New farming systems and management options are needed in South Asia as the intensive rice–wheat production system is set to become increasingly unsustainable under climate change. In the current study, six cropping systems options/treatments varying in tillage, crop establishment method, residue management, crop sequence and fertilizer and water management were evaluated using a cropping systems model under current (1980–2009) and future (2030 and 2050) climate scenarios in the state of Bihar, India. The treatments were current farmers' practice (CP), best fertilizer and water management practices, zero tillage (ZT) with no crop residue retention, ZT with partial crop residue retention (ZTPR), future conservation agriculture-based rice–wheat intensive cropping system (FCS-1) and future conservation agriculture-based maize–wheat intensive cropping system (FCS-2). The results indicate that climate change is likely to reduce rice–wheat system productivity under CP by 4% across Bihar. All the crop management options studied increased yield, water productivity and net returns over that of the CP under the current and future climate scenarios. However, the ZTPR treatment gave significantly higher relative yield, lower annual yield variability and a higher benefit-cost-ratio than the other treatments across cropping system components and climate periods. Although all the new cropping system treatments had a positive yield implication under the current climate (compared to CP), they did not contribute to adaptation under the future climate except FCS-2 in wheat. It is concluded that adaptation to future climate must integrate both cropping system innovations, and genetic improvements in stress tolerance.

Genebanks offer vast amounts of traditional germplasm with potential sources of novel genes against biotic and abiotic stresses. In order to utilize the germplasm in rice breeding programmes, there should be a fast screening approach such as the use of molecular markers. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate the use of tsv1 resistance-linked simple sequence repeat markers (SSR) for the preliminary screening of Philippine traditional rice germplasm against rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV). The tsv1 resistance-linked SSR markers consisted of two to four repeat motifs with 5–24 base repeats. Expected sizes ranged from 123 to 465 base pairs (bp) with polymorphism information content ranging from 0.23 to 0.73. Genetic analysis showed six major clusters at 50%: Clusters A, B and C had individual accessions, Cluster D had three accessions, Cluster E had 55 and Cluster F had 42 accessions. The study showed the germplasm with alleles linked to tsv1 but should be validated in the future with induced screening. In general, the material consisted of selected germplasm showing the presence of alleles linked to the tsv1 gene. These rice accessions could be a source of resistance to RTSV following further validation. Furthermore, molecular markers provide a useful tool to accelerate the screening of genetic resources for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.

Grafting of fresh cuttings using drought-susceptible and low-yielding clones as scions on drought-tolerant clones as rootstocks offers the possibility of raising composite plants with improved productivity and drought tolerance. Hence, the study was aimed to widen the choice of compatible composites and to delineate the underlying factors responsible for productivity and drought tolerance in grafted plants. One year-old composite plants of TRF-1, TRF-2 and UPASI-28 cleft-grafted on the rootstocks of UPASI-2, UPASI-9, ATK-1 and TRI-2025 were field planted along with their respective controls and evaluated. The results indicated that productivity and drought tolerance of scion clones varied significantly with the rootstocks used. Significant increases in yield and yield components were noted in the following graft combinations compared with their corresponding self-rooted scion clones: TRF-1 grafted on UPASI-9 and ATK-1, TRF-2 grafted on all four rootstocks, and UPASI-28 grafted on UPASI-9, TRI-2025 and UPASI-2. The findings clearly emphasize the scion–rootstock interaction as the critical determinant of productivity in grafted plants compared with vigour, drought tolerance and yield potential of scion and rootstock clones. Further, high-yielding capacity of grafts over the ungrafted scions and rootstocks was largely dependent on the yield potential of the scion clone and the degree of scion–rootstock compatibility. Higher field survival and enhanced yield observed during the drought period in the compatible grafts demonstrated their better drought tolerance compared with their respective self-rooted scions.

A field experiment was conducted to study the long-term effects of nutrient management practices on micronutrient concentrations in soil and their uptake by crops under a long-term rice–wheat cropping system. The treatments comprised different combinations of N, P, K, Zn and farm yard manure (FYM), used as nutrient management practices. After 25 years of continuous cropping, the higher grain yields and uptake of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were obtained when FYM was applied along with mineral sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) when compared to mineral sources of NPK alone. The residual effect of FYM, applied to rice, on the yield of subsequent wheat was significant. The application of mineral NPK with FYM recorded higher diethylene triamine penta acetic acid extracted (DTPA)-Fe, Mn and Cu concentrations in the soil compared to any other treatment. The plots with Zn application showed higher DTPA-Zn concentration in the soil compared to any other treatments. The available Fe, Mn and Cu in the soil were higher than their critical limits and the soil was low in Zn where inorganic fertilizers were applied alone (without Zn). Integrated application of mineral NPK and FYM to the rice crop and mineral NPK to wheat was found to be the best nutrient management practice in producing higher yields of rice and wheat and improve long-term soil micronutrient concentrations.

Oilseed rape seed yield has increased in the last 40 years in most countries, but this yield gain has not been accompanied by greater yield stability. The current study aimed to quantify the genotype by environment (G × E) interaction on oilseed rape yield, identify genotypes with broad adaptability and the main environmental drivers related to seed yield. A weighted two-stage mixed-model analysis was applied to official multi-environment trials of nine spring genotypes (G), in three locations (L) during 6 years (Y) on central and southern Argentine Pampas under rainfed conditions. Best linear unbiased prediction of seed yield ranged from 0.37 to 3.73 kg/ha. Fixed effect L × Y was highly significant and G variability was estimated as 130 kg/ha of standard deviation. Contrasting genotypes were identified by Shukla's stability index and two of those showed the best yield performance in the wettest year. Factor analysis explained 0.75 of total variation and discriminated genotypes with broad and specific adaptability, as well as combined environments according to the similarities in seed yield of the evaluated genotypes. Environmental loadings of Factor 2 were linearly associated with cumulative rainfall in the post-flowering period (up to 230 mm). It is concluded that (i) a significant G × L × Y interaction underlies the high variability of seed yield, (ii) two genotypes (G6 and G7) with high yield stability were identified, and (iii) G × E effects are associated with post-flowering rainfall.

