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A review on the trend of livestock breeds in Laos
227-237Views:703When the livestock sector is considered an essential role in farmers' livelihood, and local breeds are still the critical component of animal breeding in Laos. Thus, there is a need to review the previous, current situation and prospects for Laos' livestock production. It aimed to study the different traits among the existing dominant local and improved livestock breeds (cattle, pig, and goat) and a more in-depth study on the livestock sector's previous evolving and prospects. Our findings revealed that the general trend of livestock population in Laos increased year-by-year for over 45 years, except for 1995 to 2000. It was decreased by almost 22% due to the new national strategy on economic revolution. The first foreign breeds were introduced into Laos, i.e., Large White, Landrace, and Duroc in 1980, Red Sindhi bulls in 1998, the frozen semen of Red Brahman 2003, and Bach Thao goats between 2001 to 2003. Unfortunately, many data are still not precise for introducing other foreign breeds like Boer goats, Thai Grey and Red Brahman. There were many missing data on the improvement of livestock breeds in Laos, including the local and improved breeds' reproductive and productive performance, which needs more study and research. We conclude that the semi-complex farm operation should be applied to improve livestock breeding and their productions in Laos.
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Dynamics of alfalfa production in Hungary: Changes in harvested area, yield, and total production over 30 years (1990 – 2024)
163-169Views:472Alfalfa is a crucial forage crop in Hungary, contributing to sustaining livestock feed and soil fertility management. To assess the dynamics of alfalfa crop production in the country, this study examines the variations and patterns in harvested area, total production, arable land area, and average yield of alfalfa over the previous three decades (1990 to 2024). Our findings reveal fluctuating patterns, with periods of increase and decrease in all parameters under study. While certain years exhibit growth due to favourable climatic conditions and improved agricultural practices, others show declines, potentially influenced by economic factors, changes in crop demand due to a decline in livestock production, and unfavourable climatic conditions, particularly drought. The analysis highlights the complication of alfalfa production trends, underscoring the need for expanding land area and adaptive strategies in Hungarian forage crop management to enhance alfalfa crop production to sustain livestock’s feeding system.
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The effect of bentonite on the quantity change of soil microorganisms, the CO2-production and the activity of saccharase enzyme
287-293Views:241We examined the impact of bentonite – the perspective improving material of sandy soils – and treatments of livestock manure composted with bentonite on sandy soils, within the framework of a small-plot experiment.
The adjustment of the experiment was made on the Experiment Site of the Nyíregyháza Research Centre of the University of Debrecen, Centre of Agricultural Sciences (UD CAS). We collected soil samples from parcels treated with increasing bentonite doses (5, 10, 15, 20 t/ha) on the one hand, and from the parcels treated with livestock manure composted with increasing doses of bentonite, on the other.
We performed laboratory research in the soil microbiology laboratory of the Soil Science Faculty of UD CAS DAS, during which we determined the total number of bacteria, the quantity of microscopic fungi, the number of cellulose-decomposing bacteria, the CO2-production of the soil and the activity of saccharase enzyme.
During the evaluation of the examinations, we made a statistical analysis using SPSS 9.0. We determined the average of measurements, the standard deviation of controls, the standard deviation, the significance value and we also performed a correlation analysis.
Concerning the impacts of bentonite treatment and the treatment of livestock manure composted with bentonite on the examined microbiological features of sandy soil, we can summarize the following:
• Our results prove that the microbiologic activity of the soil has increased owing to the impact of bentonite treatments regarding total number of bacteria and the quantity of microscopic fungi. ”Pure bentonite” treatments – although not significantly in every case – increased these values, but larger doses decreased them. The treatments of livestock manure composted with bentonite resulted in a larger increase regarding both parameters.
• The number of cellulose-decomposing bacteria was increased by the low doses of both series, and was decreased by the higher doses. Higher bentonite doses decreased it in a higher – significant – degree than those of treatments of livestock manure composted with bentonite, whose low dose caused salient number of bacteria.
• Regarding the carbon-dioxide formation, we have experienced an increase even in the case of low dose treatments (nevertheless, the increase did not prove to be significant), but – similarly to the quantitative changes in the number of cellulose-decomposing bacteria – the large doses of both series of treatment decreased the CO2-production of the soil.
