ABSTRACT

The use of grazing management strategies can influence canopy structure and the permanence of legumes. The objective of this work was to evaluate the determination of forage canopy heights as a grazing management strategy regarding herbage mass composition and tiller population dynamics in multispecies pastures comprising Megathyrsus maximus cv. Aruana and the legumes Macrotyloma axillare, Calopogonium mucunoides and Stylosanthes spp. Four treatments, defined by canopy heights of 15, 30, 45 and 60 cm, were evaluated in a randomised block design with four replications. The evaluations were performed under continuous stocking with sheep. Taller pastures (45 and 60 cm) contained greater (P < 0.05) total herbage mass of Aruana leaves and stems and also higher mass of legumes than smaller pastures (15 and 30 cm). The grass tiller population density was different between heights (P < 0.05) of 2.71, 2.02, 1.97 and 1.47 tillers/m² for heights of 15, 30, 45 and 60 cm, respectively. The tiller appearance rate was highest in tall pastures (P < 0.05) and the lowest rate and stability index were found in 15 cm pastures. Aruana guineagrass and forage legumes can be managed in the height range of 30–60 cm under continuous stocking.

摘要

放牧管理策略的使用可以影响树冠结构和豆科植物的持久性。这项工作的目的是评估草料冠层高度的确定作为放牧管理策略，涉及包括Megathyrsus maximus cv. 在内的多物种牧场中的牧草质量组成和分蘖种群动态。Aruana 和豆科植物Macrotyloma axillare、Calopogium mucunoides和Stylosanthes spp. 四种处理，根据冠层高度定义为 15、30、45 和 60 厘米，采用随机区组设计进行四次重复评估。评估是在连续放养绵羊的情况下进行的。较高的牧场（45 和 60 厘米）含有较多的 ( P < 0.05) Aruana 叶和茎的总牧草质量以及豆科植物的质量比较小的牧场（15 和 30 厘米）更高。草蘖种群密度在15、30、45和60 cm高度之间存在差异（ P  < 0.05），分别为2.71、2.02、1.97和1.47个分蘖/m ^{2 。}高草场分蘖出现率最高（P  < 0.05），15 cm草场分蘖出现率和稳定性指数最低。在连续放养的情况下，阿鲁阿几内亚草和饲料豆类的管理高度范围为 30-60 厘米。