Pereira et al., 1992. Rev. Bras. Zootec, 21 (1): 118-131
Consumo e ganho de peso de bovinos em pastagens de capim Brachiaria humidicola (Rendle) Schweickt, em monocultivo ou consorciado com leguminosas, submetidas a diferentes taxas de lotacao
Three pastures, Brachiaria humidicola, alone (BH+WL) and associated with Desmodium ovalifolium (BH+DO) and Pueraria phaseoloides (BH+PP), grazed in a continuous stem and under three stocking rates (2, 3, and 4/head/ha) were tested in the district of Porto Seguro - BA, Brazil. The trial was carried out for 315 days between May 3, 1988 and March 14,1989. Eighty one Zebu males were distributed in a 3 x 3 factorial in a completely randomized design. Available forage was sampled by direct cutting and botanical composition obtained by hand separation. Consumption was determined by means of the relation: fecal production/indigestibility, using Cr2O3 for fecal production estimation, with 10 g/day, for 12 days and 5 of collection. Dry Matter intake was not affected by SR (P>0.05). BHWL pasture had higher consumption (P<0.05) than BH+DO pasture (105 versus 73 g DM/kg0.75/day), but was not different from the in take observed in the BH+PP pasture (P<0.01). However, SR had a linear and positive effect (P<0.01) in the weight gain/ha in the pastures of BHWL (Y = 85.4 + 100.2X, r2 = 0.97) and BH+PP (Y = 64.9 + 113X, r2 = 0.97) and a quadratic effect (P<0.01) in the BH +DO (Y = 769.2 + 703.1X -107.5X, r2 = 1). There were no differences among pastures neither for weight daily gain (X = 423 g/head/day) nor for production/ha (X = 394 kg LW/ha)