Desempenho de novilhos de recria submetidos a níveis de suplementação energética em pastagem de inverno

Abstract

Supplementation is a fundamental strategy for the supply of essential nutrients, especially in production systems where animals are kept under an exclusive grazing regime, aiming to meet their nutritional requirements. This study evaluated the inclusion of different levels of energy supplementation in the rearing of steers on winter pasture, with the objective of analyzing individual animal performance indices, animal productivity per area, in addition to pasture production indices. The experiment was conducted from April 2024 to October 2024, at the Beef Cattle Experimental Unit of the Federal Technological University of Paraná, Southwest region of Paraná, Brazil. Rearing steers of the Purunã breed with approximately 18 ± 3 months of age and approximately 276.8 kg of live weight were used on established pasture of dual-purpose wheat cv. BRS Tarumaxi (Triticum aestivum L.) and ryegrass (Lolium Multiflorum). The experimental arrangement consisted of a randomized block design with three replicates, where the animals received concentrate daily according to the treatments: control (mineral salt only); 0.4 (addition of 0.4% of live weight of energy supplementation); and 0.8 (addition of 0.8% of live weight of energy supplementation). The pasture remained similar (P>0.05) between treatments for the variables evaluated. Animal performance, although showing a numerical trend of increase with supplementation, did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference in ADG (ranging from 0.79 kg/day to 1.18 kg/day) or in GPV/ha/day (ranging from 3.57 to 5.96 kg/ha/day). It was concluded that the levels of energy supplementation tested, although numerically promising, were not sufficient to generate statistical differences in animal performance and pasture parameters.