No abstract

No abstract

This study aims to determine the levels of dry matter, crude protein, and starch widely used in ruminant feeding, in dairy and beef cattle mixed feeds based on the measurements taken from two different Near-Infrared Reflectance (NIR) devices. The chemical analyses of the mixed feed samples used in the study were performed and the reference values (REF) were determined. In the research, two different NIR devices, a Benchtop-NIR and a Portable-NIR, were used and the nutrient values of mixed feeds were analyzed with these devices. It was determined that there were statistically significant differences between the reference method and NIR results for protein and starch content. Although the differences between the mean values were significant, the reference analyses results and NIR measurements were similar in some ways. According to the correlation coefficients calculated between the reference analyses with Benchtop-NIR and Portable-NIR devices, there was a weak correlation in the dry matter content, while a strong positive correlation existed in the protein (r = 0.72 for Portable, r = 0.93 for Benchtop NIR) and starch content. In the study, 30 different mixed feed (dairy cattle feed, beef cattle feed) values that are commonly used in ruminant feeding were measured.

(1) Background: The effects of prickly burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum) control measures (pulling out, burning and cutting) and grazing on the botanical composition, grazeable dry matter (GDM) yield and nutritional values of rangeland were investigated on Imbros Island (Turkey) in 2010–2013. (2) Methods: The rangeland was grazed by Imbros sheep during the last year of the experiment. About 0.15 ha of rangeland was allocated to each sheep and five sheep were placed in each plot. Grazing was continuous throughout the year. (3) Results: Shrub levels decreased by 50–60% due to pulling out, burning and cutting in the first year and herbaceous species increased. Forbs increased more in the pulled and burnt plots and grasses increased more in the cut plots. In the third year, the shrub level increased to 60–65% and herbaceous species decreased. The decrease in herbaceous species was observed mostly in forbs. Plant cover was mostly (58%) composed of annual species. Development decreased plant cover ratios, but this decrease ceased in the burnt plot in the third year. Grazing also reduced plant cover. Crude protein (CP), NDF, ADF and digestible dry matter (DDM) content did not vary significantly over the experimental period. CP and DDM increased, NDF decreased and ADF did not change in the development plots. Overall, significant differences were not observed in GDM yield and nutritional values due to development efforts (pulling out, burning and cutting). (4) Conclusions: However, cutting is difficult over stony and rough terrain and pulling out creates erosion on sloping surfaces. Therefore, burning is recommended over the entire rangeland and burning or pulling out is recommended over smooth terrain for the temporary control of S. spinosum.

SUMMARYExtensive sheep and goat farming is common in the rangelands of Gökçeada Island, NW Turkey. The aim of the current study was to investigate the behaviour of indigenous Gökçeada sheep over these rangelands and factors influencing their behavioural characteristics. Grubbing (with chisel ploughing to a depth of 20 cm), burning (the entire top part of plants) and cutting (10–15 cm stalk on the surface of the soil) were carried out on selected rangeland to reduce prickly burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum (L.) Spach) from the vegetative covering, then forage crop seeds were sown to improve plant cover. Forty head of Gökçeada-bred sheep were placed in eight fenced plots (half seeded, half unseeded) on reclaimed and natural rangeland for 2 years. Sheep behaviour was observed for a period of 1 year. Each plot was arranged with a stocking rate of 2·67 sheep/ha and contained five sheep that grazed freely within each plot. Sheep behaviour was observed diurnally through direct observation by time sampling (10 min) and continuous sampling methods. During the period of 1 year, the observed sheep spent an average of 0·53 of their time grazing in daylight, 0·30 of their time in rangelands on other activities and 0·17 in the paddocks. Significant differences were observed in the time of grazing, resting, locomotion and rumination by season. The highest grazing ratio was noticed in spring while the lowest was in summer. Sheep exhibited walking behaviour 10·6 times/day. The sheep mostly (0·66) grazed on prickly burnet throughout the year although, when available, they tended to prefer herbaceous plants. The behaviour of sheep in the two natural (unreclaimed) plots was significantly different from those placed in other plots, mainly due to the mass of prickly burnet shrub found in the natural plots.

