Efeito da altura da pastagem na composição bromatológica do cultivar BRS Kurumi (Pennisetum purpureum Schum)

Abstract

Pastures are economically and scientifically important, since Brazilian livestock farming is based on pastures. In recent years, several genetically improved cultivars have been launched in search of a “miracle” forage, including BRS Kurumi (Pennisetum purpureum Schum). Therefore, knowing the nutritional quality and productivity of grass is of utmost importance for the production of beef and/or milk and, consequently, for the country’s economy. The nutritional value of a cultivar is commonly determined by means of bromatological analyses, but there are also structural characteristics of the plant body that interfere with the quality of the forage and are directly linked to bromatology. Based on the hypothesis that the life cycle of forages alters the tissues, this study had as its main objective to interrelate the bromatological composition and the deposition of plant tissues, allowing the verification of the nutritional quality of the cultivar and to be able to recommend management based on the interrelationship of the data. For this purpose, the forage grass cultivated at the Experimental Farm of the Federal Technological University of Paraná, in Dois Vizinhos-Paraná, was collected using a ruler and scissors in the grazable extract. After collection, sampling was performed and subsequently milled to 1 mm and from these samples values of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin and hemicellulose were obtained. With the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that the height and age of BRS Kurumi grass alter its nutritional value and, therefore, pasture height management is directly related to forage quality and consequently to animal performance.