<b>Forage intake and performance of Holstein lactating cows fed on tropical grassland pastures</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v29i3.549

Abstract

The structure of Dwarf Elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cv. Mott) (DEG) and Tifton 85 (Cynodon dactylon x Cynodon nlemfuensis) (T85) pastures and its relation with forage intake and the performance of lactating cows were evaluated. The trial was conducted in the growth season of 2004/05, in an area belonging to the Celeste Gobbato State Technical School, in the city of Palmeira das Missões, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Twelve Holstein cows were used as testers, fed exclusively on pasture under continuous grazing, in two paddocks per treatment. Forage density was higher on T85 than in DEG, due to its higher forage production. The most accessible pasture strata for animal intake (above 20 and 10 cm height for DEG and T85, respectively) presented different structures, but forage intake and milk production were similar in both treatments. The chemical composition of these pasture layers and of their respective samples were similar in both pasture types, indicating the analysis of chemical composition of the most accessible strata to grazing pasture as a useful tool for inferences about the quality of potentially consumable forage. Tropical pastures allow milk productions higher than 17 kg cow^-1 day^-1, even without the use of supplementation.