This study was conducted in order to determine the changes in digestibility and energy values of hay depending on the application of Hungarian vetch-cereal crop mixtures at different ratios. The research was carried out in Çanakkale in 2009-2011. The study has been designed according to randomized complete block design, and the plots were arranged as single and mixed (3:1, 2:2, 1:3 Hungarian vetch: cereal) crop sowing systems by using three replications with sowing Hungarian vetch mixing with barley, wheat, oats and triticale. Crude cellulose (CC), digestible dry matter (DDM), total digestible nutrients (TDDM), metabolic energy (ME), net energy (NEL) and relative feed value (RFV) like characteristics was examined in this research. As the result of this research, the ratios of hay crude cellulose (CC) were not significantly important in accordance to different forms of sowing, while the values of DDM, TDDM, ME, NEL and RFV in hay were found higher in mixed sowing system than that of single sowing of cereal crops. In the study, it has been concluded that for being able to produce hay containing high nutrient value in the mixtures of Hungarian vetch with cereals then the mixture of wheat with Hungarian vetch with the ratio of 3: 1 would be suitable to sow.

Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) can analyze the factors and factor levels affecting the subject of interest in many branches such as technology, production, health, social and education, depending on the many rules it creates and with a very small experimental error (RMSE). and modelling. It is also applied in the field of agriculture, especially for the solution of problems such as agricultural field selection or technological product development. On the other hand, classical statistical methods are generally used in due diligence studies in a certain time period, such as product cultivation. Experimental design methods or in other words analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods come first among these methods. With the experiments modeled by ANOVA, the factors affecting the subject of interest and the levels of these factors are analyzed according to a single rule of the method used. Since the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the model formed by the multiple rules of ANFIS versus the single rule of ANOVA is much smaller, it gives stronger results. Modeling agricultural products with ANFIS depending on time will support data mining studies in this field. In this study, first both ANOVA and ANFIS methods were briefly explained, and then the data of a due diligence study carried out in agriculture were modeled by both methods and similar findings were obtained. However, mostly the standard deviation (RMSE) values of ANFIS were found to be smaller than ANOVA. In addition, the relationships between ANFIS outputs and real measurements were examined.

The study has been conducted in order to investigate the effects of Hungarian vetch and cereals on plant development and soil properties depending on different mixture types and ratios. This study was carried out between the years 2009-2011 in Çanakkale Province of Turkey. The study has been established according to the randomized complete block design using a total of 3 replications. Anadolu Pembesi variety of Hungarian vetch (V) (Vicia pannonica), Agile variety of barley (B) (Hordeum vulgare), Renan variety of wheat (W) (Triticum aestivum), Servente variety of oat (O) (Avena sativa) and Mikham-2002 variety of triticale (T) (Triticosecale Wittm. Triticale) were used as materials in the experiment. In the study, the crops have been cultivated with both single as well as mixed cropping (3:1, 2:2, 1:3 Hungarian vetch: cereals) systems with cereals using different amounts of Hungarian vetch. The number of seedlings, seedling ratio, upper and subsoil biomass ratios, leaf area index, land use efficiency and C/N ratios of soils were investigated in this research work. Consequently, the highest seedling ratios have been determined in Hungarian vetch mixing with barley and triticale. The leaf area index did not show a significant change as compared to other applied factors. The highest total mass amount was the lowest in the Hungarian vetch ratio which determined in 1V3T treatments. 2V2O treatments were found prominent in terms of land use efficiency. The C/N contents of soils increased in the second year and reached to its highest ratio level in 2V2B treatments. According to the overall results, the most suitable cropping mixture in terms of the studied parameters is the mixture of Hungarian vetch with barley and oats by using the lowest proportion of the mixtures.