Maria Salomé Rezende Teodoro
Abstract:
This study aimed to evaluate the dry mass yield and leaf: stem ratio of two Brachiaria forages under three cut levels throughout the year. The experiment was conducted at Jatobá Unity of the Federal University of Goiás/Jataí Campus. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks in 2 x 3 factorial design with four replications and repeated measures in time. Two Brachiaria cultivars were tested: marandu and mulato II and three cut levels: 10, 20 and 30cm of canopy height. The evaluations were conducted during one year, consisting of assessments by season (spring, summer, autumn and winter) on the same plots. Both forages had the highest rate of forage accumulation (2.884.50 and 2.586.75 kg ha-¹ for cultivars marandu and mulato II respectively) when handled with 20 cm of height residue every 28 days. The seasons influence the forage productivity, and had higher average rate of dry mass accumulation of marandu for summer 3.013.08, end of mulato 2.804.16 and 2.531.75 kg ha-¹ for summer and winter respectively. The management did not affect the productivity of dry mass in the winter season. The evaluations were conducted during the year, consisting of seasons assessments (fall, winter, spring and summer) on the same plots. Mulato grass had higher content of crude protein (14,60%) when pasture is managed (30cm) in relation to the highest crude protein of marandu grass(13,72%). The use of two forage with the lowest height (10 cm) affect the nutritional value. The seasons influence-the-nutritional-value-of-forage.
