Duarte Vilela

Desempenho de vacas da raça Holandesa em pastagem de coastcross

The productive performance of Holstein cows grazing fertilized coastcross (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pears) pasture, strategically irrigated and supplemented with either 3 or 6 kg of concentrate/cow/day, was evaluated in this trial. The data were collected for three years (October/2000 to October/2003), involving 108 lactations. A completely randomized block design with two treatment replications was adopted, with nine animals per paddock. The pasture was strip grazed at a stocking rate of five cows per hectare, with rest periods of 25 and 35 days in the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. The pasture was irrigated in the months of lowest rainfall and fertilized with NPK broadcast at six applications/year. The pre-grazing pasture masses were 7,280 kg/ha and 6,167 kg/ha with post-grazing residuals of 4,885 kg/ha and 3,994 kg/ha, in the rainy (Spring/Summer) and dry (Fall/Winter) seasons, respectively. During part of the experimental period, a few morphogenic characteristics of the pasture were evaluated. Leaf blade growth rates of 83.9, 125.6 and 89.5 kg DM/ha/day were recorded in the Spring, Summer and Fall season, respectively. The average daily milk yields were 15.5 and 19.1 kg/day/cow with 3.5% of fat and 77.80 and 94.00 kg/ha, for either 3 or 6 kg of concentrate/cow/day, respectively. It was concluded that fertilized coastcross pasture adequately managed enables high milk yields per cow and per hectare.

Estratégia de fornecimento de concentrado para vacas da raça Holandesa em pastagens de coast-cross

The trial was carried out at the Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Gado de Leite, at Coronel Pacheco, Brazil, to evaluate two ways of feeding 6 kg/day of a concentrate mixture to cows grazing a coast-cross pasture: A - a fixed amount, and B - a variable amount (9, 6 and 3 kg/cow/day for the first, second, and third stage of lactation). A randomized block design was used with two replications for land grazing area, with the treatments organized in split plots. In the plots, the ways of feeding of distributing the ration concentrate were considered, and in the split plots, the phases of lactation were used. Feeding variable amount of concentrate affected (P 0.05), 93.1 (±10.8) and 94.8 (±10.9) kg/ha (P > 0.05) in the second phase; 14.2 (±2.2) and 13.4 (±2.3) kg/cow (P > 005) and 102.2 (±12.4) and 93.8 (±10.5) kg/ha (P > 0.05) in the last phase, respectively for A and B. The variable dose was the best indicated to supplement Holstein dairy cows in coast-cross pasture.

Efeito do concentrado no desempenho produtivo, reprodutivo e econômico de vacas da raça Holandesa em pastagem de coast-cross

Productive, reproductive and economic performance of Holstein cows raised on coast-cross pasture and supplemented either 3 or 6kg of concentrate/cow/day were evaluated. Grazing was under rotating with one day of occupation of each feedlot and 25 or 35 days of resting in the rainy or dry seasons, respectively. Milk yield was higher for cows receiving 6kg of concentrate (19.1kg/day) than for cows receiving (15.5kg/day). The first post-calving estrous occurred on 99.9 and 67.8 days, respectively, by visual and progesterone dosage methods for cows fed 3kg of concentrate, and 72.9 and 54.5 days for those fed 6kg. The calving intervals were 444.8 and 436.8 days for cows fed 3kg and 6kg of concentrate, respectively. The visual method for estrous detection was not accurate and compromised business profitability.

