Intake rate and nutritive value of elephant grass cv. Napier subjected to strategies of rotational stocking management

Abstract

Several research papers on tropical forage grasses have demonstrated that grazing management modifies sward structure that, in turn, alters patterns of ingestive and foraging behavior of the grazing animal. For that reason it has been used to explain adjustments in intake characteristics like bite mass, bite rate, intake rate and nutritive value of the consumed herbage (Fonseca et al. 2012). Tall tussock plants like elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) cv. Napier display stem elongation during the vegetative state (da Silva and Carvalho 2005), causing swards to become too tall and out of reach for grazing animals, making efficient grazing management difficult, particularly when long regrowth periods are used. In that context, an increase in defoliation frequency can improve herbage intake and nutritive value (Palhano et al. 2007), by favoring leaf elongation as opposed to stem elongation and senescent material accumulation throughout successive grazing cycles. Against that background, the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the components of short-term herbage intake (intake rate, bite mass and bite rate) and nutritive value of the consumed herbage from elephant grass cv. Napier subjected to rotational stocking management defined in terms of preand post-grazing management targets.