Pierre-Yves Le Gal

Effect of drainage date on yield and dry matter partitioning in irrigated rice

Double cropping of rice is constrained by tight cropping calendars. In mechanized production systems such as in the Senegal River delta of Africa, drainage date is important for yield, maturity and field trafficability. Randomized complete-block field experiments were conducted at the WARDA research station at Ndiaye in Senegal during the hot-dry and wet seasons to determine effects of drainage date on soil drying, grain yield and assimilate partitioning. The soil was a slightly acid, shrinking clay. Pre-germinated seed of I Kong Pao rice was sown broadcast and the plots kept flooded until drainage at four different dates after flowering (treatments). Topsoil and grain moisture content and the dry weight of panicles, stems, green leaves and dead leaves were measured on six dates between 1st flowering and 2 wk after maturity. Soil moisture content decreased more rapidly under a green canopy than with a mature crop. Grain yield was reduced by 34 to 36% in both seasons when plots were drained 3 to 4 days after flowering (DAF) (P < 0.01, compared to drainage at maturity) but were not affected when drained 12 to 14 DAF or later. Grain yield reduction was due one-third to poor grain filling and two-thirds to unfilled spikelets. Maturity (20% grain moisture content) was advanced 10 to 11 d by early drainage (3 to 4 DAF), compared to drainage at maturity. Apparent mobilization of reserves based on dry weight decrease of vegetative organs after flowering was 32 to 42% and constituted 46 to 84% of panicle growth, depending on treatment. Early drainage reduced dry matter production during ripening but did not proportionally affect grain yield because of compensatory mobilization of stem reserves. Models are proposed on the buffering effect of reserves if assimilation during grain filling is variable.

Supporting strategic thinking of smallholder dairy farmers using a whole farm simulation tool

This article investigates how a one-to-one support process based on the use of a whole dairy farm simulation tool helps both farmers to reflect on their production strategies and researchers to better understand the farmers’ contexts of action and decision. The support process consists of a minimum of four discussion sessions with the farmer: designing the Initial Scenario and formulating a diagnosis, building and simulating the Project Scenario corresponding to the objective targeted by the farmer, building and comparing alternative scenarios proposed both by the farmer and the researcher, and evaluating the process with the farmer. The approach was tested with six smallholder farmers in Brazil. It is illustrated with the example of one farmer who aimed to develop his milk production by more than doubling his herd size on the same cultivated area. Two other examples illustrate the diversity of issues addressed with this approach. The first estimates the sensitivity of economic results to price variations of milk and concentrates. The second compares two scenarios in terms of forage supply autonomy. The discussion assesses the outcomes of the approach for farmers in terms of response to their specific issues and of knowledge acquired. The research outputs are discussed in terms of the value and limits of using simulation tools within both participatory action research and advisory processes.

Supporting small-scale dairy farmers in increasing milk production: evidence from Morocco.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of technical support provided to five small-scale cattle farms in the Tadla irrigation scheme (Morocco) on their milk yield. The first stage consisted of assessing the initial management of dairy herds, especially feeding strategies, and their effects on milk output. This diagnosis revealed major gaps between the existing and the potential milk yield, due to insufficient and imbalanced dietary rations. Based on this diagnosis, technical support was adapted to the reality of each farm by regularly adjusting the dietary rations to the production potential of lactating cows using available feed resources. The production potential of either pure Holstein or crossbred cows was based on the herd’s physiological status and its genetic merit. Results showed that milk production could be rapidly improved by balanced dietary rations that enabled the average milk yield of lactating cows to be reached, while optimising feed costs and reducing the cost of milk production. Providing technical support to dairy farms should have a significant impact on overall milk production at different scales (irrigation scheme, plant supply area, national production) while alleviating the poverty of small-scale farmers. It would require the involvement of farmers’ organisations such as milk collection co-operatives to replace services provided by the State, which is currently withdrawing from extension activities.

