Performance of holsteins cows in pasture of Cynodon dactylon cv. Coast-cross supplemented with concentrate

Abstract

The work was developed in the experimental station of Embrapa Gado de Leite (Dairy Cattle Embrapa), in Coronel Pacheco, in Zona da Mata Region of Minas Gerais, with the purpose of evaluating the productive performance of Holstein cows kept on 'Coast-cross' (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pears) pasture, fertilized, strategically irrigated and where the cows were daily supplemented with 3 or 6 kg of concentrate/cow/day. The data were collected during three years (October/2000 to October/2003), involving 108 lactations. An experimental randomized block design with two replicate areas per treatment was adopted, with nine animals per area and eighteen animals per treatment being utilized, with fixed stocking rate of five cows/ha. The system of grazing, under rotated stocking, with one day occupation of the enclosures (piquetes) and 25 and 35 days rest in the rainy and dry seasons, respectively was used. The pasture was irrigated in the months of lowest rainfall and fertilized with NPK broadcast at six applications/year. The availability of dry matter of the pasture was 7,280 kg/ha and 6,167 kg/ha in early grazing, with the post-grazing waste stubble of 4,885 kg/ha and 3,994 kg/ha, in the rainy (Spring/Summer) and dry (Fall/Winter) seasons, respectively. During part of the experimental period, a few morphogenic characteristics of the pasture were evaluated, recording availability of 83.9; 125.6 and 89.5 kg of DM of leaf blades/ha/day, on spring, summer and fall, respectively. The daily averages of milk production per cow were 15.57 and 18.80 kg/ day with 3.5% of fat and per area 77.80 and 94.00 kg/ha, when 3 or 6 kg of concentrate/cow/day were fed, respectively. It was concluded that supplemented and managed 'Coast-cross' pasture adequately enables high milk production per animal and per area, as quantitatively and qualitatively adequate for milk production.

Characteristics of milk production systems and feed strategies for dairy cows in the North and Northwest of Paraná State

“…No significant difference (P > 0.05) was detected for this variable between Groups 1 and 2, but a significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed between Groups 3 and 4, as well as between Groups 1 and 2 and Groups 3 and 4 (Table 5). This result is similar to that of several other studies, including Cardoso et al (2009), Deresz et al (2003, Martins et al (2013), and Rennó et al (2008), all of which showed that milk production increased when concentrate containing corn is used as feed for dairy cows.…”

Production of Jiggs bermudagrass and the impact of quality milk production and quality of Holstein dairy cows under an intermittent grazing system

“…According to Cardoso et al (2009), the pasture must be the main source of nutrients for the animal, but it is necessary to be well handled and formed by species with elevated nutritional and productive potentials. Based on this study, our dates probably indicate an energy/ protein imbalance in the winter season, maybe causing a excessive concentration of fermented protein in the rumen.…”

“…A portion of the amino acids absorbed in the small intestine that originate from protein degradation are precursors of glucose synthesis in the liver. Higher protein ingestion may lead to increased lactose production in the mammary gland and consequently to higher milk lactose contents (Cardoso et al 2009;Silva et al 2009).…”