Abstract
ABSTRACT The objective was to test the response of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu in monoculture and in silvopastoral system (SPS), at two distances from the trees, and define the best defoliation height for SPS. Four intermittent defoliation heights (25, 35, 45 and 55cm) and two distances from tree lines (2.5 and 5.0m) were evaluated in the SPS with a control defoliated with 25cm in full sun. The experiment was performed in a randomized block design with 3 replicates in a 4 × 2 + 1 split plot scheme. The control had higher forage accumulation (46.9kg/ha. day) than the SPS (31.1kg/ha. day). The bulk density was also higher in the control (0.89mg/cm³) than in SPS (0.48mg/cm³). The percentage of leaves (78.06%) and leaf/stem ratio (6.04) did not differ among the treatments. In the SPS, there was an increase of 31.07% in forage accumulation from 25 to 55cm. The forage accumulation and bulk density of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu in monoculture is greater than in the SPS regardless of the management goal and the distance from trees. The goal of 55cm in the SPS presented greater forage accumulation.
Highlights
Pasture management has been the subject of constant studies
The average production of forage per cut (APRO) of treatments with 25 and 35cm in the silvopastoral system (SPS) was lower than the control, regardless of the distance from the trees (2.5 or 5.0m)
The APRO of treatments with 45 and 55cm did not differ from the control at 2.5 and 5.0 meters apart (Table 1)
Summary
Pasture management has been the subject of constant studies. As the advances in forage research have been consolidated in Brazil, the management goals for forage in monoculture systems have become more applicable. With the amount of research involving pasture management, it is possible to understand that grasses should be managed using the pre-grazing condition of 95% of light interception (LI) by the canopy This condition is known as critical leaf area index and corresponds to a critical height used as management goal. Some changes are represented by the reduction in the specific leaf area index, increase in the elongation of stems, in the final length of leaf and increase in the chlorophyll content These changes may modify the canopy structure and the capacity of intercepting light. It is believed that changes in the physiological response to eucalyptus trees shading may influence the structure and forage accumulation and make the ideal height to manage Marandu palisade grass higher than that recommended for the full sun. Marandu in monoculture and in SPS at different distances from the trees, and to define which defoliation height is the most suitable to manage pasture in SPS
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