• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2012

Rice paddy fields have been recognized as an alternative habitat for avian wetland foragers, and fish-rice farms have become a new tool in improving the abundance of aquatic animals. However, the use of the habitats by avian foragers, particularly by oriental storks ($Ciconia$ $boyciana$), was not well understood. In the present study, we investigated how a fish-rice farm influenced the abundance of aquatic animals and documented the foraging behavior of the two captive bred oriental storks in a closed semi-natural paddy field. Our results showed that the fish refuge pond (water depth 40 cm) had a higher abundance of fish whereas the areas planted with rice (water depth 20 cm) had more tadpoles and some aquatic insects. The two captive bred oriental storks captured mostly fish and aquatic insects in the rice-planted area and mostly fish in the fish refuge pond. The two oriental storks had higher foraging success and spent more time for foraging in the rice-planted area than in the fish refuge pond. This result suggests that the oriental storks might prefer foraging in the area with fish, aquatic insects, and amphibians under a greater success rate presumably due to shallow water depth in the paddy fields with a fish-rice farm.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.286-294
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• 2020

This study aims to economically evaluate rice production and various ecological services provided by organic rice paddy carrying out rice-fish mixed farming. It was also conducted to find a stable structure for increasing the income of rice-producing farmers and promoting ecological services by evaluating the economic feasibility of organic rice paddy for rice-fish mixed farming. As a result of the analysis of expected effects by ecological service functions according to the types of agriculture in the rice-fish mixed farming, general conventional paddy fields were evaluated to have an effect of continuously decreasing biodiversity such as amphibian reptiles, aquatic insects, bird habitats, experience and ecological education, and vegetation diversity, while the biodiversity of organic and rice-fish mixed paddy fields was assessed to increase. As a result of evaluating the economic value, as the area for fish production increases compared to the common practice and organic paddy fields, rice production decreases, but fish production increases and total income was analyzed to increase. In addition, if the value of ecosystem service functions is assessed in the future, it will increase further. It is hoped that these findings will be used as basic data for solving oversupply problems in the rice industry, preserving safe farm income, and improving sustainable farming and ecosystem service functions.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.161-172
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• 2018

A mixed farming system that includes organic rice production and freshwater fish farming is being called into attention in Korean agricultural industry and rural areas in order to improve farm management and environmental conservation. This study was conducted to evaluate the environmental and ecological value of such mixed farming practices. Expert assessment and rapid assessment method (RAM) of wetland evaluation were employed for this study. Experts have responded that biodiversity conservation including amphibian and reptile habitat (2.39), aquatic insect habitat (2.36), Fishery habitat (2.34), vegetation diversity (2.13), avian habitat (2.05), and experience and education were the most important function of mixed farming. The wetland function evaluation conducted using modified RAM indicated that rice-fish mixed system showed improvements in most of the evaluated functions, compared to the conventional rice paddies. The overall wetland function of rice paddies in rice-fish mixed system was greatly improved as compared with the conventional rice paddies. Rice paddies are known to play an important role in biodiversity maintenance, and provide ecosystem services such as climate modulation and carbon reduction. Rice-fish mixed system of farming may not only improve various ecosystem services of rice paddies, but may increase farm income through value added fish farming, as well as promotion of social services such as education and maintenance of tradition. Additional research is needed for quantitative analysis of the values gained from the most improved wetland function when mixed farming system is actually put into practice, and to utilize the results in advertising of the organic rice, and in various sectors such as food, education and direct payment policy.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.1650-1655
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• 2003

Crossbred gilts (n=54) of about $26.38{\pm}0.85kg$ body weight and 25 weeks of age were randomly divided into 18 groups of 3 animals each. Three dietary treatments viz., $T_1$, $T_2$ and $T_3$ were formulated. The treatment $T_1$ containing maize grain (35%) and wheat bran (47%) along with soybean meal and fish meals served as control diet. Rice bran (RB) was selected as a single source of fat (13.02%) and fibre (17.12%), which was gradually increased in diets $T_2$ (41%) and $T_3$ (82%) replacing maize grain and wheat bran of $T_1$ at 50% and 100% in the diets $T_2$ and $T_3$, respectively. The fat and fibre levels of the diets were thus 3.46 and 5.24, 9.31and 9.69 and 11.61and 13.26% in $T_1$, $T_2$ and $T_3$, respectively. All the diets, however, contained almost similar concentration of CP (18.35${\pm}0.29%$). Each dietary treatment was offered to six replicated groups of 3 piglets in following completely randomized design and feeding was continued for 112 days during the growing phase. Growth, feed utilization, reproductive performance, nutrient utilization and different blood biochemical parameters were studied. Growth rate, feed intake and feed conversion were lower (p<0.01) in $T_3$ in comparison to $T_1$ or $T_2$. Digestibility of all the nutrients except EE was reduced significantly (p<0.01) in $T_3$. Serum glucose level decreased (p<0.01), whereas the urea and cholesterol concentration in the blood increased (p<0.01) in $T_3$. The duration of estrus of pigs fed diet containing 82% RB ($T_3$) was highly variable within the group, but all the groups showed statistically similar duration of estrous. Feed cost per unit gain was found to be comparable between control ($T_1$) and $T_2$ group. The results indicated that RB can be included up to 41% in swine diets replacing 50% of maize and wheat bran. Higher concentrations of ether extract and fibre beyond 9.31 and 9.69% in diet had detrimental effect on growth, nutrient utilization and reproductive performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.1728-1733
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• 2001

