Defoliation patterns in signal grass tillers with varying heights in the same pasture - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i3.14376

Authors

  • Manoel Eduardo Rozalino Santos Universidade Federal de Uberlandia
  • Dilermando Miranda da Fonseca Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Guilherme Porte Silva Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Thiago Gomes dos Santos Braz Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Virgilio Mesquita Gomes Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Simone Pedro da Silva Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho"

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i3.14376

Keywords:

Brachiaria decumbens, forage losses, grazing, horizontal pasture sward

Abstract

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the patterns of defoliation in plants of various heights in the same pasture of Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk under continuous stocking with cattle. Four plant heights were evaluated (10, 20, 30 and 40 cm) in the same managed sward, with mean height equal to 25 cm. A randomized blocks design was used, with two replications. Defoliation frequency increased linearly along with plant height in the same pasture. Defoliation intensity, number of defoliations in leaf blade and percentage of leaf blade grazed per tiller also increased linearly along with plant height. The defoliation interval decreased linearly according to plant height. The quadratic model was adequately fitted into grazing efficiency data, reaching the highest value (98%) at the sward site with 35 cm plants. The percentage variation in signal grass height showed a negative linear response with initial plant height. The structure of the pasture, characterized by the diversity in plant heights, is simultaneously the cause and consequence of the variability in defoliation patterns in individual tillers, which occur on the horizontal plane of the pasture.

 


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Author Biographies

  • Manoel Eduardo Rozalino Santos, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia
    Professor da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia; Ãrea: Forragicultura e Pastagens
  • Dilermando Miranda da Fonseca, Universidade Federal de Viçosa
    Professor da Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Ãrea: Forragicultura e Pastagens
  • Guilherme Porte Silva, Universidade Federal de Viçosa
    Granduando em Agronomia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Ãrea: Forragicultura e Pastagens
  • Thiago Gomes dos Santos Braz, Universidade Federal de Viçosa
    Doutorando em Zootecnia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Ãrea: Forragicultura e Pastagens
  • Virgilio Mesquita Gomes, Universidade Federal de Viçosa
    Doutorando em Zootecnia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Ãrea: Forragicultura e Pastagens
  • Simone Pedro da Silva, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho"
    Doutoranda em Zootecnia da UNESP/Jaboticabal; Ãrea: Nutrição de Ruminantes

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Published

2013-02-08

Issue

Vol. 35 No. 3 (2013)

Section

Pasture and forage utilization

License

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- I Declare that current article is original and has not been submitted for publication, in part or in whole, to any other national or international journal. 

The copyrights belong exclusively to the authors. Published content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) guidelines, which allows sharing (copy and distribution of the material in any medium or format) and adaptation (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, even commercially, under the terms of attribution.

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How to Cite

Santos, M. E. R., Fonseca, D. M. da, Silva, G. P., Braz, T. G. dos S., Gomes, V. M., & Silva, S. P. da. (2013). Defoliation patterns in signal grass tillers with varying heights in the same pasture - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i3.14376. Acta Scientiarum. Animal Sciences, 35(3), 259-265. https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i3.14376
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