Produção de forragem e características estruturais de genótipos de trevo vesiculoso no sudoeste do Paraná

Abstract

The use of forage plants is crucial for the production of ruminants. Plant genetic improvement is an alternative to enhance these forages, making them more adapted and capable of expressing their potential to maximize productive gains. Thus, the work developed aimed to evaluate the productivity of five different genotypes of Trifolium vesiculosum, namely, 1100, 1109, 1110, BRS Piquete, and Zulu cultivars, developed by Embrapa Clima Temperado. The study was conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Federal Technological University of Paraná, Dois Vizinhos campus. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with five treatments and four repetitions, totaling 20 plots measuring 8 m² each. Planting was carried out in May 2025, using 10 kg of seeds per hectare. The seeds were sown in rows, manually, in each plot. The forage production (kg of DM/ha), leaf and stem production were evaluated (kg DM ha-1), and the leaf/stem ratio, through cuts made when the average of the plot reaches a height of 25 to 30 cm. After the cut, two sub-samples were taken, one for determining the DM content and the other for structural separation. The obtained data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means, when different, were compared by the Tukey test at a 5% significance level. There was no significant interaction between the genotypes for the evaluated variables.