https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2020.1594
Growth control of herbaceous ground cover and egg quality from an integrated poultry-hazelnut orchard system
Submitted: 27 January 2020
Accepted: 27 May 2020
Published: 2 July 2020
Accepted: 27 May 2020
Abstract Views: 1277
PDF: 698
HTML: 16
HTML: 16
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
The present study was designed to assess the impact of hen grazing on plant biodiversity in the ground cover of hazelnut orchards, as well as the quality of eggs from hens grazing in the orchards. Two different sites of hazelnut orchards located in Basilicata region were selected to conduct this study. The results showed that hen grazing affected the composition of herbaceous stratum of the orchards. By using the quadrat method, a total of 99 (46 in site A and 53 in site B) plant species were identified at the beginning of the trial. After hen grazing, the number of identified plants dropped to 72 (30 in site A and 42 in site B). Amongst the most consumed species we found Lolium sp., Trifolium sp., Polygonum sp., Cichorium intybus, Cynodon dactylon. Alpha diversity analysis (species richness, diversity and evenness) as well as beta diversity analysis (Morisita-Horn and Sørensen indices) confirmed that hen grazing played a role in controlling vegetation growth. Concerning egg quality, most of the chemical parameters differed significantly when comparing the eggs from the sites with those from the control group, indicating that egg quality was influenced by the food resources available in each site. Overall, our results confirm that poultry may play a positive role in an orchard system.
Highlights
- The impact of an integrated poultry-hazelnut orchard system on herbaceous plant species diversity and on egg quality was evaluated.
- Hen grazing may benefit herbaceous ground cover biodiversity of the orchards.
- Egg quality may be affected by the food resources available in the orchards.
Ahmadi F, Rahimi F, 2011. Factors affecting quality and quantity of egg production in laying hens: a review. World Appl. Sci. J. 12(3):372-384.
Anderson KE, 2011. Comparison of fatty acid, cholesterol, and vitamin A and E composition in eggs from hens housed in conventional cage and range production facilities. Poultry sci. 90(7):1600-1608.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2010-01289
Antell S, Ciszuk P, 2006. Forage consumption of laying hens – the crop content as an indicator of feed intake and AME content of ingested forage. Arch. Geflugelkd. 70:154–160.
AOAC, 2006. Official Methods of Analysis, 18th ed. AOAC Press, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
Basmacioğlu H, Ergül M, 2005. Research on the factors affecting cholesterol content and some other characteristics of eggs in laying hens the effects of genotype and rearing system. Turk. J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 29(1):157-164.
Berg C, 2002. Health and welfare in organic poultry production. Acta Vet. Scand. 43(Suppl 1):S37-S45.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-43-S1-S37
Bonham CD, 1989. Measurements for terrestrial vegetation. Wiley, New York, USA.
Burgess PJ, Crous-Duran J, Den Herder M, Dupraz C, Fagerholm N, Freese D, Garnett K, Graves AR, Hermansen JE, Liagre F, Mirck J, Moreno G, Mosquera-Losada MR, Palma JHN, Pantera A, Plieninger T, Upson M, 2015. AGFORWARD Project Periodic Report: January to December 2014. Cranfield University: AGFORWARD. 95 pp. Available from: http://www.agforward.eu/index.php/it/news-reader/id-27-february-2015.html?file=files/agforward/documents/AGFORWARD%20613520%20First%20Year%20Report%2027%20Feb%202015.pdf.
Buzas MA, Gibson TG, 1969. Species diversity: benthic foraminifera in western North Atlantic. Science. 163:72–75.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.163.3862.72
Chielo L, Pike T, Cooper J, 2016. Ranging behaviour of commercial free-range laying hens. Animals. 6(5):28.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6050028
Clark MS, Gage, SH, 1996. Effects of free-range chickens and geese on insect pests and weeds in an agroecosystem. Am. J. Alternative Agric. 11(1):39-47.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0889189300006718
Folch J, Lees M, Stanley GHS, 1957. A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipids from animals tissues. J. Biol. Chem. 226:497-509.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9258(18)64849-5
Freschi P, Fascetti S, Musto M, Mallia E, Blasi AC, Cosentino C, Paolino R, 2014. Diet of the Apennine hare in a Southern Italy Regional Park. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 60(3):423–430.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0799-y
Freschi P, Fascetti S, Musto M, Mallia E, Cosentino C, Paolino R, 2015a. Diet of the Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) in a semi-natural landscape of southern Italy. Mammalia. 79(1):51–59.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2013-0117
Freschi P, Musto M, Paolino R, Cosentino C, 2015b. Highlights on a Natura 2000 Network Site. In: A. Vastola (ed.) The Sustainability of Agro-Food and Natural Resource Systems in the Mediterranean Basin. Springer, Cham., pp 271-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16357-4_18
Freschi P, Fascetti S, Musto M, Cosentino C, Paolino R, Valentini V, 2016. Seasonal variation in food habits of the Italian hare in a south Apennine semi-natural landscape. Ethol. Ecol. Evol. 28(2):148–162.
