An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of urea treatment on the chemical-bromatologic compounds and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of Brachiaria decumbens hay. The hay were reconstituted with water to get final forage moisture concentration of 30%, and treated with urea at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% of the forage dry matter. A completely randomized design with three replicates was used. The material was stored in plastic bags (2kg/plastic bag) for 35 days, and after […]

Equations for predicting elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum, Schumack) dry matter intake (DMI) by Holstein x Zebu lactating dairy cows under grazing were developed by stepwise regression analysis. The dataset consisted of results of trials carried out at Embrapa Gado de Leite (Coronel Pacheco, MG, Brazil). The independent variables related to animal factors (days in milk; milk protein, fat and total solids contents and yields; live weight; live weight at calving; milk and fat-corrected milk yield; Holstein x Zebu gene fraction; order […]

Two different preweaning selection criteria in Gyr cattle: average daily gain from birth to weaning (ADG) and number of days to gain 160 kg from birth to weaning (D160) were evaluated in this study. Records from the Brazilian Zebu Breeders Association obtained from 1978 to 1994, were studied. (Co)variance components and heritabilities were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood derivative free method, and expected breeding values (EBV) were predicted using an single trait animal model. In the model, contemporary group was […]

Twelve non pregnant dry cows (640 kg LW) were assigned to a randomized block design, provided that the treatments were alfalfa haylage (60.0% DM and 19.5% CP) control or inoculated with Silobac® product (Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus), with the objective to evaluate the effects of microbial inoculation of alfalfa silage on ruminal and total digestibility in bovines. Experimental diet was composing by 50% of alfalfa silage and 50% of concentrate as dry matter basis. The experimental period had duration […]

An experiment was carried out under controlled conditions at the Embrapa Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, MG, aiming to study the efficiency of two commercial inoculants of Rhizobium meliloti on the development of alfalfa cultivars in a “;cerrado”; soil classified as Dark-Red Latossol (Oxisol). The experimental design was a randomized blocks, in a 3 x 4 factorial, with four replications and the following treatments: a) three alfalfa cultivars: Crioula, Crioula CNPGL and P30; b) two commercial inoculants and two checks […]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the carcass physical composition and meat quality of steers, straightbreds (Charolais – C and Nellore – N), and crossbreds from second (G2) (¾C ¼N and ¾N ¼C), third (G3) (5/8C 3/8N and 5/8N 3/8C) and fourth (G4) (11/16C 5/16N and 11/16N 5/16C) generation of rotational crossbreeding, feedlot finished with 52% corn silage plus 48% of concentrate in the diet. Crossbred steers were superior to the straightbreds mean for absolute weight of muscle, […]

An experiment was carried out to in two steps (the first was hormonal treatments and the other the larvae grow up phase) to determine the best ontogenic periods for larvae of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) regarding masculinization hormonal treatments with 17 a-methyltestosterone (MT) by immersion baths in 2.0 mg MT.L-1 solution for 36 hours. One thousand and two hundred larvae of Nile tilapia, from the same reproduction bunch, were allotted to 24 plastic containers with 0.5 L in a […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genotype x environment interaction for body weight at weaning (WW) and 12 months of age (W12), average daily gain from weaning to 12 months of age (ADG), and performance based on a principal components index (PC) involving these three traits, in a Canchim (5/8 Charolais + 3/8 Zebu) herd. The environment was the season (semester) of birth, and two methods were used to evaluate the genotype x environment interaction: Method 1 […]

Feed intake, partial and total digestibility and nitrogen balance were evaluated in confined steers. Three crossbreed steers, rumen and duodenum cannulated, were allotted to two 3 x 3 Latin square experimental design. The experimental diets were composed by corn silage (60%) and concentrate with sunflower meal as protein source and ground corn as energy source (MI). The ground corn was partially substituted by soybean hulls (CS) or by corn germ meal (FGM). Lignin and indigestible ADF (iADF), NDF (iNDF) and […]

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the use of animal by-products in broiler diets, formulated based on crude and ideal protein. The experimental design was a completely randomized in a factorial arrangement 2×2+1, with two animal protein sources (poultry viscera meal and bovine blood meal), two formulation concepts (based on crude and ideal protein) and a control diet based on corn and soybean meal, with four replications. The evaluated characteristics were weight gain, feed intake and feed: gain ratio. There […]