Two height cuttings of corn silage with or without enzyme inoculants were evaluated for 68 days on performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and chemical composition of the Longissimus muscle in crossbred bulls (F1 – ½ Nellore vs. ½ Angus) finished in feedlot. Thirty-two 20-month-old bulls, with initial average weight of 374±25 kg, were kept in individual pens (10 m2). Diets consisted of 50% roughage and 50% concentrate, with an expected 1.80 kg/day weight gain. The experimental design with four diets […]

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the structural characteristics of young, mature and old tillers on continuously stocked marandu palisade grass maintained at 30 cm and fertilized with nitrogen. Treatments corresponded to three nitrogen application rates (150, 300 and 450 kg/ha of N) plus control (no fertilization) and were assigned to experimental units (1,200-m2 paddocks) according to a completely randomized block design, with four replications. Measurements were performed during fall/winter 2007 and summer 2008. During summer, young tillers […]

This study was developed to evaluate the effects of adding L-glutamine and L-glutamate in diets with no lactose or with 4.0 or 8.0% lactose inclusion for piglets weaned at 21 days old. One hundred and eight piglets with initial weight of 6.12±0.70 kg were allotted in a complete randomized block design, in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, with six treatments, six replicates, and three piglets per experimental unit. The experimental diets were supplied from 21 to 35 days. From […]

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of bakery waste inclusion (0; 25; 50; 75 and 100%, DM basis) in proportion to corn meal in the energetic mixture of the concentrate on intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance and ruminal parameters in sheep. Five male lambs with body weight of 30 kg were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Experimental diets were composed of concentrate and Tifton 85 (Cynodon spp.) hay in a 60:40 forage:concentrate ratio. […]

With the objective to evaluate the effect of dietary available phosphorus levels (aP) on the performance, blood and bone parameters of castrated male and female pigs, genetically selected for meat deposition, 60 commercial hybrids pigs with initial weight of 15.54±0.68 kg were allotted in a completely randomized block design, with six treatments (0.103, 0.210, 0.317, 0.424, 0.531, and 0.638% aP), five replicates, and two animals per experimental unit. Pigs were fed ad libitum and water was provided until the end […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the contents of fibrous compounds in tropical grasses and legumes according to utilization of sodium sulfite in the neutral detergent solution or using a procedure for contaminant protein correction. Samples of ten grasses and ten legumes were used. The contents of neutral detergent fiber were decreased when sodium sulfite was used; however, more prominent reductions were verified in legumes. Sodium sulfite decreased the acid detergent fiber content in both forage groups. The […]

The objective of this study was to proceed with an initial evaluation of various strains of white oats (Avena sativa, L.), with the objective of characterizing the genetic diversity and the agronomic performance, identifying the promising genotypes for the release of cultivars, with the purpose of forage production. The experiments were conducted in two geographical regions of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Depressão Central and in the Campanha Gaúcha, Brazil, in the years 2008 and 2009, in a […]

A digestibility trial with 16 to 21-day-old turkeys was conducted to study the effects of feed form and corn particle size on the coefficient of total intestinal tract apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N), ether extract (EE), aparent metabolizable energy (AME) and aparent metabolizable energy corrected by nitrogen balance (AMEn). A completely randomized experimental design in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement – two feed forms (crumble and micropellet) and three average particle sizes of the corn (380, […]

Chemical and amino acid composition and true digestibility coefficients of amino acids of feather and blood meals for birds from different suppliers were determined. Thirty cecectomized cocks were distributed in a completely randomized design, with 4 different feather and blood meals (meals 1, 2, 3 and 4) and one treatment in which the birds remained fasting, with six replications as the experimental unit composed of one rooster. The variations in the chemical composition of the feather and blood meals can […]

The effects of inactive dry yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) from sugar cane were studied in 18 primiparus Saanen dairy goats (51.07±1.43) on dry matter intake and digestibility, milk production and quality. Animals were distributed in a completely randomized design during 90 days (from day 60 of milking). Diets were composed of soybean meal; soybean meal + dry yeast; or dry yeast, as protein sources, and ground corn, mineral supplement and corn silage (40%). Animals fed the dry yeast diet showed lower […]