Animal Production from Tropical Pastures Renovated by Subsoiling and Fertilization in the Cerrados of Brazil

A grazing trial was conducted, to study the effects of fertilization on the maintenance of the productivity of four tropical grasses. The paddocks were subsoiled, and dived into halves: one (LF1) received 400 kg/ha of a fertilizer formula 0-20-20.and the other (LF2) 800 kg/ha of the same fertilizers, in January 1995. Annually, 50 kg/ha of N was applied. The productivity on LF2 pastures was greater than that on FL1 pastures, averaging 520 and 410 kg of liveweight gain/ha/year. A double strategy should be followed to sustain animal production in the savanna: maintain soil P over a critical value of 3.0 mg P(Mehlich-1)/dm3, and annual N application

Alternative for Intensification of Beef Production under Grazing

One of the challenges to overcome in order to assure the position occupied by Brazil as one of the most important players in the world beef market is to design sustainable technological alternatives, which will maintain a constant uniform beef supply all year round. This crucial problem could be solved by using more intensively, the alternatives available for pastures management and feed supplement-ation. However, the potential results created by these strategies might be better explored by using the right choice of animals as far as genetic group and weaning weight is concerned. Thus, in order to fulfill this goal it was designed an experiment was designed to evaluate combinations of pastures species (Brachiaria and Panicum), pasture management (feed supplementation and rotational grazing) and animal genetic groups

Preparo de fístula esofágica para recuperação máxima do alimento ingerido

With the objective of determining the recovery of herbage, ten steers averaging 220 kg of liveweight were fistulated at the esophagus. The only difference from the usual surgical procedure was that a largar incision was made at the esophagus, to make a range in fistula diameters varying from 5 to 8 cm. ln the first six months after surgery, the fistula diameters lncreased in size, varying from 1 to 4 cm. The major post-operative problem was the excessive leakage from the fistula in six animals. In four of them the leakage was controlled by adjusting the plug sizes. However, In the two other steers this adjustment did not work, and those fistulas were finally reduced by suturing. The percentage recovery of extrusa was checked with brachiaria (Brachiaria decumbens), 2-week regrowth, and elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum), mature, offered to the animals during ten days each. The percentage of recovered herbage was obtained by dividing the organic matter weight of esophageal extrusa by organic matter weight of ingested forage. Recovory rate was lower (P < 0.06) for elephant grase than for brachiaria. The organic matter recovory was positively correlated (r² = 0.96 and P < 0.01) with the fistula diameter. A fistula of more than 8 cm of diameter was necessary for obtaining consistent high recoveries.Dez novilhos com peso médio de 220kg foram fistulados no esôfago, para se avaliar, por meio das fistulas, a percentagem de recuperação do alimento ingerido. Foi realizado o procedimento cirúrgico usual com uma maior incisão no esôfago, de maneira a obterem-se fístulas variando de 5 a 8 cm de diâmetro. Nos seis primeiros meses após a cirurgia, foram observadas dilatações nas fístulas, que variaram de 1 a 4 cm. O maior problema pós-operatório encontrado foi o vazamento anormal de saliva em seis dos animais. Em quatro destes, o problema foi solucionado ajustando-se os tamanhos das cânulas. Entretanto, nos dois animais que tiveram as fístulas estabelecidas com 8 cm de diâmetro, somente o ajuste não foi suficiente para estancar o vazamento de saliva, fazendo-se necessária nova cirurgia para redução dos diâmetros. A percentagem de recuperação da extrusa foi estimada fornecendo-se aos animais braquiária (Brachiaria decumbens), com duas semanas de rebrota, e capim-elefante (Penrisetum purpureum), após a florarão, durante dez dias cada. A recuperação foi obtida dividindo-se a quantidade de matéria orgânica recuperada na sacola, pela quantidade de matéria orgânica ingerida. A braquiária apresentou uma percentagem de recuperação maior (P < 0,06) do que a de capim-elefante. A percentagem de matéria orgânica recuperada através da fístula foi positivamente correlacionada (r² = 0,96 e P < 0,01) com o diâmetro da fístula. Para obter uma recuperação alta e consistente da forragem ingerida, foi necessária uma fístula com 8 cm de diâmetro

