Acúmulo de forragem e valor nutritivo de capim-marandu submetido a estratégias de lotação intermitente

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of two defoliation frequencies and two grazing intensities on forage yield, structural sward characteristics and nutritive value of marandu palisadegras under rotational stocking. The experimental design was a randomized block with four treatments and four replicates, according to a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. The treatments were two defoliation frequencies, 95 and 100% of light interception (LI), and two grazing intensities, 10 cm and 15 cm of residue. The average sward height to pastures managed with 95% LI was 33 cm. For those pastures managed with 100% LI the average sward height was 53 cm. On the pre grazing pastures managed with 95% LI presented the smallest herbage mass and the biggest leaf percent, herbage accumulation rate and leaf accumulation rate, leaf: stem relation and popular tiller density. Pastures managed with 10 cm of residue presented small leaf percent and larger dead material percent, on the pre grazing. On Cerrado regions, marandu palisadegrass must be managed when sward intercept 95% incident solar radiation that correspond to 33 cm of sward height. The animals must be removed from paddocks when residue reach 15 cm.