Morfogênese e acúmulo de forragem em pastagem de Cynodon dactylon cv. coastcross em diferentes estações de crescimento

The experiment was conducted to estimate morphogenic and structural characteristics and dry matter accumulation rate of leaf blades in a pasture of Cynodon dactylon cv. coast-cross grass intermittently grazed by lactating cows. The evaluations were performed in Spring (October-November), in Summer (February-March) and in Fall (May-June). The study was conducted observing a completely randomized design. with six replications. Leaf length, appearance and senescence in marked tillers were registered over the rest period of the paddock. Tillers in sampling areas of 0.09 m2 were counted for estimation of the tiller population density. The net DM accumulation rate of leaf blades was obtained by multiplying the dry matter accumulation rate by the number of tillers/area. Leaf elongation rate was higher in the Summer; while leaf appearance rate and the number of leaves/tiller were higher in Spring. Tiller population did not vary with season, averaging 2,770 tillers/m2. The senescence rate averaged 2.44 mm/day in the Spring and no leaf senescence was observed over the Summer and Fall. Dry matter accumulation rate of leaf blades was higher in the Summer and showed a close relationship with leaf elongation rate and leaf size. Leaf blade accumulation rate was overestimated when calculated from leaf elongation rate and tiller density data.

Consumo, digestibilidade e parâmetros ruminais em vacas gestantes alimentadas com silagem de rama de mandioca

The objective of this trial was to study the effects of substituting corn silage by cassava foliage silage in the diets of non lactating, pregnant dairy cows. The levels of substitution of corn silage by cassava foliage silage were 0, 20, 40 and 60%. Intake and apparent digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, total carbohydrates, no fiber carbohydrates were evaluated, and pH and ruminal ammonia nitrogen before and 2, 4, 6 and 8h after the morning feeding were also evaluated. Four non lactating pregnant cows (third trimester of gestation) rumen cannulated were allotted to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The substitution of corn silage by different levels of cassava foliage silage did not affect the intake, digestibilities of nutrients and ruminal parameters, except for crude protein apparent digestibility and ruminal ammonia nitrogen. The crude protein apparent digestibility decreased as the corn silage was substituted by cassava foliage silage. Ruminal ammonia nitrogen also showed a linear negative effect eight hours after the morning feeding. The substitution of corn silage by cassava foliage silage, in all studied levels could be used for non lactating, pregnant dairy cows diets because did not change intake, ruminal parameters and digestibility of dry matter and nutrients, except for crude protein and ruminal ammonia nitrogen eight hours after morning feeding.

Utilização de soja integral tostada na dieta de vacas em lactação, em pastagem de coastcross (Cynodon dactylon, L. Pers.)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of roasted whole soybean (RWS) in the concentrate composition to be employed to supplement feeding of Holstein cows on coastcross-1 pasture. Twelve early-lactating cows were utilized, divided into two groups as follows: A) the ones fed standard concentrate (control) containing soybean meal (23.5% CP and 80% TDN) and B) the ones fed RWS-enriched concentrate (19.5% CP and 86% TDN). In two treatments, daily feeding was of 9 kg/cow of concentrate. An electric fence was utilized for helping pasture management, which was based on rotational grazing, with one day of paddock occupation and a resting period of 25 days. The experiment lasted 100 days, during the summer, when the pasture was fertilized with 140, 32, and 112 kg/ha of, respectively, N, P2O5 and K2O, divided into four applications. The inclusion of RWS caused an increase in milk production and in fat-corrected (to 3.5%) milk production, which were, in average: 22.2 and 23.6 and 19.8 and 19.7 kg/cow/day, for RWS-enriched and control treatments, respectively. The milk fat levels were 4.16 and 3.49% in the plots, where animals were fed, respectively, RWS-enriched and standard concentrate. The cows fed RWS-enriched concentrate exhibited superior milk production than the ones fed standard concentrate, reaching 145.4 kg milk/ha/day. In both treatments the cows showed weight gains.

