<b>Nutritive value of Tanzania and Mombaça grasses fertilized with nitrogen under rotational stocking</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v28i4.601

Abstract

Pasture fertilization increase s forage production and stocking rate. However, forage should contain enough nutrients to animal production . The aim of this work was to evaluate increas ing doses of N (101.5; 145.0; 188.5, and 232.0 kg ha^-1), keeping N-P-K relation 1-0.07-1, on chemical composition and digestibility of Tanzania and Mombaça grasses under rotational stocking . The experiment was conducted at Faculdade of Ciências Agrárias and Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil, following a randomized block design with three replications. Both chemical composition and digestibility presented low variation between Tanzania and Mombaça grasses, except for NDF content of leaves and digestibility of stems, which were found higher levels as to Tanzaniagr ass, before grazing. Nitrogen fertilization increased protein content and digestibility without affecting fiber, testifying that fertilization is an essential operation to animal production on pastures .