Description

Pasture supplementation is an alternative to take advantage of the forage mass deferred in the rainy season and maintain or provide weight gain in periods of rain absence. The objective was to compare the structural characteristics, mass production, density and population dynamics of tillers of Urochloa brizantha cv. ‘Paiaguas’ and U. spp. cv. ‘Convert’ under fixed and continuous stocking with steers supplemented in the trough or on the ground in the water/dry transition period. The experiment was carried out at Jatai Federal University, from March to June, in a completely randomized design and a 2x2 factorial scheme, using six paddocks/treatment. The completely randomized design was adopted and variance analysis was performed with software SAS following the GLM procedure, were compared using repeated-measures. There was a significant interaction between Brachiaria and the method of supplementation for basal, aerial, and total tiller density. Convert had an average of 551 basal and 577 total tiller/m2. Paiaguas grass presented higher tiller density (1,03 vs. 582 tiller/m2) and higher tiller birth rate (12.92 vs. 9.14%) than Convert. No significant difference was observed between brachiarias. The average height of Paiaguas was 62.34 and 50.70 cm for Convert. The average height was 57.83 and on the ground it was 54.90 cm. Supplementation offer method changed Paiaguas canopy. The Convert showed higher leaf and dead mass production but lower weeds despite its smaller tillering.

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Canopy Changes of Brachiaria Managed Under Continuous Stocking in the Dry-Water Transition

Pasture supplementation is an alternative to take advantage of the forage mass deferred in the rainy season and maintain or provide weight gain in periods of rain absence. The objective was to compare the structural characteristics, mass production, density and population dynamics of tillers of Urochloa brizantha cv. ‘Paiaguas’ and U. spp. cv. ‘Convert’ under fixed and continuous stocking with steers supplemented in the trough or on the ground in the water/dry transition period. The experiment was carried out at Jatai Federal University, from March to June, in a completely randomized design and a 2x2 factorial scheme, using six paddocks/treatment. The completely randomized design was adopted and variance analysis was performed with software SAS following the GLM procedure, were compared using repeated-measures. There was a significant interaction between Brachiaria and the method of supplementation for basal, aerial, and total tiller density. Convert had an average of 551 basal and 577 total tiller/m2. Paiaguas grass presented higher tiller density (1,03 vs. 582 tiller/m2) and higher tiller birth rate (12.92 vs. 9.14%) than Convert. No significant difference was observed between brachiarias. The average height of Paiaguas was 62.34 and 50.70 cm for Convert. The average height was 57.83 and on the ground it was 54.90 cm. Supplementation offer method changed Paiaguas canopy. The Convert showed higher leaf and dead mass production but lower weeds despite its smaller tillering.