Abstract
The objective was to evaluate elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) pastures, under the agroecological and conventional systems, as forage mass and stocking rate. In the agroecological system, the elephant grass was established in rows spaced by 3.0 m from each other. During the cool season ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) was established between these rows, which allowed the development of spontaneous growth species during the warm season. In the conventional system the elephant grass was established singularly in rows spaced 1.4 m from each other. Organic and chemical fertilizers were applied at 150 kg of N/ha/year with in the pastures under agroecological and conventional systems, respectively. Lactating Holstein cows which received 5.0 kg/day supplementary concentrate feed were used for evaluation. The experimental design was completely randomized, with two treatments (agroecological and conventional systems) two replications (paddocks) and independent evaluations (grazing cycles). The pastures were used during the whole year for the agroecological system and for 195 days in the conventional year. The average values of forage mass were 3.5 and 4.2 t/ha and the stocking rates were 2.08 and 3.23 AU/ha for the respective systems. The results suggest that the use of the elephant grass under the agroecological system allows for best distribution of forage and stocking rate to be more uniform throughout the year than the use of elephant grass in conventional system.
Highlights
Elephant grass has been used in different Brazilian regions, mainly because of its high potential for forage production
The results suggest that the use of the elephant grass under the agroecological system allows for best distribution of forage and stocking rate to be more uniform throughout the year than the use of elephant grass in conventional system
The criteria for the grazing onset in the warm season was the sward height of elephant grass, when it was around 1.2 m; in the cool season, the criteria was the height of ryegrass
Summary
Elephant grass has been used in different Brazilian regions, mainly because of its high potential for forage production. The management forms, inputs and technologies used in the agroecological strategy based on optimization of production are usually more appropriate to preserve the natural resource base, providing higher stability for the productive system. This type of agriculture involves perennial grasses, mixture of species, organic fertilization, and no use of pesticides. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the forage mass and the stocking rate of elephant grass pastures managed under agroecological and conventional systems throughout four years
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