The widespread adoption of genetically modified, glyphosate-tolerant corn and soybean varieties in US crop production has led to a dramatic increase in glyphosate usage. Though present at or below regulatory limits currently set for human foodstuffs, the concentration of glyphosate in companion animal feed is currently unknown. In the present study, 18 commercial companion animal feeds from eight manufacturers were analyzed for glyphosate residues using ELISA. Every product contained detectable glyphosate residues in the range of 7.83 × 10¹–2.14 × 10³ μg kg⁻¹ dry weight, with the average and medians being 3.57 × 10² and 1.98 × 10² μg kg⁻¹ respectively. Three products were tested for within-bag variation and six were tested for lot to lot variation. Little within-bag variation was found, but the concentration of glyphosate varied by lot in half of the products tested. Glyphosate concentration was significantly correlated with crude fiber content, but not crude fat or crude protein. Average daily intakes by animals consuming feeds containing the median glyphosate concentration are estimated to result in exposures that are 0.68–2.5% of the Allowable Daily Intake (ADI) for humans in the US and EU, which are 1750 and 500 μg kg⁻¹ respectively. Consumption of the most contaminated feed, however, would result in exposure to 7.3% and 25% of the above ADIs, though the relevance of such an exposure to companion animals is currently unknown.Companion animal feeds contained 7.83 × 10¹–2.14 × 10³ μg kg⁻¹ glyphosate which is likely to result in pet exposure that is 4–12 times higher than that of humans on a per Kg basis.

A mixture of common Southern Piedmont (USA) grassland species (Lolium arundinacea, Paspalum dilatatum, Cynodon dactylon and Trifolium repens) was exposed to O₃ [ambient (non-filtered; NF) and twice-ambient (2X) concentrations] and fed to individually caged New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a digestibility experiment. Forages and feed refusals were analyzed for concentrations of total cell wall constituents, lignin, crude protein, and soluble and hydrolyzable phenolic fractions. Neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber digestibility by rabbits were significantly lower for 2X than NF forage. Decreased digestibility could not be attributed to lignin concentrations, but was associated with increased concentrations of acid-hydrolyzable and saponifiable phenolics. Exposure of forage to elevated O₃ resulted in decreased digestible dry matter intake by rabbits. Elevated O₃ concentrations could be expected to have a negative impact on forage quality, resulting in decreased nutrient utilization by mammalian herbivores in Southern Piedmont grasslands under projected future climate scenarios.

In this study, the bioremediation potentials of two seaweeds (Sargassum hemiphyllum and S. henslowianum) against pollution in a coastal mariculture area of Shenzhen, South China, were investigated by comparing the growth, nutrient bioaccumulation capacity of plants from the seaweed bed (control site) with plants from the fish farm. Results indicated that both species are potential candidates for bioremediation in the fish farm areas in terms of their high growth rates and high bioaccumulation capacities on inorganic nutrients. Both Sargassum spp. contain high levels of crude protein (11.7–14.0%) and crude fat (2.2–2.7%), suggesting high nutritional values. The S. hemiphyllum may serve as a good aquaculture fodder with high nutritional compositions and low heavy metal contents. However, heavy metals (Cr, Pb and Cd) of S. henslowianum exceed the maximum allowable concentrations as aquatic feed, which restricts its fodder application. In general, the results of this study may contribute to the marine pollution bioremediation in the coastal areas of South China, especially in mariculture zones.

The natural grasslands in northern China have been seriously degraded due mainly to overgrazing and climate change in recent decades, leading to shortage of forage supply to animal husbandry. To maximize forage production, we developed a two-harvest regime of oat forage by sowing in spring in an alpine region of Hulun Buir, northern China, using two oat early maturation species. The agronomic characteristics and forage quality of the two-harvest regime were evaluated across three constructive years from 2017 to 2019. Compared to the traditional one-harvest regime, the production, resource use efficiency, and economic benefits were compared and quantified for both oat species across the 3 years. Dry weight forage by the two-harvest regime was increased by 17.5–18.5%, while crude protein was increased by 25.1–30.0%. Growing days by the two-harvest regime was increased by 36.7% on average, nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency was enhanced by 25.1–30.0%, while water use efficiency was not significantly changed. The two-harvest regime also increased the net profit by 28.0%. Taken together, our results reveal that the two-harvest regime of forage production in the cold region of northern China is a promising practice with high forage yield, nutritional value, and nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency as well as economic profit.

In this study, a mixed-level orthogonal array design was employed for the optimum conditions of breeding housefly larvae by food waste. The results showed that the effects of these factors on the weight of 50 larvae, larvae yield, and crude protein content were the culture substrate ratio > the breeding density > the feeding mode. The optimum conditions for the housefly larvae to convert food waste were as follows: culture substrates ratio 1:3, breeding density 10.0 g/kg, and all substance added on the first day. The optimum food waste mass reduction rate was 79.1–83.6%. The value of the essential amino acids (Eaa)/ the total amino acids (Taa) (45.1%) and E/the nonessential amino acid (Naa) values (0.83%) in the housefly larvae products met the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) requirements for feed protein. The crude fat content (30.1 ± 1.18%) was higher than of the housefly larvae after bioconversion of pig manure (22.0%) and the fish meal standard of China. The contents of total nutrients (N+P+K ≥ 5.5%) and heavy metals (Pb ≤ 0.40 mg/kg, Cr ≤ 1.50 mg/kg, Cd ≤ 0.40 mg/kg) in the residues of this study met the Chinese standard for organic fertilizer. Tilapia raised with the dried housefly larvae showed the best growth performance and nutrient concentrations in the experiment groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, the trace elements concentration in tilapia raised with the four kinds of feeds complied with the maximum levels of contaminants in foods in both China and WHO. These findings show that the housefly larvae products that converted food waste are suitable for use in the production of fish feed.

