Feed evaluation provides essential information’s to animal nutritionists for better feed formulation on the basis of physiological and economical view of point to improve animal performance. There are various feed evaluation method at present time and In situ technique (nylon bag or in sacco method) is commonly used in this way. In this study, ruminal degradability of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and ADF was measured. Four different oil seed meals consist of canola meal, cotton seed meal, soybean meal and sunflower meal was studied using in situ method. Results of this experiment indicated that degradability (a+b) and effective degradation (EP) in soybean meal, canola meal and cotton seed meal produced in Behpak oil plant was (98.5, 98.7 and 56.8%) and (55.8, 62.0 and 48.3%) and for soybean meal, canola meal and sunflower meal produced in kesht-o-sanat oil plant was (81.7, 90.1 and 90.5%) and (47.1, 52.5 and 45.2%) respectively.

Extended seed longevity in the dry state is the basis for the ex-situ conservation of orthodox seeds (desiccation-tolerant seeds). However, even under identical storage conditions, there is wide variation in seed longevity between species. The results of the artificial aging test provide seed bank managers a tool to assess the potential longevity of seed sets of these species under seed bank conditions, to enable the selection of appropriate viability retest intervals and, as a result, better management of conservation accessions. In the present work, seeds of nine wild species of Nepata spp. were aged at elevated temperature and relative humidity (45°C and 60% RH) for 120 days. Seeds were removed at various times (1, 2, 5, 9, 20, 30, 50, 75, 100 and 125 days) and their viability was determined through standard germination tests. The time taken in storage for viability to fall to 50% (p50) was determined using Probit analysis and used as a measure of relative seed longevity between species. Among Nepeta species, p50 at 45°C and 60% RH varied from 4.38 d to 16 d. Results indicated that based on the artificial aging longevity, in the gene banks the germination test intervals of species N. pogonosperma, N. haussknechtii, N. glomerulosa, N. cataria, N. depauperata can be ten years. But the germination test intervals of N. menthoides, N. nuda, N. schirazana and N. oxydonata should be five years, and even re-collecting their seeds can be a more appropriate strategy to protect them in ex-situ conditions.

A study was conducted in the net house of Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University as well as in farmers’ fields at Digarkanda village of Mymensingh district to evaluate the in situ and ex situ floristic diversity of the weed seed bank in rice. Five fields were surveyed for in situ evaluation with four replications and soil samples (1.5 kg soil) were collected and placed in plastic pots in the net house for ex situ study. Diversity was computed by the Shannon index (H’). a total of 33 weed species belonging to 17 families were found under in situ whereas, 37 species belonging to 22 families germinated under ex situ condition. The family Cyperaceae had the highest species richness and density under both conditions. Based on importance value, the five most dominant species under in situ condition were Eleocharis atroperpurea,Cyperus difformis, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Azolla pinnata and Echinochloa crusgalli. Whereas, under ex situ condition, two new weed species i.e. Fimbristylis miliaceae and Lindernia antipoda were found dominant instead of Alternanthera philoxeroides and Azolla pinnata and rest of the three species remained the same with slightly different rank and order. Weed density and diversity were also higher under ex situ condition than in situ condition. Ex situ condition had higher H’ index (H’=2.396) than in situ condition (H’=2.230). The highest percentage of weed emergence was observed within the first month of commencement of germination trial under both in situ and ex situ conditions. The information obtained from the study would help to determine the infestation potential of identified weed species and predict the upcoming threat which could lead to construct and improve successful weed management strategies.

Recently, a series of three-component compounds with the combination of Mn+1AXn known as Max phases have been considered as a new material. One of the most important features of Max phases, is the self-healing property of them. The main reason for considering Max Phases is a unique collection of unusual properties including their metallic, ceramic, physical, and mechanical properties. One of these Max Phases is Ti3SiC2 triple composition. The mechanical properties of this type of max phase can be improved by using various reinforcements such as carbides (like silicon carbide). High hardness, high melting temperature, high mechanical strength and high elasticity modulus are the hallmark properties of silicon carbide. The oxidation resistance of silicon carbide is also high due to the formation of the silica layer. Ti3SiC2-SiC composite can be synthesized in a mixture of Si and TiC with a suitable stoichiometric ratio by hot pressing method. In this research, the main objective of the study is to investigate the mechanical properties of in-situ fabricated Ti3SiC2-SiC composite compare it with ex-situ composite. Therefore, Ti3SiC2-SiC composites were prepared via in-situ and ex-situ routs by hot pressing at a temperature range of 1400-1600 ° C under pressure of 30-40 MPa for 30-60 min, and its physical and mechanical properties included density, hardness, flexural strength and fracture toughness were evaluated and compared. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for phase and microstructural analysis, respectively.

Rumen degradability was determined for six wheat, three corn and three millet cultivars in six ruminally cannulated sheep. The sheep were fed a ration containing 55% alfalfa and 45% ground barley. All grains were incubated for 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h in dacron bags (50-llm pore size). The mean soluble and degradable portions, rate of degradation and effective degradability of dry matter ranged from 3.3 to 8.2%, 80.9 to 92.8%, 5.4 to 27.5% and 44;.8 to 74.2% for wheat, corn and millet, respectively. Corresponding values for crude protein of wheat corn and millet ranged from 5.7 to 9.6%, 4$.7 to 83%, 5.3 to 28.9% and 35.1 to 78.4%, respectively. It was concluded that grains varied widely in their ruminal degradability and this information may aid in synchronizing degradation of protein and starch in the rumen to improve lactation performance.

The present study was conducted to determine some feedstuffs nutritive values through different methods and to make a comparison between the methods. Six canulated steers (Holstein and Sistani) were taken into experiment in a completely randomized design of two observations per each replication. The amount of gas production at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours and feed degradation through nylon bag method at 0 , 4 , 8 , 16 , 24 , 48 , 72 and 96 hours were measured. The feedstuffs used included: alfalfa hay, wheat straw, corn silage, concentrate and cotton seed, fed at the maintenance level. Dry matter degradabilityat 96 hours for alfalfa hay, wheat straw and corn silage were 71.52, 51.02 and 77.89, and at 48 hours for concentrate and cotton seed were 80.59, and 53.51 percent, respectively. Dry matter effective degradability for the above feedstuffs at the maintenance level was 64.40, 36.70, 66.43, 76.03 and 48.16%, respectively. Dry matter degradability for these respective feedstuffs at 24 hours was 66.93, 33.57, 68.24, 79.83 and 48.71. The amount of gas production at 96 hour of incubation for alfalfa hay, wheat straw and corn silage were 51 , 45 and 75.5 milliliters , respectively, and for concentrate and cotton seed at 48 hour of incubation were 81 and 58.5 milliliters. Correlation coefficient between dry matter degradation and gas production for these feedstuffs were 0.99, 0.99, 0.99, 0.96 and 0.99 respectively and correlation coefficient between crude protein degradation and the amount of gas production were respectively recorded as 0.97, 0.99, 0.99, 0.99 and 0.98. Due to the high correlation coefficient existing between dry matter degradation, crude protein degradation, ADF and NDF degradation, and gas production, regression equations between these parameters and gas production were assessed for an estimation of the amount of these parameters from the amount of gas production without a need for tedious digestion experiments. As an example regression equation between alfalfa dry matter degradation and its gas production was: Y = 35.724+ 0.714x. In line with 51 milliters of gas production for alfalfa at 96 hour, this equation estimated 72.14% of degradation for alfalfa dry matter during this time, which in comparison with the 71.52% from digestion experiments, there is not any significant difference observed between the two recordings.