Morfometria, biomassa de forragem e ensilagem de BRS capiaçu no município de Areia - PB

Abstract

The basis of the diet of ruminants is constituted mainly by grasses, making it necessary for these plants to express the maximum of their potential to produce biomass and nutrients. Thus, the study sought to evaluate morphometric responses and productive performance of the BRS Capiaçu cultivar submitted to different cutting ages after planting, as well as to evaluate the effect of the use of different additives on the qualitative characteristics of BRS Capiaçu silage in the Municipality of Areia PB. The study was carried out through 2 experiments, conducted at the Federal University of Paraíba, in the municipality of Areia - PB. In experiment 1, a completely randomized design was adopted, with four treatments and three replications (silos), totaling 12 experimental units. The four treatments consisted of Elephant grass BRS Capiaçu, Elephant grass + ground corn, Elephant grass + ground corn + urea and Elephant grass + complete feed. The grass was cut and ensiled after 100 days of growth. The silos were opened with 60 days of ensiling. In the second experiment, a completely randomized design was adopted, with four cutting ages (60, 70, 80 and 90 days) and 4 replications, totaling 16 experimental plots. There was a dominance of lactic acid-forming bacteria in relation to the other microbial groups evaluated in the silages, with a predominance in the silages with higher pH. Ensiled elephant grass alone provided greater effluent losses. Only in the treatment with elephant grass, corn and urea did Ammonia Nitrogen exceeded 1.32%, that is, the silages showed low protein losses via secondary fermentations. There was no loss of stability up to 120 hours for silages with elephant grass and feed. All treatments presented dry matter content below 20%. The Crude Protein value varied between treatments, where the addition of urea provided higher levels. The Fiber content in Neutral Detergent content was higher in the control treatment and lower in the elephant grass and ground corn treatments. Cutting height positively influenced plant height, green and dry forage mass, and negatively influenced the leaf:stem ratio, because although the height is greater the greater the age, there is also a greater elongation of the culms, reducing this proportion. The use of additives, such as ground corn and complete ration in the silage of Grass elephant cv. BRS Capiaçu, improves its fermentative and microbiological profile and increases aerobic stability, minimizing losses. Grass cutting age directly affects forage morphology and biomass.