How Are Warm-Season Pastures’ Nutritive Value and Fermentation Characteristics Affected by Open Pasture, Silvopasture, and Sward Herbage Maturity?

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the forage mass and nutritional value (NV) of Guinea Massai grass (Megathyrsus maximus × Megathyrsus infestum) in an open pasture (OP) or the silvopastoral system (SPS) at different stages of development (SDs). The experimental design was completely randomized, with five replications. The treatments were distributed in a factorial scheme 2 × 4, corresponding to types of systems (OP and SPS) and four SD (vegetative stage—S1, pre-flowering—S2, full flowering—S3 and maturity after flowering—S4). There was no interaction of the system × stage of plant development in any of the variables evaluated. The production of forage mass and Guinea Massai grass morphological components did not differ (p > 0.05) between SPS and OP. However, they differed between the SDs (p ≤ 0.05), with an increasing linear effect for forage mass, percentage of the stem, and dead material, and decreasing for leaf percentage and leaf: stem ratio. Only protein content differed (p < 0.05) among the chemical composition variables between culture systems. The shading caused by the SPS did not decrease the forage mass, NV, and in vitro dry matter digestibility of Guinea Massai grass compared to the system in OP. The advance of the SD of Guinea Massai grass increases the forage mass, with higher proportions of morphological components of low NV, such as stem and dead material. Silvopastoral system of Guinea Massai grass and eucalyptus is effective to prolongate the grazing season, with a greater amount of green leaves in the sward and better NV, without compromising herbage mass production in the forage growing season.

Grassland Ecological Management and Utilization for Sustainability

“…(1) The management and utilization of traditional grasslands [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

“…Wu et al [18] investigated the current and future distribution of orchardgrass-suitable areas globally and found that the areas suitable for habitats increased at higher latitudes while decreasing at lower latitudes as greenhouse gas emissions increased. Ferreira et al [19] evaluated the forage mass and nutritional value of Guinea Massai grass in an open pasture or the silvopastoral system at different stages of development. These valuable insights will help balance economic development and ecological conservation goals to ensure the sustainable development of forage species and the stability of the ecosystem.…”

Dendrometry, production and nutritional value of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. under monocrop and silvopastoral system

“…The crude protein content in the leaves is considered one of the most important nutritional parameters for animal health and productivity(Sharma et al 2023), as ruminants need at least 70 g kg − 1 of crude protein to maintain the microbial metabolic processes in the rumen. Based on this, in the present study, the crude protein content in the rainy and dry seasons can meet the nutritional requirements for ruminants.Plants generally have higher growth rates during the rainy period in the tropics, due to the greater availability of water and nutrients in the soil(Piao et al 2019), resulting in greater biomass production and, consequently, greater accumulation of brous and support tissues, via increased thickness of cell walls(Ferreira et al 2023). Several abiotic factors (e.g., precipitation, temperature, and soil fertility) also have a direct in uence on the nutritional value of forage(Silva et al 2021).…”