An experiment was conducted at the experimental duck farm of Cantho University in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam to evaluate the effects of offering pairwise feeds with different crude protein (CP) levels to Cherry Valley broiler ducks from 28-63 days of age on feed intake and performance. Five diets consisting of mixtures of soya bean meal, fish meal, maize meal and fine rice bran, were formulated to give isocaloric diets with 30, 24, 18, 16 and 12% CP. These were offered separately as pellets to growing ducklings in the following combinations: 30+18, 30+12, 24+16 and 18+12. A diet with 20% CP (CP20) was used as control. All the diets were offered ad libitum. Daily feed intakes (g dry matter, DM) were 161, 168, 150, 101 and 143 g for the 30+18, 30+12, 24+16, 18+12 and CP20 treatments, respectively. CP intakes were 29.6, 27.0, 24.8, 17.1 and 22.9% of total DM intake, and the ratio of methionine+cystine to lysine was 0.76, 0.75, 0.75, 0.76 and 0.75 for the 30+18, 30+12, 24+16, 18+12 and CP20 treatments, respectively. Live weights at 63 days of age were 2,937, 3,054, 2,898, 2,200, and 2,811 g (p<0.001), and daily live weight gains 57.8, 61.7, 57.0, 38.5 and 55.7 g (p<0.001) for the 30+18, 30+12, 24+16, 18+12 and CP20 treatments, respectively. The weights and yields of the carcass, breast and thigh muscles, and heart decreased in the order 30+18, 30+12, 24+16, CP20 and 18+12 (p<0.001). The present study suggests that growing broiler offered a combination of high and low protein feeds pairwise will eat excessive amounts of the high protein feed, thus resulting in protein intakes above requirements.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.553-564
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• 2013

The core ingredient of traditional Korean style soy sauce is soy bean without any wheat or rice incorporated. National brands as well as regional micro-brewed companies constitute the soy sauce market in Korea. The present study investigated the physico-chemical and sensory properties of soy sauces produced by small-scale or mass-production. Additionally, the key physico-chemical parameters sufficiently representing the critical sensory characteristics have been identified. Ten types of soy sauce brewed by the Korean traditional method were selected for the study. Among these samples, seven types were brewed in small-scales in the Gyeonggi-do region whereas the other 3 types were mass-production products of major national brands. The total solid, reducing sugar, salinity, sugar content, amino nitrogen, CIELAB, acidity, and pH of soy sauce samples were measured for the physico-chemical analysis. A generic descriptive analysis was conducted to analyze the sensory characteristics of the samples using six trained panelists. The descriptive panel developed 21 sensory attributes. The data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA, PCA and PLSR. Overall, the micro-brewed products showed significantly higher value of salinity and acidity but lower content of reducing sugar than the mass-production products. The micro-brewed soy sauces elicited stronger fermented flavor, sourness, and bitterness whereas the national brand products elicited stronger alcoholic odor, sweetness and umami taste. Sugar content, acidity, and amino nitrogen showed strong relationships with fish sauce flavor, umami taste, and rich flavor. Salinity was closely related to the overall flavor intensity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.825-834
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• 2005

Two experiments were conducted with growing crossbred Super-Meat ducks at the experimental duck farm of Cantho University to evaluate the effects of reducing the proportion of soybean meal (SBM) in a broken rice (BR)-SBM mixture and providing soya waste (SW) ad libitum (Expt. 1), and reducing the proportion of fish meal (FM) in a BR-FM mixture and supplying ensiled shrimp waste (ESW) ad libitum (Expt.2). Both experiments included five treatments, with three replicates and ten growing ducks per replicate. In Expt.1, the five diets were based on BR and five levels of SBM, with SW offered ad libitum. The control diet (SBM25) consisted of 75% BR and 25% SBM, and the other four treatments included SBM levels of 20% (SBM20), 14% (SBM14), 8% (SBM8) and 0% (SBM0) mixed with BR to 100%, and with SW ad libitum. In Expt. 2, the control diet consisted of 86% BR and 14% FM, and the other dietary treatments had FM levels of 11% (FM11), 8% (FM8), 4% (FM4) and 0% (FM0) mixed with BR, and with ESW ad libitum. In Expt. 1, total intakes of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and metabolizable energy (ME) were higher for birds given SW (p<0.001). Total CP intake was highest on the SBM20 diet, and lowest on the SBM0 diet (p<0.001). Lower daily gain (DG) was found for the SBM0 diet (p<0.01). Carcass weights were higher on the control treatment, with the lowest values on the SBM0 diet (p<0.001). Gizzard weights were higher on diets with high intakes of SW (p<0.05). In Expt. 2, birds with high intakes of ESW (FM4 and FM0) had lower (p<0.01) daily intakes of DM. The total CP intakes declined (p<0.001) with higher intakes of ESW. The highest DG were for the control and FM11 diets, while the lowest value was for diet FM0 (p<0.001). The poorest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was for the FM0 treatment (p<0.01). Lower weights of carcass and breast muscle were found on the FM0 diet (p<0.001). Feed costs per kg gain were only slightly different between diets. However, the lowest feed cost was for ducks on the SBM0 and FM11 diets in Expt.1 and Expt. 2, respectively.