2001 * XII * 3

CONTENTS
 
CONTENTS
DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/contents/2001_3_sisukord.pdf
 
 
K. Annuk.  
  Supplements to research work published 55 years ago 145
 
ABSTRACT
Supplements to research work published 55 years ago. A comprehensive survey about the agricultural research projects carried out within years 1920 to 1940 (“Eesti põllumajandusteadus põllumehe teenistuses”, Tartu, 1946) was compiled and edited by agronomist Jaak Ümarik. The present paper aims to provide some additional information about the staff of the research institutions, which could not be revealed by the author of the book back in 1946.
CHRONICLE
DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_annuk.pdf
 
J. Kuum.  
  Principles of C. R. Jakobson’s agricultural Development underlying 145
 
ABSTRACT
Principles of C. R. Jakobson’s agricultural Development underlying. C. R. Jakobson, enlightener and democrat set out to reorganize Estonian peasant farming in 1868. He demanded that peasants should be given professional education and he organized agricultural societies for them. In the societies he made numerous reports, carried out demonstrations, ploughing competitions, etc. He used agricultural societies in his struggle against landlords.

C. R. Jakobson laid the foundation of the Estonian agricultural literature, publishing in 1869 the first farming handbook to be followed by a series of others textbooks. In 1848 at Viljandi he started to issue his newspaper “Sakala” in the supplement of which many agricultural articles appeard. C. R. Jakobson laid down first programme for the development of Estonian peasant farming in which he stressed that in our agriculture the basic branch of production should be dairy husbandry and butter-making, additional activities being pig breeding, gardening, etc. His work in the developing of agriculture was an extensive and successful one. C. R. Jakobson was the first cooperative agronomist-consultant in Estonia.

CHRONICLE
DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_kuum.pdf
 
SCIENTIFIC WORK
R. Kask, H. Samel.  
  Oats and barley on different taxons of sod-calcareous and soddy soil associations 156
 
ABSTRACT
Oats and barley on different taxons of sod-calcareous and soddy soil associations. North-Estonian soils are characterised by a frequent alternation of soils based on limestone, pebble moraine and marine sediments. The field studied contain six different soils.

During 1992–1998 the average joint crop of oats and barley harvested from the studied field was (depending on the soil) 1.11–2.83 t/ha. The minimum crop was gathered from a thin limestone-based soil.

The 1000-grain mass of barley measured in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 1999 ranged from 23.9 to 44.5 g. The characteristic 1000-grain mass was in a positive correlation (r=0.53…0.90) with the crops, which in turn depended on the soils as well as on the weather conditions in each particular year.

As most of the variation of the crops (within a uniformly cultivated plot) can be accounted for by the basic characteristics of the soils, it is necessary to study their mineral and humus profiles, water regime etc. Studies of the agrochemical, agrophysical and meliorative condition of soils, however, as well as crop mapping without considering the basic characteristics of the soils can never provide a satisfactory survey of the reasons of the unevenness of field crops in each concrete case.

DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_kask.pdf
 
H. Kiiman.  
  The analysis of the milk somatic cell count reducing possibilities 162
 
ABSTRACT
The analysis of the milk somatic cell count reducing possibilities. The somatic cell count (SCC) is commonly used as a measure of milk quality as well as udder health. Somatic cells are simply animal body cells present at low levels in normal milk. High levels of these cells in milk indicate abnormal, reduced-quality milk that is caused by an intramammary bacterial infection (mastitis). The majority of the cells in a somatic cell count are leukocytes (white blood cells), and some are cells from the udder secretory tissue (epithelial cells). The epithelial cells are part of the normal body function and are shed and renewed in normal body processes. The white blood cells serve as a defence mechanism to fight disease (infection), and assist in repairing damaged tissue. Somatic cell counts are based on the number of cells per milliliter (ml, about 10 drops) of milk.

High somatic cell count in milk is abnormal and undesireble. Elevated SCC levels may result from several factors or a combination of these factors.

The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of some factors on somatic cell count in milk: sire of dairy cow, heritability, agricultural enterprise, milking technique, working operations performed by the milker, calving month, lactation number.

The experimental farms were chosen from agricultural enterprises applying different cow-keeping and milking technologies. Daughters of 21 bulls were studied. The data about ten-month milk yield, somatic cell count, fat and protein content of the milk of the daughters of each bull were collected. Cow' s sire, enterprise, lactation, milking equipment and milking operator were fixed in data-base. Monitoring of the working operations of the milkers were carried out. The duration of each element of the working process was recorded. SAS-program was used for data processing. Procedure REML was used to estimate the dispersion components and heritabilities. From these data analysis we can made following conclusions.

The milk somatic cell count increases with lactation number (P<0.01). In first lactation the milk somatic cell count was 285 000/ml, in second, third and fourth lactation 321 000/ml, 466 000/ml and 477 000/ml, respectively.

The milk somatic cell count correlation between the neighbour lactations was high: between first and second lactation (r=0.45***), between second and third lactation (r=0.49***) and between third and fourth lactation (r=0.51***).

The agricultural enterprise and the milker were essential to milk somatic cell count (P<0.001).

The adequate premilking cow preparation was essential to milk somatic cell count as well as over-milk-ing (P<0.001).

The delay in application of the milking unit increased milk somatic cell count.