Freschi P, Fascetti S, Riga F, Cosentino C, Rizzardini G, Musto M, 2017. Diet composition of the Italian roe deer (Capreolus capreolus italicus) (Mammalia: Cervidae) from two protected areas. Eur. Zool. J. 84(1):34–42.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1268655
Glatz PC, Ru YJ, Miao ZH, Wyatt SK, Rodda, BJ, 2005. Integrating poultry into a crop and pasture farming system. Int. J. Poultry Sci. 4(4):187-191.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3923/ijps.2005.187.191
Holt PS, Davies RH, Dewulf J, Gast RK, Huwe JK, Jones DR, Waltman D, Willian KR, 2011. The impact of different housing systems on egg safety and quality. Poult. Sci. 90:251–262.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2010-00794
Horsted K, Hammershoj M, Hermansen JE, 2006. Short-term effects on productivity and egg quality in nutrient-restricted versus non-restricted organic layers with access to different forage crops. Acta Agric. Scand. A Anim. Sci. 56:42-54.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09064700600866072
Horsted K, Hermansen JE, Hansen H, 2007. Botanical composition of herbage intake of free-range laying hens determined by microhistological analysis of faeces. Arch. Geflugelkd. 71: 145-151.
Karsten HD, Patterson PH, Stout R, Crews G, 2010. Vitamins A, E and fatty acid composition of the eggs of caged hens and pastured hens. Renew. Agr. Food Syst. 25(1):45-54.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170509990214
Krawczyk J, 2009. Quality of eggs from Polish native Greenleg Partridge chicken-hens maintained in organic vs. backyard production systems. Anim. Sci. Pap. Rep. 27(3):227-235.
Krawczyk J, Sokołowicz Z, Szymczyk B, 2011. Effect of housing system on cholesterol, vitamin and fatty acid content of yolk and physical characteristics of eggs from Polish native hens. Arch. Geflügelk. 75(3):151-157.
Küçükyılmaz K, Bozkurt M, Herken EN, Çınar M, Çatlı AU, Bintaş E, Çöven F, 2012. Effects of rearing systems on performance, egg characteristics and immune response in two layer hen genotype. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 25(4):559–568.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2011.11382
Labella C, Lelario F, Bufo SA, Musto M, Freschi P, Cosentino C, 2016. Optimization and validation of a chromatographic method for quantification of lysozyme in jenny milk. J. Food Nutr. Res.-Slov., 55(3):263-269.
Langton RW, 1982. Diet overlap between the Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis and fifteen other northwest Atlantic finfish. Bull. U.S. 80:745–759.
Lavigne A, Dumbardon-Martial E, Lavigne C, 2012. Les volailles pour un contrôle biologique des adventices dans les vergers. Fruits. 67(5):341-351.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/fruits/2012029
Leeson S, Caston LJ, 2003. Vitamin enrichment of eggs. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 12:24-26.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/japr/12.1.24
Liu HY, Ivarsson E, Jonsson L, Holm L, Lundh T, Lindberg JE, 2011. Growth performance, digestibility, and gut development of broiler chickens on diets with inclusion of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.). Poult Sci. 90:815–823.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2010-01181
Liu M, Wang B, Osborne CP, Jiang G, 2013. Chicken farming in grassland increases environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. PloS one. 8(1):e53977.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053977
Magurran AE, 2004. Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
Margalef R, 1958. Information theory in ecology. Gen. Syste. 3:36–71.
Margalef R, 1972. Interpretation not strictly statistical of representation of biological entities in multifactorial space. Investig. Pesquera. 36:183–190.
Matt D, Veromann E, Luik A, 2009. Effect of housing systems on biochemical composition of chicken eggs. Agr. Res. 7(2):662-667.
Meluzzi A, Giordani G, Urrai GF, Sirri F, 1993. Livelli di colesterolo e composizione acidica dell’uovo commerciale di produzione italiana. Atti X Cong. ASPA: 507-511.
Meluzzi A, Sirri F, Manfreda G, Tallarico N, 2000. Effects of dietary vitamin E on the quality of table eggs enriched with n-3 long-chain fatty acids. Poultry Sci. 79:539-545.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ps/79.4.539
Meng L, Mao P, Guo Q, Tian X, 2016. Evaluation of meat and egg traits of Beijing-you chickens rotationally grazing on chicory pasture in a chestnut forest. Braz. J.Poultry Sci. 18(SPE):1-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9061-2015-0081
Minelli G, Sirri F, Folegatti E, Meluzzi A, Franchini A, 2007.. Egg quality traits of laying hens reared in organic and conventional systems. Ital. J. Anim. Sci. 6(sup1):728-730.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2007.1s.728
Mohammed KAF, Sarmiento-Franco L, Santos-Ricalde R, Solorio-Sanchez JF, 2013. Egg production, egg quality and crop content of Rhode Island Red hens grazing on natural tropical vegetation. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 45(2):367-372.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-012-0225-y
Morisita M, 1959. Measuring of interspecific association and similarity between communities. Mem. Fac. Sci. Kyushu Univ. Ser. E (Biol) 3:65–80.
