Carlos Eduardo Gonçalves da Silva

Relações planta-animal em ambiente pastoril heterogêneo: padrões de desfolhação e seleção de dietas

The experiment was conduced to evaluate the effect of different native pasture structures, represented by four sward heights (4, 8 12 and 16 cm) on defoliation and selectivity patterns of calves and ewes, in 45-minute grazing tests. A completely randomized design with four treatments and two replicates in time and space were used. Sward structure was characterized by sward height, herbage mass, leaf blade mass, herbage bulk density, leaf blade bulk density, and number and length of fully-emerged and emerging leaves. Forty tillers were marked in each experimental unit to determine the number and length of leaf blade. Defoliation and selectivity patterns were evaluated by defoliation probability and by passive selectively (PS) and active selectively (AS) indexes. A positive correlation between sward height and herbage mass, and negative between sward height and herbage bulk density were observed. Above 4 cm, leaf blade was almost exclusive, meaning optimal conditions for herbage intake by the animals. A reduction in the defoliation probability was observed with increasing sward height due to a lower stocking rate/available forage relationship. PS and AS were negatively affected by sward height. PS did not differ between calves and ewes, and above 6.7 cm, animals consumed less emerging leaf blade in relation to fully-emerged leaf blade. However, it did not mean that animals fail to select leaf blade, since AS remained above reference value 1 for both animal species. Ewes differed from calves in terms of AS. The increase in sward height affects the opportunity of animals to find emerging leaf blade, however, they selected younger leaf blade in the attempt to obtain a better food quality. Ewes selected emerging leaf blade more effectively than calves.

Recria de cordeiras em pastagem nativa melhorada submetida à fertilização nitrogenada: 1. Dinâmica da pastagem

It was evaluated the effect of nitrogen fertilization (100 and 200 kg/ha of N as urea) on the components of forage production of an improved native pasture with 3.12 ha (paddocks - 0.52 ha). Control areas without application of N were used, using a complete block design with two replications. Paddocks were grazed by lambs in a continuous stocking and variable stocking rate to keep forage allowance of 16% LW. In spring of 2004, pasture was uniformly fertilized with 250 kg/ha of 5-20-20 and N doses were applied during experimental period (summer 2005). Total forage on offer and rate of forage disappearance were not affected by treatments nor the periods of evaluation. Total herbage mass diminished significantly with time and was affected by N doses as function of the accumulation verified prior to the experimental period. All other studied variables showed no significant effect of N due to water deficit. There was no herbage accumulation during the first part of experimental period and accumulation rate only became positive in the last half period. As consequence, herbage height and herbage mass diminished significantly with time. Green forage mass showed inverse behaviour in relation to dead material percentage. The quadratic response of this later component was initially characterized by high values that diminished by the final period with the reestablishment of normal rainfall. By this reason, the green forage allowance was very low and interacted in time with N doses. Volumetric density presented low values when compared to values previously observed in this kind of pasture. However, a tendency for higher values was verified at the end of the observations period. The herbage height and herbage mass presented high correlation (r = 0.87) indicating that herbage height can be a good estimator of herbage mass, in these conditions. In the situation of water deficit, nitrogen fertilization does not contribute to the expression of more intense responses of the studied variables.