Aiming to determine the relationship between the frequency of testicular shape and the andrological aspects in young Nellore bulls, 18,676 animals were assessed. All andrological examinations were performed between the years 2000 and 2008. Animals were classified as able for breeding, able for breeding in natural mating system, unable for breeding and discarded. The testicular shape was classified as long, fairly long, oval-long, spherical-oval, and spherical. The analysis of Pearson correlations was performed for testicular shape with scrotal circumference, testicular […]

The objectives of this study were to evaluate morphogenetic characteristics and tillering dynamics in Tanzania grass fertilized and non-fertilized with nitrogen, under intermittent grazing, in the spring and the summer. The main plots were composed of four nitrogen rates (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha) and the subplots were growth seasons: spring (October, November and December) and summer (January, February and March). The experimental design was of randomized block with plots subdivided by time (seasons of the year) and four […]

This experiment was carried out to analyze the tillering dynamics of the species Panicum maximum cv. Mombaca subjected to three post-grazing heights: residue of 30 cm (30); residue of 50 cm (50); and residue of 50 cm during spring and summer, lowered to 40 cm in the first fall season grazing and to 30 cm in the following grazing cycle, resuming to 50 cm after the first grazing of the following spring season (50-30). Grazings were initiated whenever the swards […]

The present study aimed to estimate the basal temperature and thermal sum for the following tropical forage plants: Brachiaria decumbens, cultivar Basilisk; Brachiaria brizantha, cultivar Marandu; Brachiaria brizantha, cultivar Xaraes; Panicum maximum, cultivar Mombaça; Panicum maximum, cultivar Tanzania; and Cynodon spp, cultivar Tifton 85, in ten cutting seasons, under irrigation. The climatic data were collected in an automatic weather ministration installed in the experimental area and used for irrigation management. The relative development or regression equation method was used to […]

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of supplementation with different nitrogenous compounds on the activities of carboxymethil cellulase (CMCase) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). In the first experiment, four treatments were evaluated in vitro: cellulose, cellulose with casein, cellulose with urea, and cellulose with casamino acids. After 6, 12 and 24 hours of incubation, CMCase and GDH activity, pH, and concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (AN) and microbial protein were measured. In the three incubation periods, the concentration of […]

The present study aimed to estimate the photosynthetically active radiation of tropical forage grasses in ten cutting dates, under irrigation. The following treatments were used: Brachiaria decumbens grass (Brachiaria decumbens cultivar Basilisk), Marandu grass (Brachiaria brizantha cultivar Marandu), Xaraes grass (Brachiaria brizantha, cultivar Xaraes), Mombaça grass (Panicum maximum cultivar Mombaça), Tanzania grass (Panicum maximum, cultivar Tanzania) and Tifton 85 grass (Cynodon spp cultivar Tifton 85). The weather parameters were collected by an automatic meteorological station installed in the location and […]

Three kinds of blood meal coming from different processing conditions (spray-dried, drum-dried and vat-dried blood meals) were evaluated. Protein extraction and fractionation were performed in each blood meal type to determine the molecular weight profile, which was compared with standard bovine blood in natura. In vitro digestibility analyses of the protein in the diets were carried out in samples, which underwent defattening process or not. The apparent digestibility coefficients of the blood meal in vivo nutrients was determined with the […]

This study was carried out to evaluate intake, nutrient digestibility and body weight gain of foals on diets of concentrate and legume hay. Treatments were: lucerne hay (Medicago sativa), Campo Grande stylo hay (20% Stylosanthes macrocephala and 80% Stylosanthes capitata) and Mineirão stylo hay (Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Mineirão). Fifteen weaned foals at 160 Kg body weight (BW) were used. The experiment was entirely randomized with three treatments and five replicates. Dry matter intake was estimated at 30 g of dry […]

Production and quality of milk from dairy cows grazing exclusively on Mombasa grass pasture, during the spring-summer period and fed roughage supplementations, during the autumn-winter, were evaluated in two consecutive years. The pasture of 11.4 ha was divided into 57 paddocks of 2,000 m2 each, including three replications with 19 paddocks each. The pasture was managed with two occupation days and 36 resting days. During the spring-summer period, cows received only grass pasture. In the autumn-winter period, they had access […]

This study was conducted to determine the digestible lysine requirements of Nile tilapia fingerlings. Fish (n = 300; average initial weight = 1.44 g) were distributed 15 300-L aquariums, in a completely randomized design with five treatments and three replicates, and fed extruded diets containing 11.3, 13.7, 16.1, 18.4 or 20.8 g/kg of digestible lysine. The arginine:lysine ratio was maintained at 1.3:1. All fish were fed diets containing 281 g/kg of digestible protein and 3,372 kcal digestible energy/kg, hand-fed until […]