Abstract
This study was carried out to evaluate the dynamics of sward condition and botanical composition of a mixed pasture of marandugrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu), forage peanut (Arachis pintoi cv. Mandobi) and tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides), rotationally stocked at four daily forage allowance levels (6.6, 10.3, 14.3 and 17.9% of live weight). Sward condition was characterized in each stocking cycle by measuring pre- and post-grazing sward height, forage mass and percentage of bare ground. Botanical composition (grass, forage peanut, tropical kudzu and weeds) was evaluated before each stocking period. Swards under smaller forage allowances presented lower height, forage mass and ground cover. This condition favored the growth of forage peanut, which constituted 21.1, 15.2, 8.4 and 3.8% of forage mass in the last quarter of the experimental period, from the lowest to the highest forage allowance, respectively. Tropical kudzu was sensitive to all forage allowance levels and its percentage in the botanical composition was strongly reduced along the experimental period, especially during the dry season (July to September). Forage peanut cv. Mandobi and marandugrass form a more balanced mixture when pre-grazing sward height is maintained shorter than 45 cm. Tropical kudzu is intolerant to intensive grazing management systems when associated to marandugrass.
Highlights
This study was carried out to evaluate the dynamics of sward condition and botanical composition of a mixed pasture of marandugrass
This study was carried out to evaluate the dynamics of sward condition and botanical composition of mixed pastures with marandugrass and the legumes tropical kudzu and forage peanut, under rotational stocking, using different daily forage allowance levels, aiming at developing sward management targets for these mixed pastures in the environmental conditions of the Western Amazon
This mixture resulted from an experiment which was concluded in August 2002, in which several methods of introduction of forage peanut were tested in an established pasture of marandugrass mixed with tropical kudzu (Valentim et al, 2002)
Summary
In the coastal region of the state of Bahia, tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides) mixed with marandugrass persisted at satisfactory levels only under stocking rates up to 1.0 steer/ha (Pereira, 2002) This fact has been related to the aggressive growth of marandugrass (Barcellos et al, 2001) and to the possible allopathic effect of this grass on the legumes (Souza Filho et al, 2002; Almeida et al, 2003). Amarillo was up to 937 kg/ha, 30% above that obtained in a pure marandugrass pasture (Hernandez et al, 1995) These and other studies (Pérez & Lascano, 1992; González et al, 1996; Santana et al, 1998; Barcellos et al, 1999; Andrade et al, 2006) show that forage peanut benefits from higher grazing pressures, regardless of the associated grass. This study was carried out to evaluate the dynamics of sward condition and botanical composition of mixed pastures with marandugrass and the legumes tropical kudzu and forage peanut, under rotational stocking, using different daily forage allowance levels, aiming at developing sward management targets for these mixed pastures in the environmental conditions of the Western Amazon
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