Abstract
The nutritional requirements can be met, and carcass quality can be achieved by using concentrate supplementation in the diets of grazing lambs. This study evaluated the effects of different concentrate supplementation rates (0 %, 1.5 %, and 3 % of body weight) and tropical pastures (Panicum maximum cv. `Aruana' and Brachiaria brizantha cv. `Marandu') on lamb carcass traits. Thirty-six male Suffolk lambs, with an initial body weight of 22.54 2.72 , were evaluated in a 3 2 factorial experimental design. The concentrate used consisted of milled soybean, maize, and oat grains. The pasture species affected empty body weight and commercial cuts. The use of concentrate supplementation affected carcass weight, yield, indexes, and commercial cuts. Also, the use of concentrate supplementation improved the weight of muscle and fat content. Based on discriminant analysis it is possible to identify the rearing systems, when all variables where used, or the level of concentrate supplementation when variables of weight were used. Carcasses of animals on grass-only diets were different and easier to discriminate. The use of concentrate supplementation on rearing lambs improves the quality of carcass traits. The period of finishing can be shorted with supplementation of 3 % of body weigh in Aruana and Marandu grass. The discriminant analysis can identify the differences between rearing systems based on all carcass traits. This analysis can be used to develop carcass traceability systems.
Highlights
Pastures are commonly used for meat production (Botinestean et al, 2016; Hamill and Botinestean, 2016)
The concentrate supplementation used significantly affected all measures of carcass weight and yield (%; Table 3)
There were no differences between 1.5 % or 3.0 % levels of concentrate supplementation (Table 3)
Summary
Pastures are commonly used for meat production (Botinestean et al, 2016; Hamill and Botinestean, 2016). Because of the seasonality of tropical regions, the quality and availability of tropical pastures for livestock production differ over time (Araujo et al, 2018) This affects the nutritional supply to livestock and, carcass quality and price (Poppi and McLennan, 1995; Ephrem et al, 2015). Some of these limiting points can be overcome by using concentrate supplementation in the diets of the animals (Chestnutt, 1994; Jacques et al, 2011; Montossi et al, 2013), thereby achieving greater quality and productivity in the finished carcass and higher carcass yields (Murphy et al, 1994).
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