Abstract
This work aimed to evaluate dry matter intake (DMI) and performance of F1 Nellore x Guzera with live weight (LW) of 180±15 kg (5 months) on pastures of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu in silvo-pastoral systems composed of babassu palm (Attalea speciosa) and monoculture systems in Pre-Amazonic region of Maranhao state, Brazil. Animals were evaluated in four systems: 0, 80, 131 and 160 adult palms ha-1, characterizing monoculture (MC), low density (LD), average density (AD) and high density palm trees (HD), respectively, during the rainy (RS) and dry season (DS). Comparing seasons, only DMI in MC and AD were affected. DMI was between 2.6% LW for the RS and 2.8% LW for the DS, These values are very close as suggested by NRC, which is 2.7% LW for animals in this category. Higher average daily gain per ha was observed in animals kept in pastures with LD (0.750 g.day-1 and 84.37 kg.ha-1, respectively). It was observed that animal performance was influenced by density of palm trees and the DMI by season, probably by the sward structure. Animal performance and production forage biomass were higher in 0 and 80 palm systems. This greater forage biomass allow higher stocking rate and, consequently higher animal production per ha. Key words: Silvo-pastoral systems, pasture, season, Guzera, Nelore, matter intake, daily gain.
Highlights
IntroductionNutrients for an acceptable production, because deficiency or low intake of any essential nutrient can affect animal performance
There was no influence of period, density of palm trees and monoculture on chemical composition of the Marandu grass (P>0.05) during the voluntary intake trials (Table 2)
This result is surprising, regarding the variation of the nutritional value of grass in silvo-pastoral systems (SPS) exposed to shading as compared to monoculture (Paciullo et al, 2007; Soares et al, 2004)
Summary
Nutrients for an acceptable production, because deficiency or low intake of any essential nutrient can affect animal performance. Dry matter intake (DMI) is influenced by palatability, nutritional value and forage availability, and the DMI is the main limiting factor of the animal productivity. The pastoral environment presents strong influence on these effects. Based on these features, there is a search for alternative systems to minimize negative effects of the environment and forage nutritional aspects, thereby increasing animal productivity
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