The body composition and net protein and energy requirements for weight gain of 5/8 Hostein-Zebu crossbred cattle raised in Brachiaria decumbens Spaft pasture were evaluated. In total, 16 bulls with 10 months of age and body weight (BW) of 180 ± 19.95 kg were used. The animals were kept with free access to pasture or with restricted grazing (from 6 to 10 h). Four animals were slaughtered at the beginning of the experimental period to estimate the empty body weight […]

The effect of corn feeding forms in multiple supplements on performance of finishing steers grazing signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens Stapf) during rainy season was evaluated. Sixteen crossbred steers with initial weight of 384 kg and 18 mo old were distributed to four supplements mineral mix (MM) (control) and three multiple supplements with different feeding forms of corn: ground corn (GC); ground ear-corn (GEC) and ground whole-plant corn (GWPC) – in a completely randomized experimental design with four replicates. The animals […]

The effects of energy levels in multiple supplements on productive performance and nutritional parameters were evaluated of finishing beef cattle grazing palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu), during the rainy to dry transition season. For the performance evaluation, 24 crossbred bulls, 18 month old and 330 kg of initial body weight (BW), were distributed to a completely randomized design, in four paddocks of 1.5 ha each. Four treatments were evaluated: mineral mix (MM) and corn and whole soybean grain based […]

A survey was performed on milk production costs of three farms which supply milk for the same milk processing line, on the fluminense mountain region and Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, in the year of 2002: Capril Pedra Branca (CPB), Capril Vale da Braúna (CVB) and Capril Via Capri (CVC). The Capril Pedra Branca and Capril Vale da Braúna represented confining production systems whereas Capril Pedra Branca bought all the feed while Capril Vale da Braúna produced part of […]

The effect of nitrogen on the root system of the species Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. IPR-86 Milênio, under grazing, was evaluated. The N rates were 0; 150; 300 and 450 kg/ha.year. The root density was evaluated during pre-grazing at five years of successive N application, in three depths (0-10; 10-20 and 20-40 cm) and the root growth at 7, 14, 21, and 35 days after grazing. The grazing method adopted was rotational stocking. Root length and root mass densities in […]

In order to evaluate the use of urea nitrogen, the balance of nitrogen (15N) in Brachiaria brizantha pastures was obtained when urea was applied either incorporated or in the soil surface (in four applications beginning in November of 1998) and the lime was applied in two periods (March and August of 1998). The recovery and retention of the N-urea were obtained for each plant structure of the soil-pasture system, and indicated that the plant crown is a very important storage […]

This work evaluated the herbicides selectivity acetolactate synthase inhibitors and photosynthetic II applied in post- emergency in palisadegrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu) and signalgrass (Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk) plants in field conditions and their effect in seed quality. Treatments tested in g ha-1 were: imazethapyr at 100, chlorimuron-ethyl at 15, nicosulfuron at 50, bentazon at 720, atrazine at 3.000, and control plot. Two field trials were set up on complete randomized block design with four replicates; laboratory studies were carried […]

This trial was carried out to determine the effect of continuous, alternated or rotational grazing systems on the performance of pigs (feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion and backfat thickness), in the growing and finishing phases, as well as the forage availability and chemical composition of a white clover pasture (Trifolium repens L.). Thirty-six castrated pigs were allotted to a randomized complete-block experimental design with three treatments and three replications. Twelve feedlot pigs were kept on a rearing system. No […]

Forty singletons crossbred Texel lambs were assigned to four treatments to compare their performance in either feedlot or at pasture, with or without supplementation. In the first treatment (“Min”), the lambs received a mineral supplementation and stayed with their mothers up to 105 days old in a paddock of Panicum maximum cv. Colonião but only the lambs had access to the supplement. The second treatment (“Prot”) differed from the fist one only in that the lambs were supplemented with protein […]

Part of the fertilizer nitrogen (N) applied to pasture may be lost from the system and, in tropical pastures, the volatilization of ammonia (NH3) is one of the major pathways of loss. The present study aimed to estimate the NH3-N volatilization loss in Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania pasture fertilized with urea during the summer. A completely randomized design, following a repeated measure arrangement, with three replicates was used. The plots were represented by urea levels (40, 80 and 120 kg/ha […]