This work studied the protective effects of Aspergillus awamori against ochratoxin A (OTA)-induced toxicity in APRI maternal line rabbits. A total number of 48 APRI line weanling rabbits (5 weeks) were divided into 4 groups (12 rabbits each) and fed the basal diet, 30 ppb/kg diet of OTA, 1 g/kg diet of A. awamori, and a mixture of OTA and A. awamori for 8 weeks. OTA reduced the final body weight and weight gain as well as the intestinal villi length and thickness, whereas increased the feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Rabbits fed diets with OTA showed significantly reduced crude protein, lipids, and fibers apparent digestibility coefficients (P < 0.05). The red blood cells and hemoglobin were significantly decreased in the OTA group comparing with the other groups (P < 0.05). The blood total protein and albumin displayed significantly lower levels by OTA than the other groups. In contrast, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea, and creatinine levels were significantly increased by OTA (P < 0.05). Phagocytic activity (PA) and phagocytic index (PI) showed significantly (P < 0.05) decreased levels in OTA-contaminated group, while rabbits fed A. awamori significantly showed the highest PA and PI levels (P < 0.05). Dietary A. awamori kept the levels of PA and PI in rabbits fed OTA significantly higher than those fed without A. awamori (P < 0.05) and not significantly different from the control group (P > 0.05). Catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) displayed significantly lower levels in the OTA group, while malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly higher than the other groups (P < 0.05). Rabbits fed OTA-contaminated diets displayed significantly lower CAT and SOD and higher MDA than rabbits fed OTA combined with A. awamori (P < 0.05). Our results indicated that dietary A. awamori ameliorated the damage in APRI rabbits fed OTA through alleviation of oxidative stress and immunity.

This study evaluated the effect of applying biofertilizer in the soil on the cultivation of corn. Different doses of biofertilizer associated with chemical fertilizer were applied in the soil to meet the plants’ nutritional demand. Four months after sowing, plant samples were collected and evaluated, by measuring the height and productivity of biomass, dry matter, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude protein (CP), and nitrogen (N). Soil samples were also collected to measure the concentrations of macronutrients, base saturation, and exchangeable acidity. The biofertilizer application did not alter the levels of dry matter, NDF, ADF, CP, and N in the plants, or the concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, and copper in the soil. Besides this, the largest average values of the plant heights and levels of potassium in the soil were found in the treatment with the highest biofertilizer dose. Notably, there was a significant increase in the quantity of fresh and dry matter in the treatments that received biofertilizer in comparison with the controls. The results obtained indicated the potential of substituting conventional fertilization with fertirrigation using biofertilizer, an alternative procedure that can help reduce the environmental impacts caused by dairy farming, regarding the release of wastewater into watercourses.

In this study, different nitrogen doses (0, 16, 48, 64, 80, and 96 kg ha⁻¹) from two sources, biofertilizer (from anaerobic digestion of cattle wastewater) and urea, were applied to cultivate two sugarcane varieties (RB 867515 and SP 803280). °Brix values higher than 21% were obtained with application of 80 kg ha⁻¹ from biofertilizer. The mean productivity of the cultivar RB 867515 using biofertilizer was 147.5 ton ha⁻¹, while from urea it was 136.87 ton ha⁻¹. The cultivar SP 803280 produced an average yield of 152.25 ton ha⁻¹ when applying biofertilizer and 154.37 ton ha⁻¹ with use of urea. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) between the use of biofertilizer and urea were detected for cultivar RB 867515 in terms of crude protein concentration. The application of 80 kg of N ha⁻¹ was considered the ideal dose, corresponding to fertirrigation blades of 54 mm of biofertilizer. The experiment showed that the biofertilizer formulation analyzed can replace urea as a nitrogen source for growing sugarcane. Graphical Abstract ᅟ

Replacement of conventional feedstuffs with inexpensive and non-conventional ingredients such as quinoa may improve animal performance and the quality of their products. Quinoa supplementation is believed to have a good nutritive value as a ruminant feed, but evidence is scarce. The present experiment aimed to evaluate the nutritive value of whole, dried quinoa plant (Chenopodium quinoa) as a feed for ruminants. In the first experiment, the in sacco technique was used to evaluate nutrient disappearance and fermentation kinetics of quinoa. In the second experiment, the in vitro gas production technique was used to evaluate diets with substitution of clover hay with quinoa at 0 (Q0), 15 (Q15), 30 (Q30), and 45% (Q45) of the diets. Proximate analysis showed that quinoa contained about 18.6% crude protein (CP) with oleic acid, arachic acid, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid as the major fatty acids. The in sacco degradability showed that the “a” fraction of dry matter (DM) was low, while the fraction “b” was high for DM and CP. Replacing clover hay with quinoa did not affect gas or methane production; however, Q30 treatment quadratically increased (P < 0.05) its production. It is concluded that quinoa can be used as a feed for ruminants and can replace clover hay up to 45% in the diet.