Open AccessForage performance and cattle production as a function of the seasonality of a Brazilian tropical region
Author(s) -
Odimar de Sousa Feitosa,
Rubson da Costa Leite,
Emerson Alexandrino,
Thiago de Jesus Saboia Pires,
Leonardo Bernardes Taverny de Oliveira,
Joaquim José de Paula Neto,
Antônio Clementino dos Santos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta scientiarum. animal sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.334
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1807-8672
pISSN - 1806-2636
DOI - 10.4025/actascianimsci.v44i1.53779
Subject(s) - forage , cultivar , randomized block design , agronomy , tiller (botany) , canopy , biology , dry season , population , dry matter , grazing , mathematics , ecology , demography , sociology
This study aimed to evaluate forage yield, tiller population density, canopy height, nutritional value as well as cattle performance in alternate stocking from three tropical forage cultivars. The experiment followed a randomized block design, in a 3 x 3 factorial scheme with three replications. Three forage cultivars (Marandu, Massai and Xaraés) distributed in nine hectares were evaluated in three dry season periods (transition wet/dry, dry, and end of dry season), with repeated measures over time. The following variables were evaluated: canopy height, leaf: stem ratio, forage mass, leaf mass, stem mass and dead material mass. Total digestible nutrients, crude protein and in vitro dry mass digestibility were evaluated regarding forage nutrition. Animal performance, using 36 eleven-month-old animals (half-blood Nelore), was evaluated by the daily average gain and weight gain by area. During pre-grazing, canopy height presented interaction among forage cultivars and the evaluated periods. The average daily gain showed no interaction among cultivars and period of the year the similarity in animal performance among the cultivars Marandu and Massai show that the Massai grass can be used as an alternative for forage diversification under an alternate management system.