School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemMicrowave Application for Animal Feed Processing to Improve Animal Performance(Springer, 2022)Feed nutritive value and its utilization by the animal are the two important factors that influence the profitability and sustainability of animal production systems. Microwave (MW) technology is one of the efficient technologies being used for physical processing of feed to improve feed nutritive value in the animal digestive system. Previous research has demonstrated that MW treatment may have been useful for improving feed digestibility and changing its utilization in animals’ bodies. Crude protein (CP) is one of the most important nutrients, MW treatment is effective at reducing concentrate feed CP rumen degradability, potentially leading to more efficient utilization of protein in the ruminant intestine. It reduces the anti-nutritional factors present in the feeds, which can limit animals’ intake and utilization. In this chapter, the application of MW treatment for feed processing and the prospects for the future use of MW technology in animal production systems will be discussed.
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ItemMicrowave Soil Treatment and Plant Growth(IntechOpen, 2019-10-15)Crop yield gaps can be partially overcome by soil sanitation strategies such as fumigation; however, there are fewer suitable fumigants available in the marketplace and growing concerns about chemical impacts in the environment and human food chain. Therefore, thermal soil sanitation has been considered for some time and microwave soil treatment has some important advantages over other thermal soil sanitation techniques, such as steam treatment. It is also apparent that microwave soil sanitation does not sterilize the soil, but favors beneficial species of soil biota making more nutrients available for better plant growth. From these perspectives, microwave soil treatment may become an important pre-sowing soil sanitation technology for high value cropping systems, allowing agricultural systems to better bridge the crop yield gap.