Preservation of moist grain anaerobically by so-called crimping has many advantages. Generally, preservation has been successfully performed when grain is harvested at 30–40% moisture content (MC). However, there is a trend towards using drier than the optimal MC of the raw material. This leads to an increasing need to control aerobic spoilage of the material and also to experimental challenges in assessing the quality and stability of low-MC crimped grain. The objective of the current work was to evaluate fermentation quality, microbial composition and aerobic stability (AS) of drier than the optimal crimped grain ensiled with different additives and to use these materials to compare three different AS evaluation methods. Crimped wheat grain with 28% MC was ensiled using eight additive treatments based mainly on formic and propionic acids including a control without any additive. The low MC resulted in no lactic acid fermentation, but significant ethanol formation occurred in the control. The treatments used resulted in clear differences in microbial quality and AS of the feeds, and use of formic and propionic acid-based additives provided a clear benefit in improving the AS of crimped wheat grain. The correlation between increasing temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) production under aerobic conditions was very close, indicating that CO2 produced by aerobic bacteria can be used as a method of evaluating AS. Visual inspection of mould growth resulted in somewhat different ranking of the treatments.

Heat stress, especially in countries with hot climates, is a major cause of low fertility in high-producing dairy herds. Management strategies are needed to help producers improve the reproductive performance of their dairy animals under such conditions. The current study aims to evaluate the effects of pre- and post-milking insemination on the conception rate (CR) in dairy cows. The dataset included 1294 insemination records leading to pregnancy in 708 lactating Holstein dairy cows. The GLIMMIX model procedure of SAS based on the generalized linear mixed model methodology was used to analyse the results of insemination (success or failure) as a binomial distribution with the logit link function. Differences were observed in CRs between pre- and post-milking insemination. The pregnancy odds ratio (OR) for post-milking insemination relative to that for pre-milking one was estimated at 1.90 [1.23‒2.91; 95% confidence interval (CI)]. Different levels of interaction were obtained between average daily milk production and time of insemination. In the high-producing group, the pregnancy OR for the post-milking relative to that for the pre-milking insemination was estimated at 3.53 (2.00‒6.24; 95% CI). A significant interaction effect was obtained between insemination time and the temperature-humidity index. A pregnancy OR of 2.52 (1.22‒4.14; 95% CI) was recorded for the cows inseminated after milking on days with higher levels of heat and humidity stress v. the pre-milking inseminated ones. Based on the results, post-milking insemination of high-producing cows increased CRs, especially on days with high heat and humidity stress.

Olive cake (OC) and cactus cladodes (CCs) are two alternative feed resources widely available in Mediterranean areas. Their use in ruminant diets was assessed according to their chemical composition, secondary compound levels and digestibility. The effects of the olive oil extraction period and process, and CCs age and sampling period were evaluated. OC was collected monthly, from November to January, from mills using either a mechanical press or 2-phase or 3-phase centrifugation processes. CCs were collected fortnightly according to age (young and mature) from April to June. Two-phase OC had the lowest content of dry matter (DM), the highest nitrogen-free extract (NFE) and total and hydrolysable tannins and was more rapidly fermentable. Mechanical press OC was the least digestible. OC DM, protein and NFE were affected linearly by the extraction period. Gas production (GP), in vitro digestibility parameters and dry and organic enzymatic digestibility changed with the extraction period. Therefore, OC chemical composition and in vitro digestibility depended mainly on the extraction process and period. Compared to mature CCs , young CCs contained more water, protein, ether-extract and phenolic compounds, but less ash and fibre. GP and digestibility parameters were not affected by age, but in vitro organic matter digestibility and microbial biomass production were higher in young cladodes. CCs chemical composition, GP and digestibility parameters were influenced by the collection period. Due to its limited nutritional quality, OC should be enriched in nitrogen, while CCs could be considered as highly valuable forage in ruminant diet.

The present study was conducted to assess the inclusion of liquid protein feed (maize steep liquor; MSL) in growing lambs fed low-quality forage (400 g/kg wheat straw, dry mater basis) compared with two protein sources (soybean meal; SBM, and cottonseed meal; CSM). Eighteen male Farahani lambs, average body weight 36 ± 3.3 kg, were allocated to individual pens for 9 weeks. Three protein sources were: (1) MSL; (2) SBM and (3) CSM. Feed intakes did not differ among treatments. Growth rate and feed conversion ratio were improved in SBM-fed lambs. Nitrogen efficiency was improved in MSL v. CSM-fed lambs. Digestibility of fibre was enhanced in lambs fed SBM diet. Ruminal short chain fatty acid was highest in lambs fed SMB and lowest in lambs fed CSM. The urinary allantoin concentration was greater in SBM-fed lambs, with improved microbial crude protein synthesis. Blood urea nitrogen tended to be reduced in SBM-fed lambs. Dressing percentage improved in SBM-fed lambs. Lambs fed with SBM also grew faster and more efficiently than lambs fed either of the other two diets. However, regardless of the positive effects of SBM on the performance and ruminal fermentation profile observed in the current study, the MSL diet could be a profitable protein source in comparison to CSM in growing lambs fed low-quality forage. In conclusion, the present study indicates a positive outlook for feeding a liquid protein source to growing lambs fed low-quality forage such as wheat straw.