Abstract
Abstract Thirty-two Santa Ines male lambs, not castrated, were distributed in a randomized block design to evaluate the effects of different tropical forage cultivars (two Panicum maximum (Syn. Megathyrsus maximus): Aruana and Massai, and two Brachiaria brizantha (Syn. Urochloa brizantha) Marandu and Piata) on carcass characteristics, quality, physical composition, and meat chemistry. The data were subjected to an analysis of variance, and the means compared using the Tukey test at 5% significance. There was no effect of cultivars on body weight, slaughter weight, and biometric measurements of the carcass. The Aruana and Piata cultivars provided higher weights of hot and cold carcasses when compared to the Massai and the Marandu had no significant differences compared to the others. The animals kept in the pasture of the Aruana cultivar showed higher shank yields. However, forage cultivars did not affect the ribeye area or subcutaneous fat thickness. There was also no effect of cultivar on pH, temperature, cooking losses, cooling losses, and meat shear strength. The cultivars did not change the quality and composition of the meat. However, the Aruana, Piata, and Marandu cultivars were the ones that provided higher carcass weights and ham yields.
Highlights
The use of cultivated pastures is a strategy for feeding sheep, as it contributes to a reduction in seasonality and production costs (Emerenciano et al, 2017)
Differences were observed between cultivars for empty body weight, with the highest values observed in animals kept in the pastures of Piatã and Aruana cultivars, the lowest values were in animals kept in the pastures of the Massai cultivar, and intermediate values were observed in animals grazed to cultivate Marandu (Table 2)
hot carcass weight (HCW) and carcass weight (CCW) were higher for animals fed with the Piatã cultivar, lower for those fed with the Massai cultivar, and intermediate for animals fed with Marandu and Aruana cultivars
Summary
The use of cultivated pastures is a strategy for feeding sheep, as it contributes to a reduction in seasonality and production costs (Emerenciano et al, 2017). In these cultivated systems, grasses of the genera Brachiaria brizantha (Syn. Urochloa brizantha) and Panicum maximum (Syn. Megathyrsus maximus) are predominantly used due to their adaptation to tropical and subtropical climates and high productivity (Gomes et al, 2011; Veras et al, 2020). The wide variety of cultivars available can show considerable variations in productivity and nutritional value (Emerenciano et al, 2020; Fernandes et al, 2020), all of which can interfere with animal performance and, the quality of the carcass and meat
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