Grazing Intensity Impacts on Herbage Mass, Sward Structure, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Animal Performance: Analysis of <i>Brachiaria</i> Pastureland
Ana Cláudia Ruggieri,
Abmael da Silva Cardoso,
Fernando Ongaratto,
Daniel Rume Casagrande,
Rondineli Pavezzi Barbero,
Liziane de Figueiredo Brito,
Mariane Vieira Azenha,
André Alves Oliveira,
Jefferson Fabiano Werner Koscheck,
Ricardo Andrade Reis
Affiliations
Ana Cláudia Ruggieri
Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, Jaboticabal, São Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
Abmael da Silva Cardoso
Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, Jaboticabal, São Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
Fernando Ongaratto
Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, Jaboticabal, São Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
Daniel Rume Casagrande
Departamento de Zootecnia, Campus Lavras, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais 37200-000, Brazil
Rondineli Pavezzi Barbero
Departamento de Produção Animal, Instituo de Zootecnia, Campos Seropédica, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rodovia BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil
Liziane de Figueiredo Brito
Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, Jaboticabal, São Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
Mariane Vieira Azenha
Premix, Rua Milton José Robusti, n 75, 17 Andar, Jardim Botânico, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14021-613, Brazil
André Alves Oliveira
Trouw Nutrition, Av. José Rocha Bonfim, 214, Campinas, São Paulo 13080-650, Brazil
Jefferson Fabiano Werner Koscheck
Trouw Nutrition, Av. José Rocha Bonfim, 214, Campinas, São Paulo 13080-650, Brazil
Ricardo Andrade Reis
Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, Jaboticabal, São Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
A 7 year experiment (2008–2014) evaluated cattle grazing intensity (sward height) effects on herbage mass, forage quality, and greenhouse gas emissions in continuously stocked pastures containing the tropical ‘Marandu’ palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich) Stapf cv. Marandu). The experiment consisted of three sward height treatments (15, 25, and 35 cm) and six replicates. There were four periods each year during the rearing phase. Significant effects were found for herbage mass, proportions of leaf and stem, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin, animal performance, enteric methane (CH4), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils. When the canopy height increased from 15 to 35 cm, the herbage mass rose from 5.23 to 9.86 kg t ha−1, leaf percentage decreased, and stem percentage increased. Crude protein content averaged 14.2%, and neutral detergent fiber averaged 58%. Average daily gain averaged 0.67, 0.81, and 0.90 kg −1 head−1, while live weight gain ha–1 was 649, 530, and 439 kg for the 15, 25, and 35 cm treatments, respectively. The weather variables explained the GHG emissions, interannual herbage mass, and structure variations.
