Influence of the time of day on nutritive value of elephant grass cv. Cameroon und...
| Grant number: | 16/22040-2 |
| Support type: | Regular Research Grants |
| Duration: | May 01, 2017 - April 30, 2019 |
| Field of knowledge: | Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry |
| Principal Investigator: | Sila Carneiro da Silva |
| Grantee: | Sila Carneiro da Silva |
| Home Institution: | Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil |
| Assoc. researchers: | Alexandre Berndt ; Camila Delveaux Araujo Batalha ; Flávio Augusto Portela Santos ; Guilhermo Francklin de Souza Congio ; Marilia Barbosa Chiavegato ; Patrícia Perondi Anchão Oliveira ; Rosa Toyoko Shiraishi Frighetto |
Abstract
The utilization of pastures is known as an important piece of Brazilian animal production systems. However, the low efficiency of grazing management places Brazil as a great contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Production of high quality forage, through increased soluble carbohydrate levels or digestibility, is considered an alternative to reduce emissions of enteric methane (CH4). Grazing management has been considered the most viable option to achieve production systems that could contribute to climate change mitigation and increase productivity. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of different rotational grazing strategies of elephant grass cv. Cameroon on animal productivity and performance and emissions of enteric CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O) from pasture soils. The study is divided into two experiments. The objective of experiment 1 is to assess the effects of two grazing strategies (grazing target of 95% and maximum light interception during regrowth; LI) on milk yield and quality, enteric CH4 and N2O emissions and animal performance. Experiment 2 will evaluate the effects of time of day (morning or afternoon) on forage quality and its consequences for milk production and quality, enteric CH4 and N2O emissions, and animal performance, when the most adequate grazing strategy found on experiment 1 is implemented. The most important result of this study is the identification of appropriate grazing strategies (95% or maximum LI), and time of day of pasture allowance (morning or afternoon) that can contribute to mitigation of climate change. (AU)