Work organization on smallholder dairy farms: a process unique to each farm

The way smallholder farms organize and carry out work impacts their ability to secure their livelihoods and meet growing demand for agricultural products. This study investigates the way dairy family farms in Brazil manage their workforce to achieve their objectives of production and income. Fifteen smallholder farms were surveyed using the QuaeWork method to understand the work organization on each farm. A high diversity of workloads was found, but these do not appear to be strictly related to the farms’ production systems. The high variability of workloads is linked to the available workforce, technical choices, and the delegation of tasks to an external workforce. Farmers can decrease their workload by adopting milking mechanization, silage, hiring labor, and increasing the duration of the work day. Work organization depends on a farmer’s personal choices, rendering the whole issue of workforce management a process unique to each farm.

The determining factors of farm sustainability in a context of growing agricultural intensification

ABSTRACT Farms are evolving in a political and social environment concerned with the three dimensions – environmental, social, and economic – of sustainable farming. This study analyses the key factors determining the sustainability of 36 farms reflecting the diverse farming systems found on the Saïs Plain in Morocco, where an intensification dynamic encouraged by the government is combined with increasingly constrained access to irrigation water and fluctuating agricultural commodity prices. The sustainability of each farm was assessed using the Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles/Farm Sustainability Indicators method. A multivariate statistical analysis was conducted to analyze and group the case farms and assess the scores of each component of sustainability. Results show that agroecological sustainability of a farm depends on its autonomy in using resources and the extent to which its production system is diversified. Farm structure and the choice of production system affect economic sustainability. The farmers’ preferences and social values influence socio-territorial sustainability. No farm is able to obtain a high total sustainability value (max 55/100), with the economic dimension varying in opposite directions to the agroecological and socio-territorial dimensions. The implications of the choice of the assessment method on the sustainability results are discussed, as are the consequences of agricultural policies on the farms’ sustainability.

Impacts of a dual market on the relationship between dairy farmers and processors in Peruvian andes

