Abstract
Nitrogen influences numerous physiological and morphological traits of forage grasses, which ultimately interfere directly with production and forage quality. Aimed to study was to evaluate the production of dry matter and the number of tillers of Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça grown with different sources and levels of applied nitrogen. The experiment was conducted at the Federal Institute of the Espírito Santo, Campus of Santa Teresa. The experimental design consisted of a randomised block design with three replicates in a 3 x 6 factorial design and three nitrogenous fertilizers (urea, ammonium sulphate and calcium nitrate), which were applied at six different levels (0, 120, 240, 360, 480 and 600 kg ha-1) during the experimental period, for a total of 54 experimental units. Nitrogen levels were divided into seven applications, and the treatments were applied every 28 days, always after the forage was cut. The results show that Mombaça grass is responsive to nitrogen fertilization, and the response in terms of dry matter production and number of tillers for the same level of nitrogen varies depending on the nitrogen source used. Of the nitrogen sources, calcium nitrate had the best performance for the variables evaluated here. For this nitrogen source, the production of dry matter achieved at the maximum level of nitrogen was 18% and 36% higher than the dry matter achieved with the use of ammonium sulphate and urea, respectively.
Highlights
Pastures are considered the most practical and economical way to feed cattle and play a key role in meat- and milk-production systems (VITOR et al, 2009)
90% of Brazilian cattle herds are grazed on pasture in extensive production systems (ANUALPEC, 2015)
The experiment was performed at the Midsize Animal Division of the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo (IFES), campus of Santa Teresa, which is located between 19o48’36’’ south latitude and 40o40’48’’ west longitude relative to the Greenwich meridian in the municipality of Santa Teresa, ES, and has an average altitude of 150 m
Summary
Pastures are considered the most practical and economical way to feed cattle and play a key role in meat- and milk-production systems (VITOR et al, 2009). 90% of Brazilian cattle herds are grazed on pasture in extensive production systems (ANUALPEC, 2015). To achieve high forage productivity, we should consider that forage grasses are just as demanding as many traditional cultivars. For intensive exploitation, remediation and soil fertilization are among the factors that determine the level of production of pastures. Pastures fall short of their potential productivity due to low levels of adopted remediation technologies (TEIXEIRA & HESPANHOL, 2014). Numerous factors contribute to these outcomes, but those factors related to soil fertility management should be noted
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