ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Effects of Sulphur Fertilizer on Copper
Metabolism in Grazing Tibetan Sheep
in Fertilized Pasture
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1
School of Materials and Architectural Engineering, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Sheep Genetic Improvement and Healthy Production, Xinjiang Academy
of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
3
School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology,
Mianyang 621010, China
4
World Bank Poverty Alleviation Project Office in Guizhou, Southwest China, Guiyang 550004, China
Submission date: 2021-02-20
Final revision date: 2021-04-03
Acceptance date: 2021-04-21
Online publication date: 2021-09-01
Publication date: 2021-10-01
Corresponding author
Xiaoyun Shen
State Key Laboratory of Sheep Genetic Improvement and Healthy Production, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences, No. 221 Wuyi Road, 832000, Shihezi, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2021;30(6):5351-5356
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ABSTRACT
To explore the impact of sulfur (S) fertilization on copper (Cu) metabolism in grazing Tibetan
sheep, fertilizing and grazing experiments were conducted in the Southwest Grand Grassland, China.
The tested pasture was randomly divided into four parts by the fencing device (2 hm2/part). The pasture
received ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4] treatment in summer in 2020 (0, 300, 400, and 500 kg/hm2
for part I, part II, part III, and part IV, respectively). 24 Tibetan sheep (one year old) were randomly
divided into four groups, and assigned to the selected pastures (part I, part II, part III, and part IV for
group I, group II, group III, and group IV, respectively). The grazing experiments lasted for 90 days.
The results showed that the contents of nitrogen (N) and S in fertilized forage were markedly higher
than those in unfertilized grass (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference among fertilized
forages. The contents of Cu in blood and liver in the Tibetan sheep from fertilized pasture were
extremely lower than those in animals from unfertilized pasture (P<0.01). The contents of Hb and PCV
in the tested sheep from fertilized pasture were extremely higher than those in sheep from unfertilized
pasture. The activities of serum SOD, GSH-Px, T-AOC, Cp, and CAT in sheep from fertilized pasture
were extremely lower than those in sheep from no fertilized pasture (P<0.01), but there were no
obvious differences among the Tibetan sheep from fertilized pasture (P>0.05). The contents of MDA
in the Tibetan sheep from fertilized pasture were significantly higher than those in animals from no
fertilized pasture (P<0.01). There was no obvious difference among the Tibetan sheep from fertilized
pasture (P>0.05). Therefore, (NH4)2SO4 fertilization not only greatly influenced the contents of S and N in forage, but also extremely decreased Cu contents of animal tissues in the Tibetan sheep from
fertilized ranges.