• Bentonite also increased the activity of saccharase enzyme significantly. We learned that”pure bentonite” treatments increased the activity of the enzyme to a higher degree than composted treatments. Moreover, it can be stated that the treatments of larger doses of both bentonite and livestock manure composted with bentonite have decreased the enzyme activity – not significantly, though.
• Based on the correlation analysis, it can be stated that as an impact of the treatments, the microbiological activity of the soil has also increased with the increase of the number of soil microbes, as in both treatment series we have experienced a tight positive correlation (r=0.81-0.82) between the change of total number of bacteria and the CO2-production of soil. In both treatments, there was a medium correlation between the total number of fungi and soil respiration (r=0.63-0.63). Furthermore, it can be stated that the usage of organic manure had a positive effect on the activity of cellulose-decomposing bacteria, as in this treatment series there was a positive correlation (r=0.65) between this physiological group and CO2-production. Both treatments prosperously impacted the activity of saccharase enzyme, because there was a medium correlation (r=0.62-0.64) between the activity of the enzyme and soil respiration. -
Trends in Dry Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Production
53-58Views:330Dry pea is an important, cool-season grain legume, which is grown worldwide on over 6 million hectares. The major producing countries outside Europe are China and Canada, followed by India, Australia, and the United States. France, Canada and Australia produce over 2 million hectares and are major exporters of peas. During the 1980’s, in developed countries of the European Union, pea production rose yearly by 6-10%, which represents a significant increase in both area and yield. Europe accounts for 50-75% of world pea production. In the 1990’s, the European Union produced 4-5 million tonnes of dry pea, of which 3-4 million tonnes were used for feed and 1 million tonnes for export. At the end of the 20th century, the growth in production was low, mainly because of the absence of support measures, and the better returns offered by other crops. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, dry pea was primarily used as feed and pea production dropped, due to a trend in livestock raising.
Food consumption of dry pea is concentrated in developing countries, where grain legumes represent a useful complement to cereal-based diets as a relatively inexpensive source of high quality protein. As a result, human consumption of grain legumes fell from 2,2 kg/capita in 1961 to 0,5 kg/capita in 1999. The importance of grain legumes in food protein supply decreased, while that of cereal products increased. Shortage of grain legumes has adverse effects on the nutritional standard of poor people in developing countries.
World dry pea production reached 16,7 million tonnes in 1990, with 3,7 million tonnes used as food, 11,4 million tonnes used as feed, and 1,0 million tonnes used as seed. Dry pea production was 10,9 million tonnes in 1999, and 3,5, 5,8 and 0,8 million tonnes was used as food, feed and seed, respectively. In the coming decades, world grain legume production and utilization as feed are expected to expand at a slower rate than in the 1980’s. Most of the increase is expected to occur in Eastern European countries, Canada and Australia, where production is anticipated to grow at 2% annually. The projection for the new millennium was derived from adjusted trends in area and yield over the period 1961-2000, based on FAO statistical data. -
Global and national economic importance of pig meat production
13-20Views:619The pork production has changed significant in recent decades. Pig production fell significantly due to the need to adapt to new animal welfare rules in the sector. Furthermore, change in the meat consumption habit had also a negative effect on pig meat production. Hungarian pig sector and meat industry are in a difficult situation. Due to the high feed prices, the average production cost of pig farming has often exceeded the producer prices in recent years, therefore an increase of pig population could not be realised yet. Pig market is characterised by cyclical fluctuations of supply and prices, furthermore the decreasing producer price occurred parallel with increasing feed prices.
Technology is also a critical fact in the Hungarian pig sector because there is a huge gap in the level of technology compared to that of competitive member states. With the development of production methods the efficiency of pork meat production can be improved in an environmentally friendly way. -
Agrarian sector of Ukraine in the global world
57-60Views:245Characterization of Ukraine as a “bread basket” for the world have been done. In our study using database of State statistical service of Ukraine and FAO we showed changes of harvest areas and volume of production of cereals and protein-oil crops during this century.
