Number and morphology of tiller age groups during summer in Marandu palisadegrass pastures previously used under deferred grazing

Manoel Eduardo Rozalino Santos,Gabriel De Oliveira Rocha,Gustavo Jordan Da Silva Queiroz,Angélica Nunes De Carvalho,Flávia De Oliveira Scarpino Van Cleef ,Lucas Santos De Moraes ,Bruno Humberto Rezende Carvalho ,Larissa Lais Santos Do Carmo

doi:10.14393/bj-v36n1a2020-42215

Manoel Eduardo Rozalino Santos, Gabriel De Oliveira Rocha + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14393/bj-v36n1a2020-42215

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Abstract

The relative contribution of young, mature and old tillers in the canopy influences the production and structure of the pasture. The objective with this work was to evaluate the balance between tiller appearance and tiller death (BAL) during spring and early summer, the morphology and percentages of young, mature and old tillers in Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu (marandu palisadegrass) with three conditions in late winter: short (24.1 cm), tall (49.0 cm) and tall (50.0 cm)/mown (8 cm). Tall and tall/mown pastures presented higher BAL in September and October, respectively. In January, BAL was higher in short and tall/mown pastures than in tall pasture. The tiller number was higher in short pasture, intermediate in tall/mown pasture and lower in tall pasture. The percentage of old tillers was higher in short and tall pastures compared to tall/mown pasture. The percentage of live leaf lamina reduced, while the percentage of dead leaf lamina increased with tiller age. Mowing of the tall marandu palisadegrass pasture in late winter increases the renewal of tillers in the spring and decreases the percentage of old tillers in the summer. The old tillers present worse morphology than young tillers.

Highlights

The marandu palisadegrass presents a great flexibility in grazing management and, during the autumn and winter of the Southeast and CentreWest regions of Brazil, it can be used under deferred grazing (EUCLIDES et al, 2007; SILVA et al, 2016)
The between tiller appearance and tiller death (BAL) of short and tall/mown pastures was greater during October and lower during September, compared to the other months of the year
In November and December, the BAL did not vary among the pasture conditions

Summary

Introduction

Marandu (marandu palisadegrass) is one of the most used forage grasses for pasture in Brazil. The marandu palisadegrass presents a great flexibility in grazing management and, during the autumn and winter of the Southeast and CentreWest regions of Brazil, it can be used under deferred grazing (EUCLIDES et al, 2007; SILVA et al, 2016). Deferred grazing is a relatively simple strategy of management, which has the potential to produce pasture for the winter season (VILELA et al, 2012; SILVA et al, 2016) when the tropical forage production is generally decreased by adverse conditions. After using the deferred pasture at the end of winter, the height and the forage mass can vary, depending on the management previously adopted in the deferment period

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Conclusion