Morphogenesis of stockpiled Marandu, Piatã, Xaraés and Paiaguás brachiariagrass cultivars

M.E.R Santos,D.M Oliveira,I.C Ferreira,G.S Borges,B.H.R Carvalho,G.O Rocha

doi:10.1590/1678-4162-12332

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective this study was to identify differences in the morphogenic patterns of four Urochloa brizantha cultivars (marandu, piatã, xaraés and paiaguás grasses) during the stockpiling period. A completely randomized design was used, with three replications, in experimental plots of 9m². The evaluations took place over 2 years. The grasses were stockpiled for 92 (Year 1) and 95 (Year 2) days. The leaf appearance rate of paiaguás grass was higher, compared to other grasses. In Year 1, the stem elongation rate of xaraés grass was higher than other grasses. At the end of stockpiling period of Year 1, the tiller population density (TPD) was higher in the paiaguás grass, intermediate in the xaraés and marandu grasses and lower in the piatã grass. At the end of the stockpiling period in Year 2, TPD was higher in the paiaguás grass canopy, intermediate in the marandu and piatã grasses canopies, and lower in the xaraés grass canopy. Paiaguás grass has greater leaf growth during the stockpiling period and is therefore suitable for use under stockpiled grazing. Xaraés grass has high stem elongation during the stockpiling period, which is why its use under stockpiled grazing must be accompanied by adjustments in pasture management.

Highlights

Stockpiling pasture consists of selecting a specific pasture area and excluding it from grazing, usually in late summer and/or, in autumn in the Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil
At the end of the stockpiling period in Year 2, tiller population density (TPD) was higher in the paiaguás grass canopy, intermediate in the marandu and piatã grasses canopies, and lower in the xaraés grass canopy
In Year 1, all characteristics were influenced in isolation by the factors studied, except for the stem length (SL), which was influenced (P = 0.0008) by the interaction between cultivar and stockpiling period

Summary

Introduction

Stockpiling pasture consists of selecting a specific pasture area and excluding it from grazing, usually in late summer and/or, in autumn in the Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil In this way, it is possible to guarantee forage production to be grazed during the period of its scarcity and, with this, to minimize the negative effects of the seasonality of production of tropical forage grasses (Santos et al, 2009). The piatã and paiaguás grasses have early flowering, in the months of December and January (Euclides et al, 2008; Valle et al, 2013) This characteristic makes these grasses suitable for stockpiling, as the concentration of their flowering occurs before the stockpiling period, normally started in March in the Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil (Santos et al, 2009; Silva et al, 2016). Xaraés grass has the advantage of its high productive potential (Carloto et al, 2011, Cunha et al, 2012), which can increase the production of forage in stockpiled pasture

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Results

Conclusion