As a result we showed that Ukraine has increased its share in the world gross harvest of cereals up to 2.17% and protein-oil crops up to 3.4%. Each economically active agrarian produced 22.6 tons of cereals and 3.5 tons of protein-oil crops, increasing this index in comparing to 2000 in 11 and 12 times accordingly.
Ukraine has a great potential for increasing crop production because of use genetic potential of varieties only for 60–70%. Here are shown changes in cattle, poultry breeding and dynamic of livestock production. We also included export of cereals and livestock production.
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Livestock production development in AP Vojvodina
501-513Views:192The aim of this paper is to present the effects of breeding program implementation on the development of animal breeding in Vojvodina since 2010. Data from the Main breeding organization (controlled population) and data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (total population) were used as a basis for this research. The main breeding organization is the Departmant of
Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad that implemented the main breeding programs in cattle, pig, sheep, goat, horse and poultry production. The milk yield in a recorded population of Holstein Friesian and Simmental cows shows evident phenotypic increasing trend as opposed to a population that is not controlled. The results of the selection measures in Vojvodina show that pig breeding has an upward trend and that we have an increasing number of small and medium (family) farms. Interest in sheep and goat production is increasing primarily because of the high demand for products made from sheep meat and goat milk and meat. In the recent decades, Vojvodina has been faced with a decrease in the number of horses. At the same time, there is an increasing interest in sports horses and recreation. According to poultry production results of parental flocks, an increasing tendency was observed in the production of controlled flocks recently, while the number of breeding stock breeders was reduced. -
Impacts of ethnoveterinary medicine integrated with livestock farm technologies on the performance and antimicrobial resistance of indigenous goats in South Africa –A review
93-103Views:409Ethnoveterinary medicine and livestock farm technologies represent a junction of innovation and tradition with the aim to accomplish livestock systems that are resilient, productive, and sustainable to meet 21st century challenges, especially the antimicrobial resistance issue. This article aims to emphasise the impacts of integrating ethnoveterinary medicine with livestock farm technologies on the performance of indigenous goats in South Africa. With the growing concern over antimicrobial resistance in livestock, there is a pressing need for complementary approaches to the health of animals and their productivity. In this review, the aim evaluated whether an integrative approach could offer a sustainable alternative that benefits animal health and productivity while addressing the concerns of antimicrobial resistance. Comparative study designs across multiple indigenous goat farms were used to integrate specific medicinal plants in ethnoveterinary medicine with present-day livestock technologies that are used to monitor the effects on livestock performance indicators and antimicrobial resistance patterns. In the treated populations, the outcomes were indicative of substantial improvements in reproduction and growth rates, and alongside, there has been a notable decrease in the markers of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, it is proposed that through these discoveries, the integration of these traditional and modern approaches not only improve the performance of indigenous goats but also contribute immensely to the mitigation of risks associated with antimicrobial resistance.
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An overview of swine production and marketing in Africa - Mini review
121-129Views:598Pigs are the oldest domesticated animals, though their ancestry is still uncertain because of a lack of archaeological and genetic evidence. Pigs serve a vital role in reducing the demand for livestock and livestock products in most parts of the world. Especially in the African continent, pigs serve as mobile cash implying how easily they can be converted into cash to sort pressing family needs. Pig production in Africa is different from advanced systems of production in temperate countries, however, it has similarities with most of the tropical low and middle-income nations. Pig production in Africa requires attention to enable it to contribute effectively to the growing African population. However, it has been orchestrated with a myriad of challenges including market access. This mini-review is designed in a manner to provide an overview of pig production contribution to livelihoods in Africa and associated challenges with possible appropriate solutions.
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Quality management and traceability in crop production
273-277Views:546Today, food safety and quality is an everyday issue. Scandals in the food industry drew attention to the role and responsibility of food producers in the food chain. The European Union has set up a new integrated approach towards food safety, to which Hungary as an EU member and export-oriented country has also joined. The new “from farm to fork” principle states that food and feed production cannot be handled separately, as only feed produced from good quality raw materials can ensure safe food products. Another important issue is the traceability of products, allowing for the localization and recall of the defected item. In Hungary, there have been different documentation systems for tracking and tracing products, such as the land register in crop production, animal register in the livestock sector and hygiene registers in the food industry. In order to meet EU requirements, there is a growing number of initiatives to include primary production in the scope of food safety standards. The study introduces and compares the various management systems used in crop production.
