Chemical composition of Tanganyika grass under tree shading levels in a silvopastoral system

Carlos Augusto Brandão De Carvalho ,Pablo Giliard Zanella,Pedro Henrique Ferreira Da Silva

doi:10.1590/s1519-99402122112021

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different Clitoria fairchildiana tree shading levels on the Tanganyika grass (Megatyrsus maximus Jacq. cv. Tanganyika) chemical composition, in summer I (2011/2012), spring (2012) and summer II (2012/2013) seasons. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments (shading levels) and five repetitions at Seropédica, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The following variables were evaluated: dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent (NDF) and acid detergent (ADF) fiber, neutral (NDIP) and acid (ADIP) detergent insoluble protein, lignin (LIG) and mineral matter (MM) contents. Data were analyzed by PROC MIXED SAS®, with repeated measures in time, and treatment means compared by Tukey’s test (P<0.05) or by PROC REG (P<0.05 for regression analysis. There was a significant interaction between season and shading level for DM, CP, NDF, ADF, NDIP, ADIP and MM contents (P<0.05). Lignin content was only influenced by shading level (P<0.05). The DM, NDF, ADF and lignin contents were reduced by shading increase while CP, NIDP and MM contents were increased. Higher ADIP contents were found only in the spring. The increase in Clitoria fairchildiana tree shading improves the chemical composition of Tanganyika grass forage during summer season.

Highlights

Brazil has a cattle herd estimated at 172.2 million of animals, besides 149,670,217 hectares of grasslands (ABIEC, 2020)
Light radiation is lower under the treetops, which influences the morphogenetic traits of productivity and the nutritional value of forage (LIMA et al, 2018)
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Clitoria fairchildiana shading level on the chemical composition of Tanganyica grass, during the summer I (2010/2011), spring (2011) and summer II (2011/2012) seasons

Summary

Introduction

Brazil has a cattle herd estimated at 172.2 million of animals, besides 149,670,217 hectares of grasslands (ABIEC, 2020). Thereby, there is a pressure for a more sustainable livestock and a consequent demand for integrated production, like silvopastoral systems (LIMA et al, 2013). The success of these systems depends on the choice of forage species, which should present resistance and adaptation to tree shading, besides high forage quality and productivity (LIMA et al, 2020). Light radiation is lower under the treetops, which influences the morphogenetic traits of productivity and the nutritional value of forage (LIMA et al, 2018). Tolerance to shading will depend on the morphophysiological adaptation of the plant to the reduced levels of light radiation (PACIULLO et al, 2017a).

Objectives

Methods

Results