Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

planted in association with A. pintoi CIAT 18744 cv. Porvenir and C.
brasilianum CIAT 5234.
Forage availability (dry basis) and botanical composition of both
pastures (alone and associated) were determined using the Botanal method.
A group of 26 milking cows of different breeds—predominantly Brown
Swiss—and weighing, on average, 450 kg were used; a Brahman bull was
also included. This group grazed the 2 hectares of sole cropped pasture for 4
consecutive days and the associated pasture for 5 days. Milk production
was measured on days 1 and 4 in the sole cropped pasture and on days 1,
3, and 5 in the associated pasture. The production of both groups was
compared with that obtained by cows grazing pastures sown to B.
ruziziensis, the grass traditionally used on farms.
During the rainy season, pastures were rotated; the grazing cycle
consisted of 4 or 5 days of occupation and 27 days of rest. During the dry
season, grazing was continuous.
The Student’s (t) test (Steel and Torrie, 1988) was used to compare milk
production averages. The averages of cows grazing the sole cropped pasture
were compared with the averages of cows kept on the native pasture and
with those of cows grazing the associated pasture. The stocking rates of the
native pasture, the sole cropped pasture, and the associated pasture were
calculated using the method proposed by Paladines and Lascano (1983),
which takes into account animal units and grazing system.
Results
Forage availability and botanical composition. Table 1 presents
mean DM availability and botanical composition of both pastures during the
rainy season over three consecutive periods. The percentage of C.
brasilianum found in the associated pasture is so low that it was included in
the percentage of legumes present in the associated pasture.
Forage availability was found to increase in pastures under recovery as
the trial advanced. At the beginning of the trial, forage availability in these
pastures was 3 t/ha, increasing to 6.3 t/ha in late 1999 in the sole cropped
pasture with improved grasses and to 7.1 t/ha in the associated pasture.
This clearly shows the benefits of the method used to recovery these
pastures.
Increased forage availability is reflected in the increased stocking rate of
pastures, which in the case of native pastures was 1.5 AU/ha compared
with 2.0 AU/ha for the sole cropped pasture and 2.4 AU/ha for the
50