Animal Performance and Productivity of a New Cultivar of \u3cem\u3eBrachiaria brizantha\u3c/em\u3e

Brazil has the competitive advantage of a very dynamic and cost-effective animal production system on pastures over other countries. The pursuit of more productive forages that will result in higher quality beef at a lower cost is justified. As Brachiaria is the most important forage genus utilised in Brazil, an intense search for new cultivars amongst collected and introduced ecotypes from Africa is underway. Following agronomic evaluation of this material in plots, 8 Brachiaria ecotypes were pre-selected. As part of Embrapa`s process of cultivar development, B. brizantha cv. Xaraés, characterised by high productivity (liveweight gain/area), was released in 2003, followed in 2007 by cv. Piatã, characterised by high nutritive value and consequently high animal performance (Euclides et al. 2009). From the 8 ecotypes pre-selected, one presented good traits for surviving dry periods (Euclides et al. 2001), which is the main constraint to herbage production under tropical and subtropical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate this ecotype under grazing conditions

Observation of Bundle Sheath Digestion of \u3ci\u3ePanicum maximum\u3c/i\u3e Jacq,

Cross-sections of available forage and extrusa fractions of leaf blades of Tanzânia-1, Mombaça and Massai grasses were evaluated for anatomic structure and observations of residue of in vitro digestibility. The observations showed greater frequency of scherenchyma girders in leaf blades of cv Massai, compared with order grasses. Tanzânia-1 and Mombaça residues were more susceptible to digestion, while Massai presented more frequently scherenchyma girders associated with less digestible bundle sheath

Evaluation of \u3ci\u3eBrachiaria brizantha\u3c/i\u3e Ecotypes under Grazing in Small Plots

An intense search for new cultivars amongst recently collected and introduced ecotypes from Africa is in effect since 1988, at the National Beef Cattle Research Center, of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Beef Cattle). After agronomic evaluations of a large collection, 21 ecotypes were pre-selected for multilocational trials and from these, eight were elected for evaluation under grazing. The objective of this trial was thus to evaluate the persistence and carrying capacity of these eight new Brachiaria brizantha ecotypes after two years of grazing. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with nine treatments and two replicates. The experimental area was divided into 18 paddocks of 1000 m2. They were grazed according to a deferred flexible system. After two years, it was possible to select four ecotypes, which were indicated for animal performance trials aiming at releasing at least one of them as a new cultivar in 2002

Animal Performance and Productivity of New Ecotypes of Brachiaria Brizantha in Brazil

Brazil has the competitive advantage of a very dynamic and cost effective animal production system on pastures over other countries. The pursuit for more productive forages that will result in higher quality beef at a lower cost is then justified. Brachiaria is the most important forage genus utilised in Brazil, thus an intense search for new cultivars amongst collected and introduced ecotypes from Africa is underway. Following agronomic evaluation of this material in plots, 8 pre-selected Brachiaria ecotypes were tested under intermittent grazing in paddocks (Euclides et al., 2001). Continuing on the process of cultivar development, two out of the eight, selected for superior agronomic characteristics were compared to the standard cultivar Marandu, under grazing and the results are presented in this paper

Selecting New \u3ci\u3eBrachiaria\u3c/i\u3e for Brazilian Pastures

Brazilian beef production relies heavily on cultivated pastures, of which about 80% are planted mainly to two Brachiaria cultivars. The narrowness of diversity associated with reproduction by apomixis of most plants in this genus prompted an intense search for new cultivars amongst recently collected and introduced ecotypes from Africa. This paper reports results for a three-year evaluation of 21 pre-selected ecotypes in two typical Cerrado ecosystems. Plots, replicated four times, were seeded in rows and cut every 6 weeks during the rainy season followed by a cut in the middle and one at the end of the dry season. Significant differences were found between ecotypes, seasons and years for total, leaf or leaf + stem dry matter production, percentage of leaves, leaf: stem ratio and regrowth rate. Ecotypes differed in the two ecosystems for percentage of leaves, leaf: stem ratio and regrowth. Superior ecotypes (BRA004308, 003361, 002844, 003204, 003441) could be identified and were equally advantageous in both ecosystems