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The role of animal breeding with special regard to native pigs of food supply and rural development in Laos
149-154Views:430The present paper explored the influence of breeding native pigs on livelihood conditions and the contribution of native pigs to the rural development and rural poverty reduction in the rural areas of Lao PDR. Pig production plays an important role in meat supply for both urban and rural areas of Laos. It is clear that most of the pig products in the country come from smallholder pig farms, and more than 90 percent of those products are the native pigs mostly raised by farmers in remote areas. In general, livestock production distributed between 15–18 percent to GDP, while most of animal production still remains as the traditional methods. Rural development is always the first priority of the Laos government since its independence in 1975, however, the poverty rate in rural areas remained high at 23% in 2018. It might block the development goal of the government which will lead the country out of the least development status by 2020. The food security and malnutrition in the rural or mountainous areas are considered as the majority issue that both government and several international organizations have been thriving hard to overcome, which researchers showed that more than 45% of children under 5 years of age were stunted, and 28% of them were underweight. Inspired of more than 50 % of the households in the rural areas of Laos reported they consumed chicken and pork at least one day a week. While native pigs play an important role on meat supply, it also constituted around 9–14 % of annual income of the households in rural areas. Therefore, the increase the production of pigs and poultry is one option to promote the meat supply to households in the rural areas of Laos. This paper will be a pathway to guide and identify for the final decision to what experiment will be implemented on Lao native pig in Laos (2021–2023) to complete the comparative study on reproductive physiology and reproductive management methods of Hungarian and Lao Indigenous pig breed. Which found it still needs further afford to research and improve more about native pig performance for all areas of productive and quality management.
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Investigation of the effect of allithiamine-enriched feed on the poultry gut microbiome composition and resistome
149-155Views:272Over the past 20–25 years, the poultry industry has evolved into a specific protein production system. However, the stress resulting from intensive rearing practices has led to numerous negative consequences, making the optimisation of livestock gut microbiome composition crucial for mitigating these effects. Advancements in modern molecular biology methods have brought attention to the impacts of nutrients on gut microbiota. In our study, we extensively investigated the changes induced by feed formulations rich in phytonutrients on the gastrointestinal microbiota of livestock using targeted 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our objective is to examine how the developed feed prototype affects the composition of core microbiomes in raised poultry, community diversity, and the resilience of complex microbial networks. We seek correlations between biological livestock and environmental samples to identify which community constituents, in what proportions and occurrences, may play a role in the development of specific diseases. Based on our measurement results, it can be asserted that allithiamine positively modulated "beneficial" community constituents. Beyond the impact of allithiamine-enriched feed rich in phytonutrients, the composition of the microbial community in the poultry gastrointestinal tract is significantly influenced by the age of the birds. Furthermore, due to the presence of multi-drug-resistant pathogens in environmental samples from livestock facilities, appropriate transmission risk management measures are of paramount importance.
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Development of seed analyses by means of various matrix solutions and the MALDI-TOF MS technique
53-57Views:807The earth's population is growing steadily, currently accounting for about 7.3 billion people. Population growth causes food demand to rise, approximately 36 million people die each year due to starvation or related diseases. One solution to this problem is the continuous examination and development of the agricultural economy. In this study, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI -TOF MS) were used to analyse of sunflower, soybean and hemp. In order to analyse the protein of maize, this method has already been applied. However, for sunflower, soy and hemp, it is necessary to develop a sample preparation method. Choosing the optimal matrix solution for ionization the traget molecule is an essential part of developing the method. Our aim is to compare two different matrix solutions (α-HCCA, SA matrix), based on the properties (intensity, noise ratio, value of spectra) of the spectra.
