Production of beef cattle grazing on Brachiaria brizantha (Marandu grass)—Arachis pintoi (forage peanut cv. Belomonte) mixtures exceeded that on grass monocultures fertilized with 120 kg N/ha |
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| Authors: | José Marques Pereira Claudia de Paula Rezende Augusto Magno Ferreira Borges Bruno Grossi Costa Homem Daniel Rume Casagrande Thasia Martins Macedo Bruno José Rodrigues Alves Selenobaldo Alexinaldo Cabral de Sant’Anna Segundo Urquiaga Robert Michael Boddey |
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| Institution: | 1. CEPLAC/CEPEC, Itabuna, Brazil;2. Animal Husbandry Experimental Station of the Extreme South of Bahia (CEPLAC-ESSUL), Itabela, Brazil;3. Department of Animal Sciences, Lavras Federal of University, Lavras, Brazil;4. Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;5. Embrapa-Agrobiologia, Seropédica, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Mixed grass/legume pastures are an alternative to grass monocultures for increased beef cattle production in tropical climates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity of beef cattle grazing either a mixed pasture of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu grass and Arachis pintoi (forage peanut) cv. Belomonte or a Marandu monoculture, under rotational stocking. Five trials were conducted over a period of nine years in north-eastern Brazil where the sward structure (forage, grass and legume mass) and animal performance were compared for a mixed Marandu grass/forage peanut pasture, and a Marandu grass monoculture with 120 kg N ha?1 y?1. Stocking rate was adjusted to maintain forage allowance at 4% body weight/day. A block design was used with four replicates, and warm and cool seasons within each trial were considered, using repeated measurements over time. In the warm season, the forage mass in the mixed pastures was 17% greater than in the monoculture (p = .049), and the stocking rate, average daily gain and liveweight gain per ha were 16.4%, 20.0% and 28.7% greater (p = .004, p < .001 and p < .001 respectively). The average daily gain showed a positive linear relationship with the legume proportion in the sward (p < .001). The mixed forage peanut/Marandu pasture sustained significantly greater beef cattle production (789 kg ha?1 y?1) compared to the N-fertilized grass monoculture (655 kg ha?1 y?1). Appropriately managed, mixed pastures of forage peanut/Brachiaria pastures are sustainable and have high potential for use in the humid tropics. |
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| Keywords: | Arachis pintoi beef cattle Brachiaria fertilized pasture mixed pasture warm-season legume |
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