It was evaluated the effect of two rest intervals between grazing occupations in rotational grazing

RESUMO O trabalho objetivou determinar a infl uência de intervalos de pastoreio rotativo sobre a morfogênese de cinco gramíneas nativas da região central do Rio Grande do Sul (RS), agrupadas segundo uma tipologia funcional, nas estações

The goals of this study were to evaluate the length of time grazing which should be monitored over a 24-h period to predict the grazing behavior of beef heifers within a season and determine the patterns of foraging activity over 24 h. A database was constructed between 2010 and 2012 for beef heifers managed under rotational grazing in a natural grassland. Grazing, rumination, and other activity times were assessed visually during 24 h on 15 occasions. Data were classified according to climatic seasons, generating 12 replicates in summer, 18 in spring, 24 in autumn, and 36 in winter. Treatments were the evaluation of four distinct periods: from sunrise to sunset (DAY-SUN), daylight duration from dawn to nightfall (DAYLIGHT), DAYLIGHT plus 2 h (DAYLIGHT+2), DAYLIGHT to midnight (DAYLIGHT to 0), and the entire 24 h period (CONTROL). Differences for grazing, rumination, and other activities were found in all seasons for the evaluation periods. Sampling sufficiency was reached only with the DAYLIGHT to 0 and CONTROL for all four climatic seasons. The DAYLIGHT to 0 treatment covered 75% of a 24-h period and 95% of the mean foraging time took place during this time interval. Considering grazing distribution during a day, in the warm seasons, the major grazing period during mornings occurred earlier than in the cool seasons, and in cool seasons, the grazing peak was observed during the afternoon. Visual observations from dawn until midnight represented the total grazing time and natural behavior of heifers and could be used to represent grazing activities for the entire day.

-The specific heat, thermal conductivity and diffusivity of coffee fruits (Coffea Canephora)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and feed intake of grazing beef heifers on two grazing intervals determined by thermal sum related to leaf elongation duration during cool season on natural grasslands. A complete randomized block design experiment with two treatments and three replications was conducted from May to September 2011 in the central part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The treatments were two thermal sums calculated at 375 and 750 degrees-days (DD) to determine the intervals between grazing periods in a rotational grazing system. Thirty six beef heifers with average age of 18 months old and (initial body weight = 220±14kg) were used, all heifers received ground corn supplement at a rate of 5g kg-1 of body weight per day, at 2p.m., throughout the experiment and had free access to mineral and protein supplementation (450g kg-1 of CP). Similar average daily gain (ADG), beef production gain (BPG) and feed intake (FI), were obtained in both treatments. Leaf elongation duration is an alternative grazing management tool for improved animal production and to increase animal stocking rate.