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Assessment of energy generated by biogas production in the educational industrial unit of the University of Szeged, Faculty of Agriculture, with special regard to biomass originating from agriculture and the food industry
137-140Views:190The importance of waste treatment is increasing. Environmental aims are the main driving force. Stricter regulations for landfills lead to the development of alternative treatment methods for waste. For agro-mechanical research, wastes from animal rearing and the food industry, secondary-tertiary biomass, is of deep concern. Available technology is versatile and relatively simple to use as a reliable and effective means of producing a gaseous fuel from various organic waste. The most common application has been the digestion of animal dung, agricultural, and food-industrial waste. This was studied by our department in our pilot farm of our Faculty. The 50-dairy cow, family sized model farm was built in the summer of 1991, as a result of a Dutch – Hungarian cooperation, on the property of the Faculty. The new pig farm, with 30 sows, and the new goat farm, with 100 nannies, was given to the Faculty on 25 April 2001. On the basis of livestock data, the annual dung production and the producible energy were determinate. The energy was calculated by biogas production coefficients in literature.
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The role of green manure crops in Hungarian plant production
49-53Views:567According to the data of KSH (Hungarian Central Statistical Office), the sowing area of cereals in the crop year 2016 was over 2.56 million ha, on which winter wheat and maize were produced in a rate of around 50–50%. Regarding these data it is obvious that the domestic cropping structure has been simplified and become unilateral. This unfavourable crop rotation system causes several problems. The number of Hungarian livestock decreased in the past decades. The amount of manure was 24 million tons in 1960, but only hardly 4.5 million tons of organic manure was applied in 2016. Therefore, the importance of other possibilities, alternatives for organic matter recovery have become enhanced. This is especially important from the aspect of sustainable plant production. The fact that the European Union has introduced new directives for subsidiaries in 2015 has to be noted as well.
The objective of the set experiment is to find new technological solutions that are suitable for the execution of sustainable plant production by inadequate crop rotation, organic substance recovery conditions or under more unfavourable climatic conditions.
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Analytical overview of dairy industry in the Poltava region, Ukraine
47-51Views:235The author presents essential characteristics of the state and place of Poltava region in it. The study aims at identification and description of latest trends in Ukraine’s and Poltava’s dairy industry. The author stresses an important place of the dairy industry in the agriculture of Ukraine, and particularly in the Poltava region. This article also presents the information of main indicators of dairy industry of Ukraine in the comparison with other countries of the World. It describe sources of forming the main agricultural products and directions of their use for the calendar year, data on per capita consumption of main dairy products in Ukraine and the Poltava Region and per capita average daily consumption of basic micro- and macro elements in foods. The study contains basic indicators which characterize the social and economic state of agriculture in Ukraine and its regions for 1990–2012. There are also the data of gross production and main kinds of dairy products per capita and as well as some indicators of livestock’s productivity and so on.
The goal of the article is to describe the complex evaluation of the achieved level of milk production, consumption of milk and dairy products in Ukraine and the Poltava Region, to show the specifics of the national dairy cattle breeding, identifying the main challenges in it.
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Heat stress of cattle from embryonic phase until culling
11-22Views:711Heat stress becomes a serious problem in the livestock sector as it affects cows' performance negatively. The objective of this paper review is to investigate the effects of heat stress during the different phases of the life cycle of cows; embryos, calves, heifers, and cows. Heat stress during early maternal gestation affects the ability of embryos to develop increasing the risk of abortion and early embryonic death. Heat stress during late maternal gestation affects the performance of calves and heifers later in their life, as it reduces growth performance, conducts physiological changes, impaired immunity, changes the behavior, and reduces the length and intensity of the estrus in heifers with decreasing in milk production in the first lactation. On the level of cows, milk quality and production, meat quality, and the final body weight decrease under hot temperatures. Heat stress decreases the conception rate, alters follicle growth, and estrous symptoms. Hormones secretion and physiological changes because of the heat stress conduct to impair the immunity system, and in oxidative stress and death in some cases. Same as for calves and heifers a change in the behavior of cows was detected in order to decrease their temperature.
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Agricultural biogas plants in Eastern Hungary
79-81Views:269In the scope of the article, agricultural biogas plants which operate within the region have been analysed together with their linked livestock plants. The study attempts to describe the current condition and future opportunities of the sites. It also covers the description of energy production/use efficiency. The study contains the list of factors determining the economic operation of biogas plants. In the course of the analysis, types, amount and quality of energy produced of different raw materials have been determined within the decentralised energy production.
