Tergas et al., 1984. Trop. Anim. Prod., 9 (1): 1-11
In a randomized block experiment at Carimagua, Colombia, the cattle output of Brachiaria decumbens alone and with complementary grazing with Pueraria phaseoloides in strips and in blocks was studied over a period of four years. The legume covered 30% of the grazing area in the grass-legume mixtures. Grazing was continuous and the stocking rate adjusted to 1.25 and 1.85 head/ha in the dry and rainy season, respectively. Mean animal output obtained from the mixture with the legume in strips, 183 kg/head, was significantly greater than that with the legume in blocks (145 kg/head) which exceeded that with B. decumbens alone (145 kg/head). The effect of complementary grazing on daily weight gains was significant only during the dry season, with means of 504, 363 and 233 g/head for the mixture with legume in strips, the legume in blocks and the B. decumbens alone, respectively. Year effects were highly significant owing to early rainfall in the dry season during the last 2 years of the experiment. That considerably increased the weight gains in the swards with B. decumbens alone and, to a lesser extent, in the mixtures with the legume in blocks and strips, although the interaction between treatment and year was not significant. The study demonstrated that the potential increase obtained by using complementary grazing of P. phaseoloides in blocks and strips with B. decumbens was 8 to 26% above that with well-managed Brachiaria alone. That was chiefly due to the effect of the legume during prolonged dry seasons of the year.