This study was developed to examine the effect of combining nitrogen (N) fertilization strategies and pasture management heights on animal and grain production in an Integrated Crop-Livestock System. The experiment was carried out in the municipality of Abelardo Luz - SC, Brazil, between April 2017 and April 2018. A randomized-block design was adopted, with the treatments arranged in a 2×2 factorial arrangement with three replicates. The first factor was the height of the pasture managed under continuous grazing: high (HH, 20 cm) or low (LH, 12 cm). The second factor corresponded to the N application times: in the winter, in the pasture (NP), and in the summer, in the grain crop (NG), in a single N rate of 200 kg ha-1 as topdressing. The forage species used during the pasture phase was black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb), and the pasture was grazed by Nellore × Charolais crossbred steers with an initial body weight of 260 kg. The summer crop was maize (Zea mays). Average daily gain (ADG) and herbage allowance were higher in HH than in LH, whereas animal load was higher in HH. Between the N application times, the animal load was higher in NP. Pasture management height and N fertilization strategy did not affect the variables of number of rows per ear, number of grains per row, thousand-grain weight, or total grain yield, which overall averaged 14,090 kg ha-1. In conclusion, the inversion of nitrogen fertilization between the periods of winter pasture production and grain crop and the management height of the black oat pasture do not compromise the production of maize grains in the summer, or animal production per area. However, steer performance is greater (higher ADG) when the pasture is managed at 20 cm, whereas a high grazing intensity significantly reduces straw on the soil.
Integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) are complex production strategies whose main components are soil, plant, and animal. Several studies addressed the interaction among them and conclude on the technical feasibility of these systems, but few studies assess their economic feasibility. The objective of this work was to analyze the economic feasibility of an ICLS, in which nitrogen was applied on the crop phase or onto the pasture phase, combined with two grazing intensities. The study was carried out on a private farm in the municipality of Abelardo Luz—SC, between October 2012 and April 2018. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replications. The treatments were arranged in a 2x2 factorial scheme, with two sward heights (high and low) and two times of N-fertilization application, or on the cool-season pasture tillering phase either onto cash crop (200 kg of N ha−1 in a single dose). Crop implementation and maintenance costs were surveyed, followed by crop and livestock production calculations, zootechnical indices, and the revenue of each phase (pasture or grain crop) for the entire system. The cash flow analysis was carried out, generating economic indicators of the three dimensions of the expanded multi-index methodology (MMA) for the system and the treatments. In this study, pasture management with low sward canopy height provided the highest net gains per hectare and per hectare/year, regardless of the nitrogen application time. The use of the ICLS is economically viable, regardless of grazing intensities and nitrogen application times.
O manejo de desfolha possui como um dos principais objetivos o rebrote vigoroso após o rebaixamento, uma vez que a área foliar remanescente possui alta correlação com o potencial de rebrote dos pastos. Desta forma, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de intervenções pontuais de alta severidade (70%) sobre características produtivas de pastos de azevém anual manejados sob desfolhações intermitentes. O experimento foi conduzido na área experimental da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná. Os tratamentos consistiram de quatro estratégias de desfolha a partir de uma única altura de entrada (20cm): severidade constante de 40%; severidade de 40% com intervenções pontuais de 70% no segundo corte; severidade de 40% com intervenções pontuais de 70% no quarto corte; e severidades de 40% e 70% intercaladas. Os tratamentos foram aplicados em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com três repetições, totalizando 12 unidades experimentais. Foram avaliadas as variáveis de interceptação de radiação solar, produção de forragem e características morfogênicas (taxa de aparecimento foliar, filocrono, taxa de alongamento foliar e taxa de senescência foliar). A interceptação de radiação solar pré desfolha não diferiu entre os tratamentos, apenas na situação pós desfolha. Para as características morfogênicas os tratamentos com alta severidade de desfolha, apresentaram os maiores valores morfogênicos. A produção de forragem não diferiu entre os tratamentos. Dentro das condições aplicadas no presente estudo (i.e. altura pré-corte), intervenções pontuais de alta severidade (70%) não afetam a capacidade produtiva do azevém anual.
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