Determinação do coeficiente de repetibilidade e estabilização genotípica das características agronômicas avaliadas em genótipos de alfafa no ano de estabelecimento

Repeatibility coefficients were estimated for dry matter production (DMP), plant height at cutting time (PHC), disease tolerance (DT) and height at flowering (HF). The characteristics were evaluated in 92 genotypes in the years 2004 and 2005. Five cuttings were carried out in the rain period (November to March) and six cuttings in the dry period (April to September). The experiment was arranged in randomized block design, with two replications. The estimates of the repeatability coefficient were obtained by different methods and, then, the study of genotype stabilization was performed. The statistical analyses were done using the GENES software. During the dry period, only two cuttings were enough to achieve 85 % accuracy in the estimation of the real DMP value, whereas in the rain period, five cuttings were required to achieve the same reliability. Overall, in the rain period a larger number of evaluations was required to obtain the same data reliability. For genotype stabilization, there was increase in reliability by leaving out some cuttings. The variables DMP and PHC, during the rain period, showed larger estimates for the repeatability coefficient than the variables DT and HF.

Evaluation of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System on the prediction of dry matter intake of grazing lactating Holstein cows.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) version 5.0 to estimate the dry matter intake (DMI) of grazing lactating Holstein cows, grazing coast-cross pasture supplemented with corn silage and concentrate (3 or 6 kg/cow/day). Six experiments were carried out, with 12 cows each. The cows were fed 17 kg/cow/day of corn ensilage in three experiments. The chemical composition of extrusa samples of forage was determined, obtained using an esophageous fistulated cow. The intake estimates were obtained using 5 g of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) methodology supplied two times a day. Data corresponding to animals (body weight, age, milk yield and composition and racial type), environment (temperature, air relative humidity and management condition) and the feed chemical composition in each experimental period were provided to the program. The DMI values predicted by the CNCPS model were close to those obtained by the chromium oxide methodology.

Parâmetros ruminais de vacas leiteiras mantidas em pastagem tropical

Four lactating dairy cows fitted with ruminal cannula were used to study two levels of concentrate supplementation (treatments), low (BC), 2.67 or high (AC), 5.37 kg of DM/day. Animals were assigned in intermittent grazing Coastcross forage during the summer with a stocking rate of five animal units/hectare. The chemical composition of the concentrate was the same in both treatments and it was divided in equal part to feed the cows at the morning and at the afternoon milking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ruminal parameters: pH, ammonia nitrogen (N-NH3) concentration and volatile fatty acids (AGV) concentration. The Coastcross had on average 11.7% of PB, 70.2% of FDN, 35.2% of FDA and 63.8% of in vitro digestibility of dry-matter (DIVMS). The average of dry matter intake was 13.6 kg and 14.6 kg. The chemical composition of the diets was 13.6% and 15.2% of PB, 2.6% and 3.2 of EE, 64.0% and 59.0% of FDN for BC and AC treatments, respectively. The increase of the concentrate in diet, influenced rumen pH, however the values not affect cellulose-digesting activity of the rumen microorganisms. The values of N-NH3 and total AGV of the rumen fluid did not change with the different levels of concentrate.

Inclusão de silagem de rama de mandioca em substituição à pastagem na alimentação de vacas em lactação: produção, qualidade do leite e da gordura

The effect of a partial substitution of pasture for cassava foliage silage (CFS) on milk production and composition on fat quality of Holstein cow milk was studied using a replicated 4 X 4 Latin square design with four treatments. Regression was used for the comparison of nutrition levels. The control diet contained 50% pasture and 50% concentrate on a dry matter basis. The substitution levels of pasture for CFS were 0, 20, 40, or 60% of the forage dry matter. All diets were isonitrogenous. The analyzed parameters were: milk production (MP); 4% fat-corrected milk production (FCM); acidity; density; concentrations of fat, protein, lactose, urea, and total solids; somatic cell counts (SCC), and milk fatty acids profile. There was a linear decrease effect (P<0.05) in MP, FCM, and urea content with increasing levels of CFS in the diet. Concentrations of gamma linolenic and palmitic acids in milk fat linearly increased (P<0.05) with higher proportions of CFS in the diet. Other contents of milk fatty acids remained similar among treatments as well as acidity; density; concentrations of protein, fat, lactose, and total solids; and SCC.