Forage intake and performance of cattle in silvopastoral systems and monoculture of Marandu in PreAmazon region

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate dry matter intake (DMI) and performance of F1 Nellore x Guzera with live weight (LW) of 180±15 kg (5 months) on pastures of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu in silvo-pastoral systems composed of babassu palm (Attalea speciosa) and monoculture systems in Pre-Amazonic region of Maranhão state, Brazil. Animals were evaluated in four systems: 0, 80, 131 and 160 adult palms ha-1 , characterizing monoculture (MC), low density (LD), average density (AD) and high density palm trees (HD), respectively, during the rainy (RS) and dry season (DS). Comparing seasons, only DMI in MC and AD were affected. DMI was between 2.6% LW for the RS and 2.8% LW for the DS, These values are very close as suggested by NRC, which is 2.7% LW for animals in this category. Higher average daily gain per ha was observed in animals kept in pastures with LD (0.750 g.day-1 and 84.37 kg.ha-1 , respectively). It was observed that animal performance was influenced by density of palm trees and the DMI by season, probably by the sward structure. Animal performance and production forage biomass were higher in 0 and 80 palm systems. This greater forage biomass allow higher stocking rate and, consequently higher animal production per ha.