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of coprophagous behavior in suckling rabbit on the implantation of caecal microbiota and to try improving the health status of rabbits modifying this behavior. Three groups were compared: in FM group (n=24 litters), pups had free access to maternal hard feces, in NF group (n=28), ingestion of hard feces was prevented, and in FF group (n=28), pups had access only to hard feces excreted by foreign females (n = 5, 7 and 9 feces from 2 to 13 d, 14 to 17 d, 18 to 20 d, respectively). Pup mortality, excretion and ingestion of feces were measured daily. Bacterial composition was assessed by 454 pyrosequencing of the V3-V4 region of 16S RNA genes at 14, 35, 49 and 80 d of age. The total number of feces excreted by the does from 2 to 20 d after delivery ranged widely, but was similar among groups (16.1 ± 12.6 feces doe-1). Ingestion of feces was 3 times greater in FF than in FM group (35.6 vs 9.9, p < 0.001). From 1 to 80 d of age the FF and NF groups exhibited respectively the lowest (9.3%) and highest (22.8%) pup mortality compared to FM group (15.5 %, p = 0.03). At age 14 d the caecal bacterial community was dominated by Bacteroidetes phyla (63.3%), Bacteroidaceae family (36.0%) and Bacteriodes genus (36.0%). With increasing age, Firmicutes phyla, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families became the dominant taxa (92.0%, 44.0 % and 37.9 %, respectively at 80 d of age). Impairment of feces ingestion delayed this ecological succession, with greater and lower relative abundance of Bacteroidaceae and Ruminococcaceae respectively in NF than the two other groups at age 35 d (p < 0.1). In conclusion, the coprophagous behaviour of suckling rabbits is implicated in the maturation of caecal bacterial microbiota and stimulation of this natural behavior improve the health status of animals and could be used to limit the use of antibiotics.Equitherapy is widely practiced and its positive effects are quite well known. However, dynamics of communication between the horse, the user and the therapist is little described. Here, we proposed a pilot study that focused on visual attention of these three partners at two moments: before and during horseback riding (HR). The triad had been observed during the equitherapy session (around 45 min) of four boys with autism (6-9 yo). Ten-second scan samplings recorded the gaze direction of each subject. Data were converted in percentage of time. Horses had mostly gazed at physical environment both before (76.2±6.6%) and during (91.6±1.6%) HR. Human they mostly gazed was the therapist before HR (8.7±3.3%). Similarly, boys mostly gazed at physical environment throughout the session (61.7±17.1% and 46.9±15.3%, respectively). Focus on social partner showed that boys mostly gazed at horse especially during HR (8.7±4.7% and 13.2±9.6% respectively). Likewise their visual attention to humans was enhanced during HR (9.0±1.5% to 19.3±3.1%). At last, before HR, therapists mostly gazed at boy (33.8±9.4%) and horse (38.4±16.7%). During HR, their attention on boy increased slightly (36.7±10.0%) but surprisingly, their attention on horse decreased extremely (7.2±0.9%) in favor of the physical environment (26.1±11.5% to 50.3±12.7%). This pilot study on visual attention during equitherapy suggested that children with autism, whose attentional skills are impaired, seemed to be more attentive to social partners during HR. In this situation, horses seemed few attentive to humans that might be explain by either apathy or working situation. Finally, the reduction of therapist’s visual attention to the horse during HR suggests a decrease in vigilance. This was an example of routine where human pays less attention to animal, which constituted one of the most accidental situations. Thus, therapists must be greatly attentive when horses are used in such therapeutic programs where safety is indispensable.Similar farrowing progress among sows housed in crates and pens Pedersen, Janni Hales; Moustsen, V. A.; Devreese, Anne Michéle; Hansen, Christian Fink Published in: European Association for Animal Production. Annual Meeting. Book of Abstracts DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-782-0 Publication date: 2013 Document Version Early version, also known as pre-print Citation for published version (APA): Pedersen, J. H., Moustsen, V. A., Devreese, A. M., & Hansen, C. F. (2013). Similar farrowing progress among sows housed in crates and pens. DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-782-0The EAAP AFWG was constituted in 2007 with a view t o enhancing the role of animal fibre in EU27, utilizing an approach based on science and technology. Although an unrecorded and neglected product, annual production of wool from 6 2m breeding sheep (Eurostat) alone is substantial at an estimated 186,000 tonnes (FAO). R ecent outputs include organised symposia and publications defining current knowledge. In rec ognising the need for better networks of scientists and technologists, a total of 5 applicat ions for financial