Track 2-04: Animal-Plant Interactions
Description
Several research papers on forage tropical grass species have demonstrated that grazing management interferes with sward structure that, in turn, alters patterns of ingestive and foraging behaviour of the grazing animals. For that reason it has been used as explicative variable for adjustments in intake characteristics like bite mass, bite rate, intake rate and nutritive value of the consumed herbage (Fonseca et al. 2012). Tall tufted growing plants like elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) cv. Napier show a continuous pattern of growth characterised by stem elongation during their vegetative state (Da Silva and Carvalho 2005), causing swards to become too tall and out of reach for grazing animals, generating serious difficulties in executing efficient grazing management, particularly when long regrowth periods are used. In that context, the increase in defoliation frequency has positive effects on herbage intake and nutritive value (Palhano et al. 2007), since it favours leaf elongation relative to stem elongation and senescent material accumulation throughout successive grazing cycles. Against that background, the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the components of the short term herbage intake (intake rate, bite mass and bite rate) and the nutritive value of the consumed herbage from elephant grass cv. Napier subjected to strategies of rotational stocking management defined in terms of pre- and post-grazing management targets.
Included in
Intake Rate and Nutritive Value of Elephant Grass cv. Napier Subjected to Strategies of Rotational Stocking Management
Several research papers on forage tropical grass species have demonstrated that grazing management interferes with sward structure that, in turn, alters patterns of ingestive and foraging behaviour of the grazing animals. For that reason it has been used as explicative variable for adjustments in intake characteristics like bite mass, bite rate, intake rate and nutritive value of the consumed herbage (Fonseca et al. 2012). Tall tufted growing plants like elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) cv. Napier show a continuous pattern of growth characterised by stem elongation during their vegetative state (Da Silva and Carvalho 2005), causing swards to become too tall and out of reach for grazing animals, generating serious difficulties in executing efficient grazing management, particularly when long regrowth periods are used. In that context, the increase in defoliation frequency has positive effects on herbage intake and nutritive value (Palhano et al. 2007), since it favours leaf elongation relative to stem elongation and senescent material accumulation throughout successive grazing cycles. Against that background, the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the components of the short term herbage intake (intake rate, bite mass and bite rate) and the nutritive value of the consumed herbage from elephant grass cv. Napier subjected to strategies of rotational stocking management defined in terms of pre- and post-grazing management targets.
