Description
This study evaluated forage, supplement, and total (forage + supplement) dry matter intake (DMI, expressed as kg/day and as percentage of average live weight, %ALW) of Nellore steers in different production systems, including a Cajanus cajan (Pigeon pea) legume-grass intercropped pasture by using external (titanium dioxide, TiO2) and internal (indigestible neutral detergent fiber, iNDF) markers. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Southeast Livestock, São Carlos, SP, Brazil, in the rainy (January) and dry (July) seasons of 2021. Eighteen animals Nellore steers were randomly distributed into three treatments with three replications (1.5 ha paddocks each): 1) degraded pasture of Urochloa decumbens cv. Basilisk (DEG); 2) Intercropped legume-grass pasture composed by U. decumbens cv. Basilisk, U. brizantha cv. Marandu and Cajanus cajan cv. BRS Mandarin limed and fertilized with P, K, S, micronutrients (INT) and 3) mixture pasture of U. decumbens cv. Basilisk and U. brizantha cv. Marandu limed and fertilized with P, K, S, micronutrients and 200 kg N-urea ha-1 year-1 (REC). The statistical model considered treatment and season as fixed effects, and the treatment×season interaction was tested. Data were submitted to analysis of variance (PROC MIXED) and means were compared by the Fisher test at 5%. Significant treatment×season interaction was found (P < 0.05). During the rainy season lower values of forage and total DMI were found for the INT treatment when compared to REC. However, during the dry season, the treatment with Pigeon pea inclusion (INT) presented higher values of forage and total DMI. The DEG and REC system steers reduced their DMI from the rainy season to the dry season, even receiving a mineral energetic-protein supplement with urea, while the INT steers maintained DMI between seasons without receiving the energetic-protein supplement. These results highlight the potential of including Pigeon pea in pasture-based systems, especially during the dry season when tropical grasses present low nutritional quality and forage availability.
Included in
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Forage Intake of Nellore Steers Grazing a Cajanus CajanLegume-Grass Intercropped Pasture
This study evaluated forage, supplement, and total (forage + supplement) dry matter intake (DMI, expressed as kg/day and as percentage of average live weight, %ALW) of Nellore steers in different production systems, including a Cajanus cajan (Pigeon pea) legume-grass intercropped pasture by using external (titanium dioxide, TiO2) and internal (indigestible neutral detergent fiber, iNDF) markers. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Southeast Livestock, São Carlos, SP, Brazil, in the rainy (January) and dry (July) seasons of 2021. Eighteen animals Nellore steers were randomly distributed into three treatments with three replications (1.5 ha paddocks each): 1) degraded pasture of Urochloa decumbens cv. Basilisk (DEG); 2) Intercropped legume-grass pasture composed by U. decumbens cv. Basilisk, U. brizantha cv. Marandu and Cajanus cajan cv. BRS Mandarin limed and fertilized with P, K, S, micronutrients (INT) and 3) mixture pasture of U. decumbens cv. Basilisk and U. brizantha cv. Marandu limed and fertilized with P, K, S, micronutrients and 200 kg N-urea ha-1 year-1 (REC). The statistical model considered treatment and season as fixed effects, and the treatment×season interaction was tested. Data were submitted to analysis of variance (PROC MIXED) and means were compared by the Fisher test at 5%. Significant treatment×season interaction was found (P < 0.05). During the rainy season lower values of forage and total DMI were found for the INT treatment when compared to REC. However, during the dry season, the treatment with Pigeon pea inclusion (INT) presented higher values of forage and total DMI. The DEG and REC system steers reduced their DMI from the rainy season to the dry season, even receiving a mineral energetic-protein supplement with urea, while the INT steers maintained DMI between seasons without receiving the energetic-protein supplement. These results highlight the potential of including Pigeon pea in pasture-based systems, especially during the dry season when tropical grasses present low nutritional quality and forage availability.