support has been made to the EC COST Framework since 2010. Such applications , by initial pre-proposal, are assessed in 6 categories with a maximum score of 6 for each, giving a maximum score of 36. Preproposals scoring most highly, on average, are invi ted to submit a full proposal. Evaluation has been characterised by large variation in scores of individual assessors. For one example, scores of 36, 33, 32, 32, 28, 21,16 were awarded by 7 assessors, giving mean value = 28.3; SD = 7.23; CV%= 25.5. The divergence of the median v lue of 32 from the mean (28.3) shows a skewed distribution. Removal of the two low est outliers, gives a mean = 32.2; SD= 2.86; CV%= 8.9 and median = 32 and removes the skew . The use in ranking, of such a simple average of means, is clearly unreliable. Another ex ample, with a mean score of 31.25, gave rise to an invitation to submit a full proposal. Th is was done, involving 14 EU partner, and 4 international “reciprocal agreement”, countries. Th e outcome of this application was a score of 53, and below the cut-off score of 55, for furth er progression. The consensus conclusion of evaluation was that “the expected benefits are like ly to be non-European”. This conclusion is surprising and essentially without explanation. The selection of evaluators remains a concern. 64 th EAAP Annual meeting, 25-30 August, 2013, Nantes, France Symposium on South American Camelids and other Fibre AnimalsThe role of the agouti gene in white phenotype was explored in mice. The agouti signalling protein (ASP) can inhibit the differentiation of melanoblasts through the inhibition of the alfa-MSH-induced expression of microphtalmia (MITF) and its binding to a M box regulatory element. The level of microphtalmia in the cells is reduced. To investigate the role of agouti in this phenotype we characterised the transcript structures an relative mRNA expression levels in 13 white alpaca. The reverse transcription analysis of mRNA purified from skin biopsies revealed the presence of three transcripts with different 5’untranslated regions (UTRs) and color specific expression. One of the transcripts, possibly originating from a duplication event (intra-chromosomal recombination) of the agouti gene is characterised by a 5’UTR containing 142 bp of the NCPOA6 gene sequence. Furthermore, the raltive level expression analysis of mRNA demonstrates that the agouti gene has upregulated expression in white skin, suggesting a pleiotropic effect of agouti gene in the white phenotype. Resumen : Recombinacion cromosomica del gen agouti en alpacas blancas. Fue explorado en ratones el rol del gen agouti en el fenoripo blanco. La protein senalarizadora agouti (ASP) puede inibir la diferenciacion de los melanoblastos a traves de la inhibicion de la expresion alfa-MSH inducida de macroftalmia (MITF) y su union al elemento regulador Mbox. El nivel de macroftalmia en las celulas se reduce. Para investigar el rol del agouti en este fenotipo, caracterizamos las estructuras transcriptas a una relativa expresion del mRNA en 13 alpacas blancas blancas. El analisis de transcripcion reversa del mRNA purificado a partir de las biopsias de piel, revelaron la presencia de tres transciptos con diferentes regiones no traducidas del extremo 5’ (5’UTR) y expresiones de color especificas. Uno de los transcriptos, posiblemente procedente de un evento de duplicacion (recombinacion intra-cromosomico) del gen aguti se caracteriza por un 5’ UTR que contiene 142 pb del gen NCPOA6. Por otra parte, el analisis del nivel relativo de expresion del mRNA demuestra que el gen agouti tiene sobre expresion reguladora en piel blanca, lo que sugiere un efecto pleiotropico del gen agouti en el fenotipo blanco.The agouti gene encodes agouti signalling protein (ASIP) whic h regulates pheomelanin and eumelanin synthesis in mammals. To investigate the role of agouti in coat color variation of alpaca, we characterised the agouti gene on 27 black and 12 brown alpaca. The exon-4 hosts three loss-of-function recessive mutations: g.3836C >T, g.3896G>A and g.3866_3923del57, involved in eumelanin synthesis. The deletion at th e position p.C109-Rdel19 eliminates the two beta sheets and the R-F-F- motif from the agout i functional domain, which are essential against alfa-MSH. Therefore, the deleted allele app ears to lose function. The other ANPs observed at the amino acid position 98 and 118 chan ge the conserved R to C and the R-F-Fmotif into H-F-F-. The R-F-F- motif is important fo r functioning at MCRs; the disruption of this motif may result in a non functional agouti pr otein since the alteration of residues in and around R-F-F- causes a decrease in agouti protein i nhibition of alfa-MSH binding to MCRs during signal transduction. The three mutations are randomly distributed among the black alpaca. In our sample, we observed two genotypes : g.3836C>T/g.3896G>A (10 animals) and g.3836C>T/g.3866_3923del57 (17 animals). Among the brown alpaca, 2 are homozygous for the wild allele, 12 are heterozygous for g.3896G>A mutation, carriers for black phenotype.

