ABSTRACT Grasses of the Brachiaria genus are widely used as cover crops in no-tillage areas of the Brazilian Cerrado. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of six Brachiaria cultivars to produce shoot and root biomass, and the potential of the root system to grow through a 0.01 m thick wax layer with 1.5 MPa penetration resistance. The plants were grown in PVC columns with a diameter of 0.1 m and a height of 0.7 m. The column was divided […]

ABSTRACT Diversifying pastures with forage legumes may reduce nitrogen fertilization due to biological N fixation. This study aimed to quantify forage accumulation rate and macronutrients extraction and to identify the best intercropping combination between butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) – a legume, and three warm-season forage grasses of different growth habits (signalgrass – Urochloa decumbunes, Guinea grass – Mega thyrsus maximus, and bermudagrass Cynodon dactylon). Treatments consisted of mixes of perennial herbaceous legume, butterfly pea (twining stem), with grasses, signalgrass (decumbent […]

ABSTRACT Improper management of rangelands can cause land degradation and reduce the economic efficiency of livestock activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil properties and quantify plant biomass production in four natural rangeland management systems in the Santa Catarina Plateau (Planalto Catarinense) of Brazil. The treatments, which included mowed natural rangeland (NR), burned natural rangeland (BR), natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after harrowing (IH), and natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant […]

Nitrogen usually determines the productive potential of forage crops, although it is highly unstable in the environment. Studies on recovery rates and use efficiency are important for more reliable fertilizer recommendations to reduce costs and avoid environmental pollution. The purpose of this study was to evaluate N use efficiency and recovery rate of Alexandergrass pasture (Brachiaria – Syn. Urochloa plantaginea) as well as N-NO3– and N-NH4+ soil concentrations using different levels of N fertilization under two grazing intensities. The experiment […]