Tillering dynamics in Guinea grass pastures subjected to management strategies under rotational grazing

Abstract

This study was carried out to analyze the tillering profile of Guinea grass (Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania) pastures subjected to two grazing frequencies (time necessary to intercept 90 and 95% of the incoming light) and two post-grazing heights (30 and 50 cm) in the period from November 2005 to October 2006. The experimental design was of completely randomized blocks with three replications, in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. At the end of the spring, pastures managed with 90% light interception showed greater tiller appearance rates in relation to pastures managed with 95%, regardless of post-grazing height. In the summer and fall, pastures managed with post-grazing height of 30 cm showed higher tiller appearance rates in comparison with pastures managed at 50 cm, regardless of grazing frequency. Concerning the tiller mortality rates, in the summer, higher values were found for pastures managed at 90/50 and 95/30 (interception/ height), intermediate values at 90/30 and lower values in those managed at 95/50. Pastures managed at 90/30, 95/30 and 95/50 in the fall presented greater tiller mortality rates than those managed at 90/50. These differences do not occur in the winter/beginning of spring. The stability index remained above 1 all through the experimental period. All management strategies evaluated are adequate for Guinea grass.

Tillering dynamics of digit grass subjected to different defoliation frequencies

“…Additionally, the increase in intraspecific competition for light triggers the tiller mortality process, resulting in a dynamic balance between the number and weight (size) of tillers . This decrease in tiller density with increasing defoliation height has also been recorded for other forage plants such as Xaraés (Pedreira et al, 2009), Tanzania (Zanine et al, 2013), and Brachiaria (Portela et al, 2011), among others.…”

“…As defoliation frequencies decreased, so did tiller appearance and mortality rates (Figure 3 A and C). This response pattern has also been recorded for various forage grasses, such as Marandu (Difante et al, 2008), Brachiaria (Santana et al, 2014), Mombaça (Montagner et al, 2012), and Tanzania (Zanine et al, 2013), among others. However, in the period of lower insolation, appearance and mortality rates were higher (Figure 3 B and D).…”

Morphogenetic components and accumulation in Mulato grass at different frequencies and intensities of grazing

“…Contrariamente ocurrió al cosechar a 14 días. Estudios recientes consignan que al pastorear intensamente la pradera es mayor la eliminación de los meristemos apicales (19) .…”

“…cv. Tanzania encontraron menor tasa de aparición de tallos (7,19) . Se registró un efecto de frecuencia de pastoreo en la tasa de elongación foliar (P<0.05) durante todo el periodo de evaluación, y un efecto de intensidad de pastoreo en la época de nortes del ciclo 2 (Cuadro 3).…”

Tillering dynamics of Alexandergrass pasture under nitrogen fertilization

“…Studies on the tillering dynamics of tropical grasses have been conducted (Zanine et al, 2013;Santos et al, 2014), however, there is no evidence in the literature of studies evaluating these parameters in Alexandergrass. This study aimed to evaluate the patterns of tillering of Alexandergrass forage as grazed in response to nitrogen fertilization.…”