Dynamics of forage production in annual ryegrass cultivars / Dinâmica da produção de forragem de cultivares de azevém anual

Abstract

Annual ryegrass is one of the species that best meets the needs of the farmers in south Brazil during the winter. Many of these cultivars can be found in the market. However, in some cases information on their actual adaptation to each climate situation or production system is unavailable. The present study aimed to evaluate the productive performance of diploid and tetraploid cultivars of annual ryegrass under grazing. The experiment was carried out in the municipality of Pato Branco, State of Paraná (PR), Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 4 replications. The following were the cultivars observed in this study: LE 284, Camaro, Bakarat, Estações, Ponteio and Nibbio (diploids; 2n), Winter Star, KLM 138, Scorpio, Titan, Barjumbo, and Potro (tetraploids; 4n). Mob grazing was used with an entry height of 25 cm and an exit height of 10 cm. It was noted that the cultivars that presented the longest period of pasture use were those that produced the greatest amount of forage. For all cultivars evaluated, the greatest accumulations of forage occurred between August, September, and October. Cultivars Winter Star (4n) and Escórpio (4n) stood out as they yielded the largest forage production. On average, tetraploid cultivars are more productive than diploid cultivars.