Feeding Dairy Ewes with Fresh or Dehydrated Sulla ( L.) Forage. 1. Effects on Feed Utilization, Milk Production, and Oxidative Status.

Feeding dairy ewes with fresh sulla forage (FSF), a legume species containing condensed tannins (CT), has been shown to increase feed intake, milk yield, and casein and enhances the oxidative status of animals. Dehydration of FSF could be an alternative to hay-making to preserve the nutritional properties. This research aimed to compare the responses of dairy ewes fed with diets based on sulla hay (SH), pelleted dehydrated sulla forage (DSF), or FSF in terms of efficiency of feed utilization, milk production, and the balance between oxidant (reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs)) and antioxidant (biological antioxidant potential (BAP)) substances at the plasma level.

A Comparative Assessment of Agronomic and Baking Qualities of Modern/Old Varieties and Landraces of Wheat Grown in Calabria (Italy).

The cultivation of wheat has been part of the evolution of human civilisation since ancient times. Wheat breeding has modified some of its characteristics to obtain improved varieties with high production potential that better meet the demands of the bread and pasta industry. Even today, there are still old varieties, landraces, adapted to particular environments.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Durum Wheat Under Different Nitrogen and Water Regimes in the Mediterranean Basin.

Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) represents one of the main goals to reduce N input in maximizing crop yield for sustainable agriculture. A NUE key strategy is the exploitation of genetic variation in available germplasm together with the understanding of molecular mechanisms governing this complex trait. Thus, NUE, its components, nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE), and NUE-related traits heritability were evaluated in ancient (Cappelli, Capeiti, Russello, and Mazzancoio) and modern (Messapia, Tiziana, Svevo, and Normanno) wheat genotypes for tackling nitrogen (N) and/or water limitation in both growth chamber and field experiments.