Mugnai C, Dal Bosco A, Castellini C, 2009. Effect of rearing system and season on the performance and egg characteristics of Ancona laying hens. Ital. J. Anim. Sci. 8(2):175-188.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2009.175
Nair PKR, 1993. An introduction to Agroforestry. Kluwer Academic Publishers (ed), Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
O'Brian J, Philips L, Aspray C, 2006. Developing an agro-forestry system for production of a commercial organic chicken flock focusing on profits on a'Triple bottom Line'. Aspects of Applied Biology 79, What will organic farming deliver? COR 2006, 67-71.
Paolotti L, Boggia A, Castellini C, Rocchi L, Rosati A, 2016. Combining livestock and tree crops to improve sustainability in agriculture: a case study using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. J. Clean. Prod. 131:351-363.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.024
Pignatti S, Guarino R, La Rosa M, 2019. Flora d’Italia. Edagricole-Edizioni Agricole di New Business Media srl, Milano, Italy.
Rizzardini G, Fascetti S, Pietri C, Riga F, Cosentino C, Freschi P, 2019. Feeding preferences in dry season of the Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) in two sites of Corsica. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 65(3): 43.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-019-1284-4
Rizzi C, Marangon A, 2012. Quality of organic eggs of hybrid and Italian breed hens. Poultry Sci. 91(9):2330-2340.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2011-01966
Roberts JR, 2004. Factors affecting egg internal quality and egg shell quality in laying hens. J. Poultry Sci. 41(3):161-177.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2141/jpsa.41.161
Rosati A, Boggia A, Castellini C, Paolotti L, Rocchi L, 2016. When chickens graze in olive orchards, the environmental impact of both chickens and rearing and olive growing decreases. pp 362-364 Page: 362-364.in Book of abstract 3rd European Agroforestry Conference, Montpellier, France.
Shannon CE, Weaver W, 1949. The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, USA.
Singh M, Cowieson AJ, 2013. Range use and pasture consumption in free-range poultry production. Anim. Prod. Sci. 53(11):1202-1208.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/AN13199
Sirri F, Zampiga M, Soglia F, Meluzzi A, Cavani C, Petracci M, 2018. Quality characterization of eggs from Romagnola hens, an Italian local breed. Poultry sci. 97(11):4131-4136.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pey275
Skřivan M, Pickinpaugh SH, Pavlů V, Skřivanová E, Englmaierova M, 2015. A mobile system for rearing meat chickens on pasture. Czech J. Anim. Sci. 60(2):52-59.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17221/7974-CJAS
Smith J, Pearce BD, Wolfe MS, 2013. Reconciling productivity with protection of the environment: Is temperate agroforestry the answer?. Renew. Agr. Food Syst. 28(1):80-92.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170511000585
Sørensen TA, 1948. A method of establishing groups of equal amplitude in plant sociology based on similarity of species content, and its application to analyses of the vegetation on Danish commons. K. Dan Vidensk. Selskab Biol. Skrift. 5:1–34.
Sossidou EN, Dal Bosco A, Elson HA, Fontes CMGA, 2011. Pasture-based systems for poultry production: implications and perspectives. World's Poultry Sci. J. 67(1):47-58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043933911000043
Stobbelaar DJ, Hendriks K, 2011. Designing socially sound poultry farming: matching hen ethology, farm management and landscape quality. J. Agr. Sci. Tech. Iran, 5(12):663-671.
Timmermans B, Bestman M, 2016. Quality of apple trees and apples in poultry free range areas. pp 420-423 in 3rd European Agroforestry Conference Montpellier, France.
Yang HM, Yang Z, Wang W, Wang ZY, Sun HN, Ju XJ, Qi XM, 2014: Effects of different housing systems on visceral organs, serum biochemical proportions, immune performance and egg quality of laying hens. Europ. Poult. Sci.:78:1-9.
Zheng M, Mao P, Tian X, Meng L, 2019. Growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat and egg quality, and intestinal microbiota in Beijing-you chicken on diets with inclusion of fresh chicory forage. Ital. J. Anim. Sci. 18(1):1310-1320.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2019.1643794
How to Cite
Cosentino, C., Freschi, P., Fascetti, S., Paolino, R., & Musto, M. (2020). Growth control of herbaceous ground cover and egg quality from an integrated poultry-hazelnut orchard system. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 15(3), 214–221. https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2020.1594
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
