Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Scienze animali - SAN

The course has the objective of providing basic knowledge on: forage production, forage systems in different agricultural Italian areas, the eco-physiology of forage species, the relationships between fodder production, quality and forage conservation in commercial dairy farms. The course integrates deepens forage crops studied in the course "coltivazioni erbacee" and investigate the aspects related to the conservation, utilization of forage resources and forage systems both in lowland intensive areas and in marginal hilly and montaneous areas. Assessment of impacts of intensive grassland systems in factory farms.

 

The student acquires the basis for the management of cropping systems in dairy and meat farms. Optimization of the cultivation operations for agronomic management of the main forage crops. Evaluation of the nutritional quality, microbiological and safety of farm forages and their use in the ration for dairy cows.

 

The course consists of a series of visits to dairy farms that demonstrate and transferred into practice the topics covered during the course. The activities carried out during such visits are the subject of a detailed written report to be delivered to the teacher before the exam. The oral examination will begin with a review of the written report and then a review of the main topics covered during the course.

 

The Forages: a breaf history and evolution of the production and storage of forage crops. Importance of forages fed to ruminants. Main forage species, crop types and their distribution on the national territory.

Morphology and physiology of forage grasses: morphology of forage grasses. The main stages of development of grasses. Vegetative stage, tillering and development of the crop in the vegetative stage. Transition from vegetative to reproductive stage and meristematic apex modifications. Crisis of tillering. Influence of time of cutting on regrowth.

Morphology and physiology of legumes: morphology of forage legumes. Requirements of temperature, light, soil and nutrients. Stage of development of forage legumes and growth rate in different types of legumes.

Agro-technical elements of forage crops: soil preparation, time and method of sowing, organic and mineral fertilization, irrigation.

Management of fertilization of crops in dairy farms

Nutritive value of forages: Methods for assessing the quality of fodder. Environmental and genetic factors of variation in the quality of feed. Influence of the stage of development of the plant on the characteristics of grass and timing of the cut.

Forage conservation: general conservation of fodder. Loss of conservation.

Haymaking: The drying process of forage in the field. Drying rate, amount of water present in the plant to be evaporated, resistance to the loss of water due to the plant and to the layer in drying. Mechanical conditioning of the crop. Breathing and mechanical losses during haymaking of grasses and legumes. Post-harvest deterioration of hay. The artificial drying of hay.

Silage making: Biochemical principles of silage. Ensilability of different forage crops: the case of maize silage of Italian ryegrass and alfalfa. Enzyme activities and fermentation. Microorganisms involved in fermentation and spoilage of silage. The cycle of clostridia. Losses during ensiling with particular reference to aerobic deterioration. Silage additives. Chemical analysis and nutritive value of silage. The practice of silage. Implications of the type of forage conservation on the dairy supply chain.

Intensive grassland systems

Quality of dairy products in relation to the forage component of the ration

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES:

Recognition and analysis of the morphology and stage of development of the main forage grasses and legumes in different cropping systems in the field.

Visit of two to three dairy farms in the Piedmont. Study of forage crops  and forage conservation adopted by dairy farms.

The thermographic analysis of corn silage and of other forage crops conserved as silage. Taking forage samples for laboratory analysis.

Preparation and analysis of silage samples taken during farm visits

 

 

The course will be subject to an oral examination, supplemented by a report on the practical activities in the commercial farms. This report will be delivered to the teacher or sent via e-mail (giorgio.borreani@unito.it) at least one week before the date of the appeal to which you plan to take the exam. The first part of the exam will focus on the discussion of the results presented in this report.