Integration of horses to orange tree plantations.

Abstract

The trial was carried out with the objective of quantifying the effect of horse rearing in orange tree plantations on fruit production and the soil, as well as determining the productive performance of the horses integrated to this system regarding their meat production potential. For this purpose 58 newly weaned fillies were used, which were randomly distributed in two treatments: (A) continuous grazing with irrigation and (B) continuous grazing without irrigation, in addition to (C) traditional method of weed control (control without animals). The stocking rate used was one animal/ha and the weight gains differed significantly (P<0.001), favouring the treatment with irrigation (0.569 vs 0.431 kg), which was favoured by a higher availability of DM and nutrients in the pasture. Fruit yield and quality were slightly higher in the control, while the best soil indicators corresponded to irrigation. The possibility of integrating horse production to orange tree plantations is demonstrated.