Search

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of inclusion of wild cumin seeds (WCS) on performance, nutrient digestibility and blood profile in broilers during the finisher phase. For this purpose, 360, 14 days old chicks were randomly divided into four groups designated as CONT (control), 0.5WCS, 1.0WCS and 1.5WCS with 5 replicates, which were supplemented with WCS at the rate of 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5% respectively. On the overall, feed intake was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the CONT compared to the 1.0WCS. At the end of the finisher phase, and overall basis, body weight and feed conversion ratio were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in 0.5WCS. Crude protein apparent digestibility in the ileum was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in 0.5WCS compared to the CONT, while crude fat digestibility was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in 0.5WCS and 1.5WCS compared to the control. Similarly, serum triglyceride was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in 0.5WC but high density lipoprotein was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the same group. It was concluded that wild Cumin at the rate of 0.5% was superior compared to the other treatments in the diet to improve the performance, nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites in broiler during the finisher phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among grain legumes, peas (Pisum sativum L.) are highly sensitive to salt stress. Acclimatization of plants to such conditions is mandatory. We provide improved salt stress tolerance response of transgenic pea plants overexpressing the Na+/H+ gene from Arabidopsis thaliana and a positive association with salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). In addition to salt stress tolerance and phosphate solubilization, the selected rhizobacterial isolates were identified for indole acetic acid and proline production ability. Seed germination percentage in transgenic pea plants was significantly higher under NaCl challenge. The wild-type (WT) pea plants inoculated with known numbers of viable cells of salt-tolerant PGPR and transgenic pea plants without any inoculation showed better growth performance under salt stress. However, the PGPR-inoculated transgenic plants showed significant increase in growth and biomass compared to the WT counterpart. An increase in antioxidant enzymes, i.e. superoxide dismutase and peroxidases, was observed in PGPR-inoculated transgenic plants under salt stress. We could not see any negative effect of the transgene in pea plants on the growth of associated PGPR. The overall impact of microbe-mediated elicitation responses in transgenic plants, whether at the biochemical or molecular level, may lead to protection against salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]