In deferred pastures, nitrogen fertilisation and pasture height at the beginning of the deferment period modify the structure and nutritive value of forage. This work was conducted to determine the nitrogen (N) doses and sward heights that were adequate for the deferment of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu syn. Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu (marandu palisadegrass). Two sward heights (15 and 30 cm) and four N rates (0, 40, 80,120 kg/ha) at the beginning of the deferment period were evaluated in a randomised block design and a factorial scheme with three replications. At the end of the deferment period, the numbers of live and dead tillers, the numbers of tillers with different sizes, the masses of live leaf lamina, dead leaf lamina, live stem and dead stem, the litter mass and the crude protein and neutral detergent fibre contents of the forage were evaluated. With nitrogen fertilisation, there was an increase in the masses of live leaf and live stem in the deferred canopy. With the application of 80 kg/ha of N, the litter mass was higher in the deferred canopy with a height of 30 cm, in relation to that with a height of 15 cm. The highest canopy presented greater stem mass and worse nutritional value when compared to the lowest one. In order to improve forage characteristics, marandu palisadegrass can be deferred by 15 cm and fertilised with 80 kg/ha N. When marandu palisade grass is deferred to 30 cm, nitrogen doses lower than 80 kg/ha can be applied.
Agradeço primeiramente meus pais, Rogério e Rosana, por acreditarem em mim e por todo esforço que fizeram durante a vida para que eu pudesse me dedicar aos estudos. Também foram muito importantes: Luciana, que foi fundamental nessa etapa, e todos os meus familiares e amigos que me apoiaram durante minha caminhada.Gostaria de agradecer em especial, o professor Dr. Manoel Eduardo Rozalino Santos, pela oportunidade, pela orientação, por toda a paciência, por todo conhecimento e sabedoria transmitidos, pelos puxões de orelha e por não deixar de persistir. Tenho muita admiração por seu trabalho.Palavras-chave: Brachiaria brizantha syn. Urochloa brizantha; efeito residual; manejo estratégico da pastagem; morfogênese; plasticidade fenotípica, perfilho.
The structure of the sward is important because it influences the responses of plants and animals in grazing conditions. The objective with this work was to evaluate the structural characteristics of the Marandu palisade grass pasture (Brachiaria brizantha syn. Urochloa brizantha) during spring and summer, depending on the condition of the sward at the end of winter. Four grazing conditions at the end of winter were evaluated: short (24.1 cm), short (25.2 cm)/mown (8 cm), tall (49.0 cm) and tall (50.0 cm)/mown (8 cm). The foliar area index was lower in the tall pasture than in the tall/mown pasture. The mass and the volumetric density of dead stem were higher in the tall pasture, intermediate in the short pasture, and lower in mowed pastures. At the beginning of the grazing period, the live stem mass was higher in the tall pasture. At the beginning and middle of the grazing period, the volumetric density of dead leaf lamina was lower in mowed pastures. At the beginning of the pasture period, the short pasture had a higher tiller number (TN). In the middle of the grazing period, the short and short/mown pastures had higher TN. At the end of the pasture period, the lowest TN value occurred in the tall pasture. The tall pasture at the end of winter presents an unfavorable structure to the animal in grazing, while the mowing and reduction in the height of the marandu palisade grass improves the structure of the sward in spring and summer.
This study aimed to assess the corn silage used in 31 dairy farms in themunicipality of Patos de Minas, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Aquestionnaire was applied with questions related to the property, the silageprocess, and the use of roughage. A cluster analysis was then performed togroup the properties using the centroid method. Data were submitted toanalysis of variance in a completely randomized design. The continuousvariables and the discrete variables had their means compared using theTukey test and the chi-square test, respectively, with 5% probability of typeI error. Properties with low milk production were those with no technicalassistance; they tended to have nonuniform silo faces and manual removalof silage, resulting in higher silage loss.
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