Herbage accumulation in Brachiaria brizantha cultivars submitted to defoliation intensities

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different grazing intensities on the accumulation of dry matter and morphological composition of Brachiaria brizantha cultivars. The treatment consisted of three cultivars of Brachiaria brizantha (Marandú, Xaraés and MG4) and four levels of defoliation (10, 20, 30 and 40 cm) in the period from August 2010 to July 2011. The experimental design was a randomized blocks with four replications in a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement. Cultivars showed significant behavior under different defoliation intensities as regards total dry matter and leaf accumulations, and percentage of dead material and canopy height. When subjected to different defoliation intensities, no significant effect was verified on stem accumulation, percentage of stems, forage density or leaf:stem ratio. Cultivars Marandú and Xaraés showed greater leaf accumulation, canopy height and higher leaf:stem ratio than cultivar MG4. The participation of green material in the dry matter and dry matter residue are highly influenced by defoliation intensity.