Open AccessThe Effect of Nutritional Additives and Nitrogen Supplements Used for Nellore Steers During Growth Phase Fed on Deferred Pasture
Author(s) -
Luís Carlos Vinhas Ítavo,
Camila Celeste Brandão Ferreira Ítavo,
Alexandre Menezes Dias,
Gumercindo Loriano Franco,
Maria da Graça Morais,
Aparecido Ribeiro de Souza,
Camila da Silva Pereira,
Alexandre Guimarães Inácio,
Rodrigo Gonçalves Mateus,
Luiz Carlos Pereira
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of agricultural studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2166-0379
DOI - 10.5296/jas.v8i2.17226
Subject(s) - virginiamycin , pasture , zoology , brachiaria , salinomycin , forage , feedlot , dry matter , biology , grazing , rumen , hectare , dry season , nutrient , agronomy , food science , fermentation , antibiotics , biochemistry , ecology , agriculture
Dry season reduces the quantity and quality of forage available for cattle. To guarantee the quantity, deferred grazing is a good alternative, however supplementation is necessary to complement the nutritional quality of the diet. Therefore, this work evaluated the inclusion of nutritional additives (virginiamycin and salinomycin) in supplements provide to Nellore steers during growth phase on deferred pasture during the dry season. One hundred and twenty castrated steers with averaging weight 280.40 (±19.59) kg were distributed into groups with 20 animals each in six paddocks with 20 hectares each of Brachiaria brizantha cv. MG4 deferred by 60 days. The total experimental period was 120 days, with rotating groups in paddocks each 15 days. The treatments consisted in a protein-energy-mineral supplement, with 30% crude protein (CP), 40% total digestible nutrient (TDN) containing three different non-protein nitrogen (NPN) sources and with or without nutritional additive. The treatment containing virginiamycin showed better performance (P <0.05) than the treatments with salinomycin and without additive (negative control). The revenue from treatment with virginiamycin (US$ 97.28) was 7.6% and 9.8% higher than of the treatments without additive (US$ 90.41) and with salinomycin (US$ 88.63) respectively. Virginiamycin used in nitrogen supplements during the growing phase of Nellore steers on deferred pasture maintains performance in dry season and increases net margin per animal.