Influence of energy supplementation and pasture management on feeding behavior, metabolic parameters, microbial synthesis, ruminal fermentation kinetics and emission of greenhouse gases in beef cattle kept in tropical pastures

• Grant number: 12/00832-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Flávio Augusto Portela Santos
• Grantee: Luiz Roberto Dell Agostinho Neto
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The project aims to evaluate the effects of doses of supplement energy associated with different strategies of pasture management on feeding behavior, metabolic parameters (blood and rumen), microbial synthesis, ruminal fermentation kinetics and emission of greenhouse gases and balance of nitrogen. To do so will be conducted four experiments with eight Nelore steers, canulated in the rumen and maintained on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu.In four experiments will be evaluated two times of arrival of animals in paddocks, determined by the rate of light interception (LI) of the sward of 95% and 100%, which corresponds to the cultivar Marandu, 25 and 35 cm high, respectively. The average height of post-grazing residue is used 60% of the time of entry, being set at 15 and 21 cm heights input paras 25 and 35 cm respectively. Associated with grazing management will be evaluated two doses of supplemental energy: 0.0% (only mineral supplement) and 0.3% of body weight (BW) (experiment 1), 0.0% and 0.6% PC (experiment 2), 0.0% and 0.9% BW (experiment 3), and 0.0 and 1.2% BW (experiment 4).In all experiments will use the Latin square statistical design, with four treatments, two management and two levels of forage supplement.