Ileal amino acid digestibility in canola meals from yellow- and black-seeded Brassica napus and Brassica juncea fed to growing pigs

Twelve ileal cannulated pigs (30.9 ± 2.7 kg) were used to determine the apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal digestibility of protein and AA in canola meals (CM) derived from black- (BNB) and yellow-seeded (BNY) Brassica napus canola and yellow-seeded Brassica juncea (BJY). The meals were produced using either the conventional pre-press solvent extraction process (regular meal) or a new, vacuum-assisted cold process of meal de-solventization (white flakes) to provide 6 different meals. Six cornstarch-based diets containing 35% canola meal as the sole source of protein in a 3 (variety) × 2 (processing) factorial arrangement were randomly allotted to pigs in a 6 × 7 incomplete Latin square design to have 6 replicates per diet. A 5% casein diet was fed to estimate endogenous AA losses. Canola variety and processing method interacted for the AID of DM (P = 0.048), N (P = 0.010), and all AA (P < 0.05), except for Arg, Lys, Phe, Asp, Glu, and Pro. Canola variety affected or tended to affect the AID of most AA but had no effect on the AID of Lys, Met, Val, Cys, and Pro, whereas processing method had an effect on only Lys and Asp and tended to affect the AID of Thr, Gly and Ser. The effects of canola variety, processing method, and their interaction on the SID values for N and AA followed a similar pattern as for AID values. For the white flakes, SID of N in BJY (74.2%) was lower than in BNY and BNB, whose values averaged 78.5%; however, among the regular meals, BJY had a greater SID value for N than BNY and BNB (variety × processing, P = 0.015). For the white flakes, the SID of Ile (86.4%), Leu (87.6%), Lys (88.9%), Thr (87.6%) and Val (84.2%) in BNB were greater than BNY and BJY. Opposite results were observed for the regular processing, with SID of Lys (84.1%), Met (89.5%), Thr (84.1%), and Val (83.6%) being greater in BJY, followed by BNB and BNY(variety × processing, P < 0.057). The SID of Met was greatest for the white flakes (90.2%) but least for the regular processing (83.0%) in BNY (variety × processing, P < 0.057). It was concluded that the AID and SID of N and AA of the CM tested varied according to canola variety and the processing method used. Overall, the SID values for Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Thr, and Val averaged across CM types and processing methods were 81.8, 82.6, 83.4, 85.9, 80.8, and 78.4%, respectively.

Ontology for Data Representation in the Production of Cotton Fiber in Brazil

An important feature in computer systems developed for the agricultural sector is to satisfy the heterogeneity of data generated in different processes. Most problems related with this heterogeneity arise from the lack of standard for different computing solutions proposed. An efficient solution for that is to create a single standard for data exchange. The study on the actual process involved in cotton production was based on a research developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) that reports all phases as a result of the compilation of several theoretical and practical researches related to cotton crop. The proposition of a standard starts with the identification of the most important classes of data involved in the process, and includes an ontology that is the systematization of concepts related to the production of cotton fiber and results in a set of classes, relations, functions and instances. The results are used as a reference for the development of computational tools, transforming implicit knowledge into applications that support the knowledge described. This research is based on data from the Midwest of Brazil. The choice of the cotton process as a study case comes from the fact that Brazil is one of the major players and there are several improvements required for system integration in this segment.