Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy （NIRS） was used to predict chemical composition of rhodesgrass （200 samples from five cultivars）. 200 samples were divided into two groups, one group （n=150） was selected for calibration development, and the remaining group （n=50） was used for equation validation. The accuracy of calibration from partial least square regression （PLSR） and multiple linear regression （MLR） was evaluated by the correlation coefficients （r） and the standard deviation of prediction （SDP）. Furthermore, the accuracy of prediction was evaluated by the evaluation index （EI）. The ‘r’ and SDP of moisture, crude protein （CP）, neutral detergent fiber （NDFom）, acid detergent fiber（ADFom）, acid detergent lignin （ADL） and in vitro dry matter digestibility （IVDMD） from PLSR method were 0.87-0.98 and 0.37-3.00 respectively. “EI” of all chemical compositions were “B rank”. These results indicated that moisture, CP, NDFom, ADFom, ADL and IVDMD contents in rhodesgrass can be predicted by using NIRS techniques with an acceptable accuracy.

Mono-unsaturated fatty acids （MUFAs）, including oleic acid, are the major components of fatty acids in beef fat, and are among several factors associated with beef flavor and taste. This study aimed 1） to measure the fatty acid composition of intramuscular fat from carcasses of Japanese Black cattle in Kagoshima prefecture using near infrared spectroscopy; and 2） to estimate the genetic effects of sire on the oleic acid and MUFA percentages. Genetic parameters were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood （REML） approach with a single-trait animal model. Breeding values associated with oleic acid and MUFA percentages were calculated using the best linear unbiased prediction method. Furthermore, phenotypic and genetic correlations between oleic acid or MUFA percentage and each carcass trait were evaluated using REML with a two-trait animal model. As a result, the heritability of oleic acid and MUFA percentages was estimated to be 0.47±0.08 and 0.48±0.08, respectively. In addition, the sire breeding values for oleic acid ranged from -4.89% to 4.30%, and those for MUFA percentage ranged from -5.09% to 4.33%. There was a large difference in the genetic effect on oleic acid and MUFA percentages between sires. The phenotypic correlations between the oleic acid or MUFA percentage and each carcass trait were generally low. A weak, negative genetic correlation existed between the oleic acid or MUFA percentage and beef marbling standard, brightness, texture, and firmness. The oleic acid and MUFA percentages were positively, and weakly, genetically correlated with the beef fat standard. In conclusion, the optically measurable oleic acid and MUFA percentages in intramuscular fat are traits that can be bred genetically.

A field experiment was conducted to determine the optimum over-seeding rate of Italian ryegrass （IR） among four levels 0.7, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 g/m²） on cool-season production of giant stargrass （GS） stand in south-western Okinawa island, Japan. The effect of over-seeding IR was positive only at the second cutting among three defoliation, due to the lowest air temperature at 18.3℃ during the regrowth period. Cumulative dry matter yield among three cuttings tended to be higher at IR seeding rate of 0.7g/m² than GS pure stand. The yield of IR increased with the increasing over-seeding rates, while that of GS decreased. Relative yield （RY） of GS and IR, determined by yields of mixed grown GS and IR relative to those of pure GS and IR stands, respectively, was over 0.5 only in one species, however relative yield total （RYT）, determined by sum of RY of both species, was over 1.0 only at IR over-seeding of 0.7 g/m² in all three cutting times. The interspecific competition was causes of limiting growth of the species in mix culture. From these results, it is concluded that IR over-seeding at 0.7 g/m² to GS stand might be effective for getting higher yield in cool-season in south-western Okinawa island, Japan.

Economic loss of agricultural and forestry resources has overwhelmingly increased in recent decades due to feeding damage of Japanese Deer （Cervus nippon centralis） in Japan. Utilization of a captured deer is becoming critical issue in relation to a management of the deer population. In this research, sensory research was carried out in order to investigate the consumer palatability for the deer meat processed by a sweetener （Trehalose and Sucrose） or seaweed （Wakame seaweed and Kombu）. The deer meat was investigated by panel test which consisted of 98 ordinary consumers. Sensory research was carried out using a questionnaire about taste, aroma, toughness, greasiness, juiciness and aggregate score of the meat, where each question was made of five choices. The deer meat processed by Wakame was evaluated significantly higher than the deer meat of no processing in all evaluation items. Interaction between the sex and the preference for deer meat was significant in taste score.

