Methods of standardization of body weight for 205, 365 and 550 days of age were compared. It was used information of animals of the Nellore breed, raised in the Northeast Brazil, and controlled by the Brazilian Zebu Breeders Association (ABCZ). The following methods were compared: MET1 – used by ABCZ; MET2 – individual curves of linear regression for each animal; MET3 – individual curves of quadratic regression; MET4 – individual Brody curve; MET5 – used by the Program of Genetic […]

In order to select the model of the lactation curve that has the best adjustment for milk production records of Holstein cows in the Minas Gerais State, a total of 157,932 test day of 17,150 lactations from 305,506 test day of 56,422 lactations, from 1990 to 1996, provided by the milk recording service of the ACGHMG (Holstein Breed Association of Minas Gerais), were used. The data were adjusted for: region, management level, year -season of calving, COPI (parity and age […]

The objective of this study was to investigate, via simulated data, the effect of heterogeneity of residual variance among contemporary groups (CG) on genetic evaluation of beef cattle, and to compare a weighted genetic evaluation procedure (R¹Ise2) with one that assumes homogeneity of variances (R = Ise2). Different data sets of postweaning weight gain, adjusted to 345 days, were simulated with and without heterogeneity of residual variance, using a phenotypic variance of 300 kg2 and a true heritability of 0.4. […]

This work had the purpose to characterize the tillering and biomass accumulation dynamic, phenology and anatomic aspects. The experiment was conducted in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, in which six plants were harvested every 15 days, between 21/10/99 to 21/04/00, in a completely randomized design. The times were accounted using units of growing degree-days (DD), calculated as the sum of the daily mean temperatures (threshold temperature = 0ºC). Transverse hand sections were used to observe the anatomic characteristics of […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of the diet by cows grazing in natural pastures, in a typical area of Nhecolândia sub-region, Pantanal, during two hydrological years: from October 1997 to September 1999. Grazed forage species samples, representative of the animals’ diet, were collected manually in each month. All forage samples were analyzed for crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and lignin (LIG). Near infrared spectrofotometry (NIRS) was used to […]

This study aimed to identify the botanical composition of the diet of cattle extensively raised on native grasslands in the Pantanal wetland through the fecal microhystological technique, on a characteristic area of the subregion of Nhecolândia, from October/97 to September/99, and to verify the variation as affected by month, season, year and physiological condition of cows. A set of 726 microhystological slides was prepared, each slide being an observational unit. Based on distribution of maximum occurrence values of each species/slide […]

The objective of this research was to evaluate the forage yield, crude protein (CP) contents and dry matter (DM) in vitro digestibility of five forage sorghum hybrids (AG-2002, AG-2005E, AG-X202, AG-X213 e AG-X215), cultivated under four NPK fertilization levels. A randomized blocks design, in a 5 x 4 factorial scheme, with four replicates, was used. The evaluated hybrids showed high average DM/ha yield and positive linear answer in function of fertilization, except for the high productivity (15.47 t/ha) in the […]

Factors that limit the digestion of tropical forages are associated to the dynamic of cell wall phenolic acids. The study of these compounds in forages may be facilitated by the availability of sensible methods that permit processing large amounts of samples. The present paper describes a method for determining phenolic acids in forage cell wall through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Sugar cane bagasse, elephant grass and cassava leaves were used as experimental samples. To remove soluble low molecular weight products, […]

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the average daily liveweight gain (ADLG), number of animal.days/ha (AD/ha) and liveweight gain/ha (LG/ha), in a Tanzaniagrass pasture deferred in different sward heights in the autumn and after managed in different sward height conditions, during the winter period. A completely randomized design was used. The treatments were four levels of sward height: T1=20, T2=40, T3=60 and T4=80 cm. However, the average sward height levels maintained in a pasture was used for the statistical analysis, […]

In an area adjacent to trials conducted by Braz et al. (2001) another area was fenced to evaluate the degradation of piles feces liberated by the cattle and the influence of nutrients liberated to the forage on the nutrients production and concentrations. Fifty piles feces were collected immediately after excretion by the animal and maintained in the field for periods of 7, 14, 28, 56 and 112 days of incubation. It was observed a continuous and high variation in the […]