Structure of massai grass pasture grazed on by sheep supplemented in the dry season

Abstract

AbstractThis study aimed to evaluate the agronomic and structural characteristics of massai grass under grazing by sheep supplemented in the dry season. The treatments were supplements offered to sheep in massai grass pastures: multiple mixture, leucaena hay, gliricidia hay and soybean meal. The pastures were evaluated regarding: canopy height; forage accumulation and mass; accumulation, mass and percentage of morphological constituents; leaf:stem and green mass:dead material ratio; and pre‐ and post‐grazing forage bulk density. Higher pre‐grazing heights were observed (27.4 cm) in pasture occupied by animals supplemented with multiple mixture. No effects of supplement types for forage mass (average of 4426.6 kg ha−1 of dry matter) or of morphological constituents in pre‐grazing were observed; however, a grazing cycle effect was observed for these variables, with decreased forage mass in the order of 20% between the first and fourth pasture cycle. Involvement of dead material in forage mass increased by 45 and 23% in the pre and post‐grazing, respectively, from the first to the third grazing cycle. Using protein supplements in sheep's diet was not able to modify massai grass structure in the dry season. Massai grass is alternative forage for supplemented sheep production systems in pastures during the dry season, supporting grazing in 150 mm rainfall conditions for 6 months.