The calving month and the milking equipment were not statistically significant to the milk somatic cell count.

The heritabilities in the first, second, third and fourth lactation were accordingly 0.11, 0.16, 0.23 and 0.23.

DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_kiiman.pdf
 
O. Kärt, M. Ots, E. Rihma, H. Kaldmäe.  
  The effect of barley meal on dairy cow’s dry matter intake, allantoin excretion and microbial protein synthesis in feeding alfalfa silage ad libitum 175
 
ABSTRACT
The effect of barley meal on dairy cow’s dry matter intake, allantoin excretion and microbial protein synthesis in feeding alfalfa silage ad libitum. Four ruminally cannulated Holstein cows in midlactation were randomly assigned to a 4×4 Latin square design to evaluate barley meal effect on alfalfa silage dry matter intake, allantoin excretion and microbial protein synthesis. Cows were fed alfalfa silage (37.2% dry matter and in dry matter 21.9% crude protein, 35.4% NDF and 29.4% ADF) ad libitum and barley meal equivalent to 25, 40, 55 or 70% of their metabolic energy requirement. The preliminary period lasted for 8 and the trial period for 6 days. Urine was collected on the 6th day of the trial period during 12 hours with bladder catheters. Samples of rumen fluid were taken on the 5th and 6th day of the trial period 4 hours after morning feeding. Barley meal proportion in the ration was increased from 25% to 75%. Each additional kg of barley meal in the ration decreased the dry matter intake of alfalfa silage by 1.02 kg. Urinary allantoin excretion correlated with DM intake (r=0.553; P<0.05), ME intake (0.665; P<0.001) non-fibre carbohydrate (NFC) intake (r=0.662; P<0.001), digestible organic matter fermented in the rumen (DOMR) content in the ration (r=0.664; P<0.01), urinary N content (r=0.562; P<0.05) and daily N excretion (r=0.601; P<0.01). Respectively to the trial variant, the amount of synthesized ruminal microbial nitrogen per each kg of DOMR was 24.7; 23.2; 28.3 and 29.8 g and for MJ-1 metabolizable energy these values were 1.03; 0.96; 1.14 and 1.22 g. When alfalfa silage is fed ad libitum, barley meal as the only source of nonstructural carbohydrates in the ration of cows is not sufficient for synchronizing the hydrolysis of energy and protein and for maximizing microbial protein synthesis in the rumen.

Keywords: alfalfa, intake, purine derivatives, allantoin, microbial protein synthesis.

DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_kart.pdf
 
V. Loide.  
  Magnesium requirement of Estonian soils 182
 
ABSTRACT
Magnesium requirement of Estonian soils. Of Estonian soils 52% require magnesium and 21.5% are extremely poor in magnesium. In spite of the quite high demand for this element, magnesium-containing fertilizers are applied in relatively small amounts. The aim of this study was to find out how plants are supplied with magnesium through the magnesium content of plants and through the magnesium content of soils, using ammonium lactate (AL-method) and 0.025N CaCl2-extract (Schactschabel method) for extration of soil solutions.

It was established that in optimum N, P, K and Ca nutrient conditions, cereals (winter wheat, spring barley) suffer for magnesium deficit (Figures 1, 2). Magnesium deficit was extremely severe in plants grown on calcium rich soils (Figure3).

Also, it was established that in calcium rich soils, available magnesium, extracted from ammonium lactate, is not always assimilable by plants. Therefore the suitability of using this extract for determination of magnesium requirement is questionable.

DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_loide.pdf
 
Ü. Pavel, J. Kumar, A. Karus, T. Schattschneider.  
  Porcine brain cortex neuropeptides enhance the early phase of antibody synthesis in the vaccinated mouse 189
 
ABSTRACT
Porcine brain cortex neuropeptides enhance the early phase of antibody synthesis in the vaccinated mouse. Applied biologists are confronted to the tendency to relieve antibiotics, which is growing every year. Therefore the research of new drugs inclusive neuropeptides and the potentiation of vaccines are needed. Likewise, there does not exist any survey on porcine brain chemoarchitecture. As the experimental animal, the recipient of neuropeptides was the genetically heterogeneous Swiss white mice population. The brain cortex donors were adult Estonian bacon breed pigs. In the paper the following study model was used: porcine cerebral cortex neuropeptides – vaccination with Salmonella typhimurium strain 34–96 vaccine. The subcutaneous dose of neuropeptides was 66–70 ng. It was demonstrated that both studied porcine neuropeptides exhibited an immunostimulant activity. The vaccine and neuropeptides were challenged simultaneously. The preparations exhibited a stimulating action to early antibody synthesis at 5th, 7th and 10th day after vaccination and on 6th day. It must be emphasized that the stimulative effect on the immune system of neuropeptides is different. Thus according to our previous trials some neuropeptides have a strong immunoprotective and a reserved immunostimulant activity, while others had quite an expressed immunostimulant, antibody synthesis stimulating activity. There is a reason to consider that with the aid of the studied neuropeptides it is possible to compensate the shortage of vaccine response by the potentiation them with the neuropeptides which shorten the duration of lag period of antibody synthesis.

Key words: neuropeptides, mouse, vaccination response

DIRECT LINK
https://agrt.emu.ee/pdf/2001_3_pavel.pdf