Estimative of the dry matter intake of lactating cows in intensive grazing coastcross grass [<em>Cynodon dactylon</em> (L.) Pers cv. coastcross]

Abstract

The objective of this experiment was to estimate the total dry matter intake of gir and girolanda breed cows kept in coastcross pasture [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers cv. coastcross]. Eight gir and eight girolanda cows were used, all between 30 and 90 days of lactation period. The pasture (five ha) was divided in 10 paddocks, grazed for three days with 27 days of resting period with stocking rate of 1.6 cows/ha at the end of the dry season and 3.2 cows/ha in the other experimental periods. Chromic mordant marker was used to estimate dry matter intake. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with two treatments (gir and girolanda), eight replications and four blocks (seasons). The total mean dry matter intake for girolanda cows was of 7.68 kg DM/cow/day and 5.71 kg DM/cow/day for gir cows, corresponding to 1.58% and 1.38% live weight respectively. The calculated mean dry matter intake of pasture for gir cows was of 2.71 kg DM/cow/day and 4.68 kg DM/cow/day for girolanda cows, corresponding to 0.66% and 1.16% live weight respectively.