Combined used of three whole farm simulation tools for the design of innovative production strategie

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of coprophagous behavior in suckling rabbit on the implantation of caecal microbiota and to try improving the health status of rabbits modifying this behavior. Three groups were compared: in FM group (n=24 litters), pups had free access to maternal hard feces, in NF group (n=28), ingestion of hard feces was prevented, and in FF group (n=28), pups had access only to hard feces excreted by foreign females (n = 5, 7 and 9 feces from 2 to 13 d, 14 to 17 d, 18 to 20 d, respectively). Pup mortality, excretion and ingestion of feces were measured daily. Bacterial composition was assessed by 454 pyrosequencing of the V3-V4 region of 16S RNA genes at 14, 35, 49 and 80 d of age. The total number of feces excreted by the does from 2 to 20 d after delivery ranged widely, but was similar among groups (16.1 ± 12.6 feces doe-1). Ingestion of feces was 3 times greater in FF than in FM group (35.6 vs 9.9, p < 0.001). From 1 to 80 d of age the FF and NF groups exhibited respectively the lowest (9.3%) and highest (22.8%) pup mortality compared to FM group (15.5 %, p = 0.03). At age 14 d the caecal bacterial community was dominated by Bacteroidetes phyla (63.3%), Bacteroidaceae family (36.0%) and Bacteriodes genus (36.0%). With increasing age, Firmicutes phyla, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families became the dominant taxa (92.0%, 44.0 % and 37.9 %, respectively at 80 d of age). Impairment of feces ingestion delayed this ecological succession, with greater and lower relative abundance of Bacteroidaceae and Ruminococcaceae respectively in NF than the two other groups at age 35 d (p < 0.1). In conclusion, the coprophagous behaviour of suckling rabbits is implicated in the maturation of caecal bacterial microbiota and stimulation of this natural behavior improve the health status of animals and could be used to limit the use of antibiotics.Equitherapy is widely practiced and its positive effects are quite well known. However, dynamics of communication between the horse, the user and the therapist is little described. Here, we proposed a pilot study that focused on visual attention of these three partners at two moments: before and during horseback riding (HR). The triad had been observed during the equitherapy session (around 45 min) of four boys with autism (6-9 yo). Ten-second scan samplings recorded the gaze direction of each subject. Data were converted in percentage of time. Horses had mostly gazed at physical environment both before (76.2±6.6%) and during (91.6±1.6%) HR. Human they mostly gazed was the therapist before HR (8.7±3.3%). Similarly, boys mostly gazed at physical environment throughout the session (61.7±17.1% and 46.9±15.3%, respectively). Focus on social partner showed that boys mostly gazed at horse especially during HR (8.7±4.7% and 13.2±9.6% respectively). Likewise their visual attention to humans was enhanced during HR (9.0±1.5% to 19.3±3.1%). At last, before HR, therapists mostly gazed at boy (33.8±9.4%) and horse (38.4±16.7%). During HR, their attention on boy increased slightly (36.7±10.0%) but surprisingly, their attention on horse decreased extremely (7.2±0.9%) in favor of the physical environment (26.1±11.5% to 50.3±12.7%). This pilot study on visual attention during equitherapy suggested that children with autism, whose attentional skills are impaired, seemed to be more attentive to social partners during HR. In this situation, horses seemed few attentive to humans that might be explain by either apathy or working situation. Finally, the reduction of therapist’s visual attention to the horse during HR suggests a decrease in vigilance. This was an example of routine where human pays less attention to animal, which constituted one of the most accidental situations. Thus, therapists must be greatly attentive when horses are used in such therapeutic programs where safety is indispensable.Similar farrowing progress among sows housed in crates and pens Pedersen, Janni Hales; Moustsen, V. A.; Devreese, Anne Michéle; Hansen, Christian Fink Published in: European Association for Animal Production. Annual Meeting. Book of Abstracts DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-782-0 Publication date: 2013 Document Version Early version, also known as pre-print Citation for published version (APA): Pedersen, J. H., Moustsen, V. A., Devreese, A. M., & Hansen, C. F. (2013). Similar farrowing progress among sows housed in crates and pens. DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-782-0The EAAP AFWG was constituted in 2007 with a view t o enhancing the role of animal fibre in EU27, utilizing an approach based on science and technology. Although an unrecorded and neglected product, annual production of wool from 6 2m breeding sheep (Eurostat) alone is substantial at an estimated 186,000 tonnes (FAO). R ecent outputs include organised symposia and publications defining current knowledge. In rec ognising the need for better networks of scientists and