-and micronutrients. Residual stalks of Browntop had greater forage crude protein, total digestible nutrient (TDN) and lower acid detergent fiber (ADF). Browntop residual material had greater quantities of estimated net energy for growth (NEG), lactation (NEL), maintenance (NME). While TifGrain 102 residual stalks had greater contents of P and K, it had significantly lower contents of Ca, Mg and S compared to Browntop.

Overall, while these two millets have shown good potential for dual use, Browntop may offer a better choice for high quality seed and residual stalks for forage.


Article by Maru Kipleting Kering and Cyril Broderick, from USA.

Full access: http://mrw.so/59pGNn

Image by Fluffymuppet, from Flickr-cc.

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

Does Immigration Promote the Investment of the Monopolistic Firm?

In the present paper, we examine the effect of increasing uncertainty of immigrants’ growth on the optimal timing of investment of a firm that has a monopolistic power over the labor market. It is revealed that when the uncertainty of immigrants’ growth is more than a threshold level, increasing uncertainty of immigrants’ growth accelerates the optimal timing of firms’ investment and enhances the economic growth, even if the uncertainty of immigrants’ growth is formulated by the geometric Brownian motion, which is in sharp contrast to the standard result that an increase in the uncertainty postpones the optimal timing. With an increase in the immigrants over the past ten years, workforces in the host countries have been growing significantly to the extent that the immigrants represent 70% of the increase in the workforce in Europe, and 47% in the United States as OECD indicates. In the present paper, we attempted to investigate the effect of increased uncertainty caused by the growi...
发表评论
阅读全文

Education Policy Implementation: A Mechanism for Enhancing Primary Education Development in Zanzibar

Education is one of the fundamental rights of individuals; therefore, the government of a country needs to develop and strengthen educational policy and quality as well as to ensure that everyone has equal access to basic education. The improvement of access and quality of education in the world is becoming as an essential factor in development, whereas the basic education (primary school), is acknowledged as a foundation of the higher educational development for every country. To fulfill this goal, governments introduce several policies and procedures; however, it requires some reforms and participation from the politician, policymakers, and other stakeholders to re-examine educational policy so that it can lead to multiplication and betterment of the reforms. Educational reforms actually focus on accountability. A positive educational development and reform is very challenging and needs more effort and strategy on how to use and utilize the resources effectively as such it can achie...
发表评论
阅读全文