This experiment conducted with finishing pigs assessed effects of a low-protein liquid （LPL） diet including local by-products on nitrogen excretion and ammonia emissions. For this nitrogen balance study, eight pigs （WLD, 70.1 kg） were assigned randomly either a control diet （CP13.7％） or an LPL diet including syrup waste and potato silage （CP10.0％）. Nitrogen intake was lower for LPL pigs than for control pigs （P<0.05）, but no differences were found in nitrogen retention or growth performance between the treatments of the pigs. Urinary and total nitrogen excretion of the LPL pigs were lower than those of the control pigs （P<0.01）. The amount of in vitro ammonia emissions from the slurry of LPL pigs was lower than that of control pigs （P<0.01）. Results suggest that a low-protein diet including syrup waste and potato silage reduces urinary nitrogen excretion and ammonia emissions from the slurry without affecting the growth performance of finishing pig.

This experiment conducted with finishing pigs assessed the effects of a low protein liquid （LPL） diet including local by-products on plasma constituents, growth performances, carcass characteristics and meat quality. The experiment was conducted with two replicates using 16 finisher pigs （WLD, 52.5 kg）, each replicate consisting of 8 pigs. They were separated into two groups as control and treatment groups comprising 4 pigs each, by considering the sex ratio and body weight as equal. The treatment group was fed an LPL diet including 72.5% syrup waste and 18% potato silage （CP11.5%） twice a day. The control group was fed with a standard diet （CP15.6%）, ad libitum. When the mean body weight of each group just surpassed 105 kg, animals were slaughtered. LPL group pigs had lower values in plasma albumin and BUN than the control, but their values were within the normal range for finishing pigs. No differences were found between the pig treatments in terms of growth performance, carcass characteristics or loin meat quality. However, in terms of the back fat, the LPL diet was associated with higher percentages of oleic acid and lower percentages of linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Sensory examination indicated better flavor of the LPL pigs’ pork （P<0.10） and better overall acceptability scores （P<0.05）. Results suggest that an LPL diet including syrup waste and potato silage improves meat palatability without adverse effects on the growth performance or carcass traits of finishing pigs.

In the present study, we addressed the low conception rate during hot season in cows and conducted to clarify the seasonal difference in the quality of cumulus-oocyte complex （COCs）. The COCs were collected from Japanese black cows by the ovum pick-up （OPU） method during the hot （August to September, 2016） and cool （February to March, 2017） seasons. The OPU was performed 15 and 18 times in 5 and 3 cows during hot and cool season, respectively. The rectal temperature and respiration rate, and follicular number of cows at the time of OPU were measured. After OPU, the number and morphological grade of the collected COCs were evaluated. Moreover, the number of apoptotic cells in cumulus cells and mitochondrial distribution in oocytes were also analyzed. The number and morphological grade of COCs did not differ between the hot and cool seasons, although the rectal temperature and respiration rate of cows was significantly increased during hot season （P < 0.01）. On the other hand, number of apoptotic cells in cumulus cells was significantly higher in COCs obtained during hot season than that of cool season（P < 0.01）. Likewise, the rate of normal mitochondrial distribution observed in oocytes was significantly decreased in hot season compared with that of cool season （P < 0.05）. These findings indicate that heat stress would decrease the quality of COCs in Japanese Black cows.

Digitgrass Transvala （TR） hay was estimated the dry matter intake （DMI） and crude protein intake （CPI） by breeding Japanese black cattle comparing with Oat hay. The feeding ratio of TR or Oat hay was 50％ in a total feeding amount. The DMIs of TR and Oat hay were 3.63±0.17 kg DM /day and 3.66±0.09 kg DM /day respectively. The CPI of TR hay （0.23±0.01 kg DM /day） was significant higher （P < 0.01） that of an Oat hay （0.17±0.00 kg DM /day）. The fluctuation of body weight, withers height and chest girth in breeding Japanese Black cows were no significant difference between TR and Oat hay. These results showed that TR hay was satisfactorily to use as the basal diet for breeding Japanese Black cows.