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Strategic Steps in the Sheep and Goat Branches
61-68Views:539The balance of the sheep and goat branches can be summarised as follows:
If the increase in stock size, specific yields, genetic improvement and modernisation are not realised, several thousand shepherds will lose their jobs and possibilities to work, and their families will lose their only source of livelihood.
Several hundred hectares of grassland will become weedy and the costs of crop protection will increase in these regions. Pollen pollution, the number of allergic ailments and medical costs will increase, mentioning only the main disadvantages. Its financial requirement is nearly equal to the one required for development without any essential compensation or production.
In order to develop a competitive branch, a subsidisation of 10-20 billion HUF is needed until the accession of Hungary to the EU, depending on the scale and progressivity of development. The subsidisation and realisation of the strategic steps would result in:
– the establishment of a registered livestock with 1.5 million ewes, which would ensure better market position for the branch in the EU (5%),
– the establishment of a competitive and marketable branch with a production value of 15-25 billion HUF, calculated using the present price level (after accession, the branch would be self-operating and profitable, with the 6-8 billion HUF/year normative subsidisation by the EU),
– the establishment of a genetic potential which would ensure our participation in profitable international breeding animal market, which provides extra profit,
– the establishment of a sheep husbandry with better genetic potential and phenotypic performance, producing a quality of international level,
– the maintenance of the workplace of more than 10.000 people (saving 3-5 billion HUF/year of the budget),
– the maintenance of the condition of growing areas of grasslands with their advantages (crop protection and public health) whose financial effect is considerable. -
Role of hypothalamic neuropeptides in feed intake regulation of livestock species (literary review)
63-68Views:603Energy balance is the net result of the energy intake (nutrition) and expenditure (basic metabolic rate). The purpose of the daily feed intake is to provide energy and nutrients for maintenance, production and fill and maintain energy storages in form of glycogen and fat. Animals can adjust their feed intake to ensure their energy demand. Food intake regulation in animals and human is a very complex process, in which the digestive system, the central nervous system, the joining hormonal and non-hormonal factors, and the integrating hypothalamus take part. This review primarily focuses on the action mechanism of some important appetite regulating neuropeptides, and their impacts on the performance traits of the economically significant animal species.
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The situation of agricultural education in the Hungarian language in Romania
11-14Views:222Our objective was to analyse the situation of Hungarian language agricultural higher education in Romania. Our analyses have been focused mainly on Kovászna county. Following the evaluation of the characteristics of the county, we assessed the situation of Hungarian language higher education in Romania. History is considered important, because Hungarian language agricultural higher education goes back to the 1860s. The best solution for measuring the current reputation was the completion of questionnaires, which was done by 140 randomly selected people in Kovászna county. Following the evaluation and analysis of the questionnaires we found that local agricultural education, plant production and livestock farming are important activities for the locals. However, it is sure that even if they are satisfied with the education, they consider continuous development very important, since it would be a major help for the employment and subsistence of fresh graduates in Kovászna county.
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Leaf protein analyses in order to utilise the leaf shoot of artichoke
43-47Views:303The constat growth of the Earth’s population brings with itself a higher demand for food and protein not only in human nutrition but also for the feeding of livestock. Currently, the feed industry is mainly built onseed-based protein, wherethebaseplant is soybean, which is large lycovered by imports in Hungary, similar toother European countries. However, the long-term economically sustainable lifestock breeding demandschanges which has also worked out strategies. An alternative protein sources could be green leafy plants.
In current work the Jerusalem artichokes as an alternative source of protein was studied, compared to alfalfa as a valuable protein plant. Our results indicate that fiber fraction ofJerusalem artichoke shootswas 34 to 37% after pressing in the autumn period while alfalfa slightly lower values were obtained (30%). On the other hand extracted green leaf protein concentration was higher in alfalfa than in Jerusalem artichoke. Along with this higher protein content could be measured from the leaf protein concentration of alfalfa and almost each amino acids were more, as well comparing to Jerusalem artichoke.
Overall, the alfalfa proved to be advantageous as expected both in leaf protein extraction efficiency, both regarding the content of the protein in the Jerusalem artichoke. However, considering aminoacid composition and green biomass production, Jerusalem artichokecould be a promisingplant species asplant protein sourceinthefuture.