Variation in Weed Seed Fate Fed to Different Holstein Cattle Groups

Abstract

Weed seeds may maintain their viability when passing through the digestive tract of cattle and can be therefore dispersed by animal movement or the application of manure. Whether different cattle types of the same species can cause differential weed seed fate is largely unknown to us particularly under non-grazed systems similar to Holstein-Friesian dairy farming. We investigated the effect on the seed survival of four weed species in the digestive tracts of four groups of Holstein cattle: lactating cows, feedlot male calves, dry cows and growing heifers. The weed species used were Cuscuta campestris, Polygonum aviculare, Rumex crispus and Sorghum halepense. Cattle excretion was sampled for recovery and viability of seeds at four 24 hourly intervals after seed intake. The highest seed recovery occurred two days after seed intake in all cattle groups. Averaged over weed species, dry and lactating cows had the lowest and highest seed recovery of 36.4% and 74.4% respectively. No significant differences were observed in seed recovery of the four weed species when their seeds were fed to dry cows. Based on a power model fitted to seed viability data, the estimated time to 50% viability loss after seed intake, over all cattle groups ranged from 65 h (R. crispus) to 76 h (P. aviculare). Recovered seeds from the dung of feedlot male calves showed the highest mortality among cattle groups. Significant correlation was found between seed viability and ruminal pH (r = 0.86; P<0.05). This study shows that management programs aiming to minimize weed infestation caused by livestock should account for the variation amongst cattle groups in seed persistence. Our findings can be used as a guideline for evaluating the potential risk of the spread of weeds via the application of cattle manure.

Eco-biology, impact, and management of Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.

“…However, Looker (1981) recorded seed viability up to 50% even after 5 years of burial. Moreover, seeds stayed viable after passing through the digestive tract of cattle (Rahimi et al 2016), and also after 7 years of dry storage (Holm et al 1997). Through regeneration from rhizomes, S. halepense can survive extreme temperatures, as its rhizomes can easily reach protected depths of 20 cm or more.…”

Potential for endozoochorous seed dispersal by sheep and goats: Risk of weed seed transport via animal faeces

“…In goats, C. campestris , C. arvensis and S. halepense were similar in recovery time, while the peak time for R. crispus seeds occurred with more delay (Figure 3). This could be because of the low specific gravity in R. crispus seeds (Rahimi et al., 2016). Gardener et al.…”

“…(johnson grass) (Peerzada et al., 2017) and Hordeum spontaneum L. (wild barley) (Hosseini et al., 2019) are common grassland weeds and they vary in seed characteristics, such as size, shape and hardness (Hogan & Phillips, 2011). As their seeds remain viable in dairy manure (Demirhan and Ozyazici, 2019; Liu et al, 2020; Rahimi et al., 2016), restrictions are often imposed when using organic fertiliser containing weed seeds (Mt & Schlather, 1994).…”

“…Seed germination response to animal gut can be highly species-specific. In cattle, the estimated time to 50% viability loss after seed intake ranged from 65 hr for Rumex crispus L. (curly duck) to 76 hr for Polygonum aviculare L. (common knotweed) (Rahimi et al, 2016). In a study by Wang et al (2017), percentage seed recovery ranged between 12.6% and 17.6% for leguminous species and between 0.8% and 3.2% for gramineous species.…”

Emergence and viability of teosinte seeds (Zea mays ssp. mexicana ad int.) subjected to sheep digestion

“…Rahimi et al . () found this variation even among Holstein cattle groups of lactating cows, feedlot male calves, dry cows and growing heifers. Thus, it is necessary to test the weed species with the respective animal type that might feed on the seeds in the crop stubble.…”