Massas de forragem e de raízes do capim-piatã submetido a intensidades de pastejo

Abstract

This work was carried out to check the growth of forage, root mass, litter and nonstructural carbohydrates in stem base and roots of the grass Piatã under continuous stocking. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Beef Cattle, Campo Grande, MS. The treatments consisted of grazing intensities of 15, 30 and 45 cm canopy. The average herbage mass (p <0.0001), roots (p = 0.0151) and growth rate of the plant (p = 0.0081) were higher in lower intensity of grazing. The average herbage mass, root mass, litter mass, rate of plant growth and percentage of non-structural carbohydrates in the stem effect suffered periods of the year (p = 0.0394) (p <0.0174), (p = 0.0028) (p <0.0001) (p = 0.0006), respectively. The percentages of leaf and stem were higher in rainy season, while dead matter, were higher in the dry season. There was an effect of depth to the average root mass (p <0.0001). There was an interaction of grazing intensity and season (p = 0.0006), depth and season for percentage of carbohydrate nonstructural in roots (p = 0.0006). Less intense grazing promotes root development and higher concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates in the plant parts during the rainy season.