Temporal variations of herbage production and nutritive value of three grasslands at different elevation zones regarding grazing needs and welfare of ruminants.

Interannual and monthly variations of herbage production and nutritive value regarding grazing ruminants' needs and welfare were evaluated in three grasslands (semi-mountainous, mountainous and sub-alpine) located at different altitudes (480-900, 901-1500 and 1501-2334 m, respectively) in northern Greece during 2015-2016. Herbage biomass was collected from 30 experimental cages (10 per grassland), weighed, dried at 65  C, milled and analyzed for crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) content and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). The sub-alpine grassland was the most productive (1031 and 1231 kg DM ha ) with the highest mean annual herbage CP content (93 and 87 g kg dry matter; DM) for 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Prevalence of hydatidosis and fertility of hydatid cysts in food animals in Northern Greece.

This study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of hydatidosis due to Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato and the fertility rate of hydatid cysts in sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs slaughtered at the abattoir of Lagkada, in the Prefecture of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. Lungs and livers from a total of 294 sheep (31.3% infected), 126 goats (8.