<b>Production and quality of Mombaça grass forage under different residual heights

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This study was conducted to evaluate management strategies in Mombaça grass pastures (Panicum maximum) under intermittent grazing subjected to different residual heights. A randomized-block design with two treatments (two post-grazing residual heights: 30 and 50 cm) and three replications was adopted. Pasture heights pre-and post-grazing, forage mass and accumulation, rest and occupation periods, pasture morphological components, milk yield and quality forage were evaluated. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by the F test at 5% probability. A longer grazing interval was observed in the treatments under the more severe grazing intensity. For forage mass postgrazing, larger production and higher percentage of leaves were found with the 50 cm residue, as well as higher crude protein contents and digestibility of leaves and stems and lower lignin and neutral detergent fiber contents. The residual height of 50 cm is recommended for the management of Mombaça grass pasture, as it provides greater milk yield per animal and a larger number of grazing cycles, ensuring better use of the area.Keywords: defoliation, grazing system, pasture.Produção de pastos de capim-mombaça submetidos a alturas de resíduo RESUMO. O experimento foi conduzido, objetivando-se avaliar estratégias de manejo em pastos de capim-mombaça (Panicum maximum) sob lotação intermitente, submetidos a diferentes alturas de resíduo. O delineamento utilizado foi em blocos casualizados, com dois tratamentos (duas diferentes alturas de resíduo pós-pastejo -30 e 50 cm) e três repetições. Foram avaliadas a altura do pasto no pré e no pós-pastejo, a massa e o acúmulo de forragem, os períodos de descanso, de ocupação, a produção dos componentes morfológicos do pasto, a produção de leite e a qualidade da forragem. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias foram comparadas pelo teste F a 5% de probabilidade. Para tratamentos com intensidade de pastejo mais severa, notou-se maior intervalo de pastejo. Encontrou-se maior acúmulo de forragem para pastos manejados com altura de 50 cm de resíduo de pastejo. Para massa de forragem no pós-pastejo, obteve-se maior produção e maior porcentagem de folhas para o resíduo de 50 cm, bem como maiores teores de PB e digestibilidade para folhas e colmos, e menores teores de lignina e FDN. Para manejo de pastos de capim-mombaça, recomenda-se a altura de 50 cm de resíduo, por promover maior produção de leite por animal e maior número de ciclos de pastejo, garantindo melhor aproveitamento da área.Palavras-chave: desfoliação, sistema de pastejo, pasto.

Effect of soya bean oil supplementation and forage type on methane production and fibre digestibility using the in vitro gas production system

“…Sugarcane is a forage commonly fed to cattle in tropical environments, and it is often used as the main dietary fibre source (Daniel et al., ; Rodrigues et al., ). Mombaça guinea grass and Marandu palisadegrass are relevant forages for livestock production in Brazil and are widely used in grazing systems (Carvalho et al., ; Gimenes et al., ). A better understanding of how fat supplementation interacts with tropical forages on rumen digestion is therefore needed for achieving appropriate diet formulations.…”

Milk production of crossbred holstein × zebu on different pasture-management strategies

“…The literature reports that today it is possible to obtain from 12 to 14 kg/cow/d of milk on elephant grass pastures fertilized with 200 kg/ha/yr of nitrogen during the rainy season when managed under rotational stocking, with a 30-day defoliation interval (DANES et al, 2013). However, due to the reasonable cost of the pasture dry matter, this milk yield level should be maximized by the use of developed techniques for pasture management such as light interception and post-grazing residual heights, as shown in the studies (BRUNETTI et al, 2016;CARVALHO et al, 2017;LEE;DONAGHY;ROCHE, 2008;).…”

Agronomic and Bromatological Traits of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piatã as Affected by Nitrogen Rates and Cutting Heights

“…However, due to the climatic conditions, tropical forages present a marked seasonality of production, with forage of good nutritive value and availability in the rainy season, and forage losses in quantity and quality during the dry season. In this perspective, it is fundamental to implement management practices that allow the optimization of the forage use for increasing animal production [2,3,4].…”