Abstract
ABSTRACT Pastures of the genus Cynodon are being cultivated alone in conventional production with high rates of nitrogen fertilizer. Information and research about its use on mixed-pasture system is scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate three grazing systems with coastcross-1 (CC) + 100 kg N ha-1 year-1 + common vetch; CC + 100 kg N ha-1 year-1 + arrowleaf clover; and CC + 200 kg N ha-1 year-1. The experiment was carried out from May 2013 to April 2014. The sward height, forage mass, botanical composition, leaf:stem ratio, and animal stocking density were evaluated. Experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments (grazing systems) and three replicates (paddocks) in completely split-plot time (grazing cycles). The average stocking rate was 7.0, 6.8, 6.8 cows ha-1 day-1 for the respective forage systems. Better results were found with coastcross-1 mixed with common vetch + 100 kg N ha-1 year-1 in winter and spring and coastcross-1 alone + 200 kg N ha-1 year-1 in autumn.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to compare the performance of forage mass, botanical composition, and stocking density of three pasture-based systems: coastcross-1 and common vetch or arrowleaf clover mixture plus 100 Kg N ha-1; and coastcross-1 plus 200 Kg N ha-1
The inclusion of the common vetch plus 100 Kg N ha-1 resulted in the highest forage mass and stocking density in winter and spring
For Coastcross-1 without forage legume and receiving 200 Kg N ha-1, the best performance was found in the autumn
Summary
Pers.) has been highlighted for its elevated forage potential, response to fertilization, great adaptability to diverse environments, and flexibility of use as pasture, hay, and silage (Branco et al, 2012). Bermudagrass is cultivated alone and demands high levels of chemical fertilizers. The use of fertilizers, especially nitrogen, increases the forage production and the nutritive value. Production costs are elevated and the distribution of forage is inadequate during the productive cycle. In this context, mixed grasses with forage legumes could improve the productivity of the system, in addition to balancing the allowance of forage, improving the diet of animals and reducing or eliminating the use of nitrogen fertilizer (Azevedo Junior et al, 2012), besides extending the grazing seasons
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