technologists, a total of 5 applicat ions for financial support has been made to the EC COST Framework since 2010. Such applications , by initial pre-proposal, are assessed in 6 categories with a maximum score of 6 for each, giving a maximum score of 36. Preproposals scoring most highly, on average, are invi ted to submit a full proposal. Evaluation has been characterised by large variation in scores of individual assessors. For one example, scores of 36, 33, 32, 32, 28, 21,16 were awarded by 7 assessors, giving mean value = 28.3; SD = 7.23; CV%= 25.5. The divergence of the median v lue of 32 from the mean (28.3) shows a skewed distribution. Removal of the two low est outliers, gives a mean = 32.2; SD= 2.86; CV%= 8.9 and median = 32 and removes the skew . The use in ranking, of such a simple average of means, is clearly unreliable. Another ex ample, with a mean score of 31.25, gave rise to an invitation to submit a full proposal. Th is was done, involving 14 EU partner, and 4 international “reciprocal agreement”, countries. Th e outcome of this application was a score of 53, and below the cut-off score of 55, for furth er progression. The consensus conclusion of evaluation was that “the expected benefits are like ly to be non-European”. This conclusion is surprising and essentially without explanation. The selection of evaluators remains a concern. 64 th EAAP Annual meeting, 25-30 August, 2013, Nantes, France Symposium on South American Camelids and other Fibre AnimalsThe role of the agouti gene in white phenotype was explored in mice. The agouti signalling protein (ASP) can inhibit the differentiation of melanoblasts through the inhibition of the alfa-MSH-induced expression of microphtalmia (MITF) and its binding to a M box regulatory element. The level of microphtalmia in the cells is reduced. To investigate the role of agouti in this phenotype we characterised the transcript structures an relative mRNA expression levels in 13 white alpaca. The reverse transcription analysis of mRNA purified from skin biopsies revealed the presence of three transcripts with different 5’untranslated regions (UTRs) and color specific expression. One of the transcripts, possibly originating from a duplication event (intra-chromosomal recombination) of the agouti gene is characterised by a 5’UTR containing 142 bp of the NCPOA6 gene sequence. Furthermore, the raltive level expression analysis of mRNA demonstrates that the agouti gene has upregulated expression in white skin, suggesting a pleiotropic effect of agouti gene in the white phenotype. Resumen : Recombinacion cromosomica del gen agouti en alpacas blancas. Fue explorado en ratones el rol del gen agouti en el fenoripo blanco. La protein senalarizadora agouti (ASP) puede inibir la diferenciacion de los melanoblastos a traves de la inhibicion de la expresion alfa-MSH inducida de macroftalmia (MITF) y su union al elemento regulador Mbox. El nivel de macroftalmia en las celulas se reduce. Para investigar el rol del agouti en este fenotipo, caracterizamos las estructuras transcriptas a una relativa expresion del mRNA en 13 alpacas blancas blancas. El analisis de transcripcion reversa del mRNA purificado a partir de las biopsias de piel, revelaron la presencia de tres transciptos con diferentes regiones no traducidas del extremo 5’ (5’UTR) y expresiones de color especificas. Uno de los transcriptos, posiblemente procedente de un evento de duplicacion (recombinacion intra-cromosomico) del gen aguti se caracteriza por un 5’ UTR que contiene 142 pb del gen NCPOA6. Por otra parte, el analisis del nivel relativo de expresion del mRNA demuestra que el gen agouti tiene sobre expresion reguladora en piel blanca, lo que sugiere un efecto pleiotropico del gen agouti en el fenotipo blanco.The agouti gene encodes agouti signalling protein (ASIP) whic h regulates pheomelanin and eumelanin synthesis in mammals. To investigate the role of agouti in coat color variation of alpaca, we characterised the agouti gene on 27 black and 12 brown alpaca. The exon-4 hosts three loss-of-function recessive mutations: g.3836C >T, g.3896G>A and g.3866_3923del57, involved in eumelanin synthesis. The deletion at th e position p.C109-Rdel19 eliminates the two beta sheets and the R-F-F- motif from the agout i functional domain, which are essential against alfa-MSH. Therefore, the deleted allele app ears to lose function. The other ANPs observed at the amino acid position 98 and 118 chan ge the conserved R to C and the R-F-Fmotif into H-F-F-. The R-F-F- motif is important fo r functioning at MCRs; the disruption of this motif may result in a non functional agouti pr otein since the alteration of residues in and around R-F-F- causes a decrease in agouti protein i nhibition of alfa-MSH binding to MCRs during signal transduction. The three mutations are randomly distributed among the black alpaca. In our sample, we observed two genotypes : g.3836C>T/g.3896G>A (10 animals) and g.3836C>T/g.3866_3923del57 (17 animals). Among the brown alpaca, 2 are homozygous for the wild allele, 12 are heterozygous for g.3896G>A mutation, carriers for black phenotype.