Forage production in mixed grazing systems of elephant grass with arrowleaf clover or forage peanut

Daiane Cristine Seibt,Aline Rodrigues Silva,Vinicius Alessio,Clair Jorge Olivo,Maurício Pase Quatrin,Amanda Nunes Assis Dos Anjos

doi:10.1590/0034-737x201865020009

Daiane Cristine Seibt, Aline Rodrigues Silva + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-737x201865020009

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Journal: Revista Ceres	Publication Date: Mar 1, 2018
Citations: 4	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

Abstract

ABSTRACT Most dairy production systems are pasture-based, usually consisting of sole grass species. This system facilitates pasture management, but results in high production costs, mainly because of nitrogen fertilizers. An alternative to making forage systems more sustainable is to introduce legumes into the pasture. Mixed pastures allow better forage distribution over time and reduce fertilization costs. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate, throughout the year, three forage systems (FS): FS1 (control) - elephant grass (EG), ryegrass (RG), and spontaneous species (SS); FS2 - EG + RG + SS + arrowleaf clover; and FS3 - EG + RG + SS + forage peanut. Elephant grass was planted in rows spaced 4 m apart. Ryegrass was sown between the EG lines, in the winter. Arrowleaf clover was sown according to the respective treatments and forage peanut was preserved. Evaluation was carried out using Holstein cows. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, with three treatments (FS), and three repetitions (paddocks) with repeated measurements (grazing cycles). Forage mass achieved 3.46, 3.80, and 3.91 t ha-1 for the treatments FS1, FS2 and FS3, respectively. The forage systems intercropped with legumes produced the best results.

Highlights

Pastures are the main source of animal feed, especially grass pastures
Between May 2013 and April 2014, eight grazing cycles were conducted in forage systems
The authors conducted a study with ryegrass using modeling techniques to compare methods of continuous and rotational stocking and found that rotation cycles of 30 days and 29 days of rest resulted in higher forage consumption

Summary

Introduction

Pastures are the main source of animal feed, especially grass pastures. The predominant pasture system is based on the conventional single crop condition. An alternative to making forage systems more sustainable is the introduction of legumes (Skonieski et al, 2011). This strategy allows a better distribution of forage over time, contributes to balance the supply and quality of forage, reduces costs with fertilization, and minimizes environmental impacts by reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers (Assmann et al, 2004). Besides contributing to animal production, are crucial for raising productivity and sustaining pastures (Barcellos et al, 2008). The difficult implantation and the low persistence of legumes in production systems have been the main causes of the low level of adoption of the mixed forage systems. Surveys indicate that only 2% of pasture areas in Brazil use legumes (Dall’agnol et al, 2002)

Objectives

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Results