Production of Aruana guinea grass subjected to different cutting severities and nitrogen fertilization

Abstract

Aruana guinea grass (Panicum maximum cv. Aruana) is widely used as pasture for sheep, which are extremely susceptible to infestation by larvae of gastrointestinal parasites in tropical pasture-based systems (Zanini et al. 2012). One way to mitigate this problem, and consequently reduce the need for use of anthelmintics, is to manage pastures with post-grazing height low enough to ensure sunlight reaches the base of tussocks. This will aid in killing larvae and controlling their development, without jeopardizing canopy regrowth and persistence. The pre-grazing sward height recommended for Aruana guinea grass is 30 cm, when the canopy intercepts 95% of the incident light, with post-grazing height at 15 cm (Zanini et al. 2012). As cutting severity and nitrogen (N) fertilization cause morphological and physiological adaptations in individual plants − altering the production of forage grasses − the objective of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of morphological components of Aruana guinea grass subjected to different cutting severities and N fertilization.