Agronomic characteristics of perennial peanut genotypes in response to intensity and defoliation frequency Pastures are the backbone of the brazilian livestock industry. Pasture-based ruminant production systems make use of a diverse base of forage genotypes under various managements, aiming at the optimization of productive responses. Decisions regarding management, however, are often made under an empirical and generalistic standpoint, making these systems prone to failure. The intensification of animal production on pasture makes can be achieved with the increased participation of forage legumes in the system. However, there is still a limited understanding of the responses of these plants when subjected to more intensive management. This work aimed to characterize four commercial cultivars of Arachis pintoi (Krapov. & Greg.), under two harvest intensities and two harvest intervals throughout the summer growing season of two years. An experiment was carried out with the cultivars Alqueire-1, Amarillo, Belmonte and BRS Mandobi under four harvest management: two intervals (28 and 35 days) associated with two harvest intensities (5 and 10 cm). The total forage accumulation, daily accumulation rate, plantpart composition, leaf angle, light interception, leaf area index, chemical composition and forage digestibility, leaf photosynthesis, canopy photosynthesis and organic reserve compounds. The experiment was carried out in Piracicaba-SP. The experimental design was completely randomized with split-plot arrangement. To the plots were allocated the combinations between cultivars of A. pintoi (Alqueire-1, Amarillo, Belmonte and BRS Mandobi) and harvest intervals (28 and 35 days) in a factorial 4 x 2. To the subplot was designated harvest intensities (5 and 10 cm). Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS ®. Treatment means were estimated using LSMEANS and compared by the Tukey test at 5% of probability. Belmonte had mean of total accumulation above 11.85 Mg DM ha-1 and daily accumulation rate of 41 kg DM ha-1 in the different managements adopted, the greatest production of all four entries. In general, the 28 day interval with harvest intensity of 5 cm resulted in greater total yield of all cultivars. The nutritional profile of Belmonte was the best due to the high concentration of crude protein (277 g kg-1 DM) and in vitro digestible of organic matter (717 g kg-1 DM) relative to Alqueire-1 and Amarillo and neutral detergent fiber concentrations (366 g kg-1 DM) as compared to the three cultivars. Intraspecific variations among cultivars had less effect on the reserve compounds, being more affected by the management strategies. Total non-structural carbohydrate concentratin was less in Alqueire-1 roots and stubble (196 g kg-1 OM), and total N concentration differed only between Belmonte (31 g kg-1 OM) and BRS Mandobi (25 g kg-1 OM). In general, the concentration of total non-structural carbohydrates in the reserve organs is greater when intervals between harvest is 35 days. Weeds are more evident in canopies...