Agronomic and structural responses of Brachiaria and Cynodon grasses under two cutting frequencies irrigated and non-irrigated

• Grant number: 11/09610-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2011
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Pastures and Forage Crops
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Guilherme Silveira Pedreira
• Grantee: Liliane Severino da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The livestock industry is one of the major economic activities in Brazil. In this context, the wide use of psatures as feed source makes the activity highly profitable. In many tropical regions the expansion of agriculture has reached a limit, as in the case of northern Brazil, due to environmental and legal pressures. Thus, it is important to manage the forage resource well, using technology to enhance efficiency and productivity. In pasture management, defoliation frequency has been the subject of many studies on forage plant growth aimg at high yeilds and high quality. Among the available technologies, irrigation allows for extending the grazing season. Although the initial investment may be high, irrigation is usually a more viable alternative compared with dry season supplementation. This study will be conducted in Piracicaba, SP, to investigate the agronomic characteristics and sward attributes, including forage yield, leaf area index (LAI), light interception, and forage plant part composition in Tifton 85 bermudagrass and Marandu and Mulato II brachiariagrasses. The experimental design will be a randomized complete block in a factorial arrangement among the three genotypes and two harvest frequencies, 28 and 42 days, and four replications.(AU)