Produtividade e valor nutritivo de pastagens tendo como base o capim elefante em consórcio com amendoim forrageiro estolonífero

Abstract

The increase in elephant grass forage production is obtained with high levels of nitrogen fertilizer. The stoloniferous perennial peanut is well recognized for it’s ability to fix nitrogen, high biomass production with elevated nutritive value and persistence under grazing. Pasture mixed grass-legume may be an option to increase the production, the forage quality, profitability and sustainability of forage systems. The effects of perennial peanut mixed with elephant grass-based pasture are still little known. Then, the aim of this research was to evaluate the herbage yield, nutritive value of forage and animal responses of pastures, constituted by different levels of perennial peanut on forage mass mixture with elephant grass in low-input systems. Three grazing systems with elephant grass-based (EG) (1 - control); forage peanut (FP), low-density in the forage mass + EG (2); FP, high-density in the forage mass + EG (3) were evaluated. The experiment was carried out from may 2016 to april 2017. Experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments (grazing systems), three replicates (paddocks) in completely split-plot time (grazing cycles). Forage samples were collected on pre and post-graze to evaluate the pasture and animal responses. Leaf blades samples of elephant grass and the others companion grasses of forage peanut were collected to analyze crude protein, in situ digestible organic matter and total digestible nutrients. The mean values of herbage yield, forage intake and stocking rate were 16.21, 19.16 and 20.53 t/ha.year; 1.33, 1.21 and 1.49 % of body weight; 2.63, 3.37 and 3.67 AU/ha; the crude protein of elephant grass were 19.67, 19.92 and 20.30 % and the others grasses 12.70, 15.82 and 16.82 % for the respective forage systems. The in situ digestible organic matter and total digestible nutrients were not affected by the different treatments. Better results were found with grasses-legume systems.