Morphogenic, structural, productive and bromatological characteristics of Braquiária in silvopastoral system under nitrogen doses

Zaqueu Gonçalves Carvalho,Eleuza Clarete Junqueira De Sales,Flávio Pinto Monção,Edilane Aparecida Silva,Maria Celuta Machado Vianna,Domingos Sávio Queiroz

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v41i1.39190

Abstract

his study aimed to evaluate the effect of different doses of nitrogen fertilization on the morphogenic, structural, productive and chemical composition of Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R. D. Webster cv. Basilisk in a silvopastoral system with eucalyptus. The experimental treatments consisted of pastures of Basilisk cultivar, fertilized with 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 kg ha-1 year-1 of N, and intercropped with eucalyptus, clone GG 100 (Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla). The experimental arrangement followed a randomized block design with four replicates. The evaluated characteristics were: foliar appearance rate, phyllochron, leaf length, leaf elongation rate, leaf life span, foliar senescence rate, number of green leaves per tiller, number of senescent leaves per tiller, daily dry matter accumulation, dry matter production, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber. In the conditions of the established silvopastoral system, nitrogen fertilization did not influence (p > 0.05) the morphogenic and structural characteristics of Basilisk cultivar, except for height (p < 0.01) and leaf: stem ratio (p = 0.02). The nitrogen fertilization of the Brachiaria grass with eucalyptus in the proposed structural arrangement does not modify (p > 0.05) the morphogenic characteristics. However, in ration to dry matter production, doses of up to 400 kg of N ha-1 are recommended.

Highlights

In cattle production systems, sustainability can be achieved through the use of farming techniques that integrate different components such as the cultivation of trees and forage and the production of animals, characterizing a silvopastoral system (Bosi, Pezzopane, Sentelhas, Santos, & Nicodemo, 2014; Lopes et al, 2017a; Lopes et al, 2017b)
The shading promoted by trees in silvopastoral systems can modify the microclimate of pasture, altering, above all, the quantity and quality of forage produced (Abraham et al, 2014; Bosi et al, 2014; Kyriazopoulos, Abraham, Parissi, Koukoura, & Nastis, 2013; Reis et al, 2013)
This study aimed to evaluate nitrogen fertilization doses on the morphogenic, structural, productive and chemical composition of Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R

Summary

Introduction

Sustainability can be achieved through the use of farming techniques that integrate different components such as the cultivation of trees and forage and the production of animals, characterizing a silvopastoral system (Bosi, Pezzopane, Sentelhas, Santos, & Nicodemo, 2014; Lopes et al, 2017a; Lopes et al, 2017b). According to Gómez, Guenni, and Guenni (2013), the mass production and nutritional value of forage grasses in association with tree species can be modified, which is determinant due to factors inherent to the tolerance of the species in the shade, the degree of shading provided by the trees and the competition among the plants, in relation to soil water and nutrients. According to the same authors, the chemical composition of forages can be influenced by the environment, mainly by the edaphoclimatic conditions. It can be modified in silvopastoral systems.

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Results