Características estruturais dos capins braúna, sabiá e cayana diferidos

Abstract

Pasture deferral is a management strategy used to feed animals during the dry season of the year. The appropriate choice of forage grass for deferral is important, as it influences the structure of the deferred pasture and, consequently, interferes with the performance of animals in grazing. The objective was to evaluate the structure of deferred pastures of cultivars Braúna, Sabiá and Cayana. The experiment was conducted in Uberlândia, MG. The deferral period was 90 days, from March to June 2021. Before the deferral, all plants were maintained at 30 cm in height, via weekly cuts. At the end of the deferral period, forage mass and morphological composition were evaluated, as well as canopy height, tipping rate and population densities of vegetative and reproductive tillers. Braúna grass presented canopy height, numbers of vegetative and total tillers, and dead stem mass higher than the other grasses. The height of the extended plant and the masses of total forage, live leaf and live stem did not vary among the cultivars studied. The damping-off index, the number of reproductive tillers and dead leaf mass were lower in Braúna grass. Braúna grass stood out as a grass with better structural characteristics, when deferred.