Effects of pasture recuperation times on forage yield and bromatologic composition of Acacia angustissima

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with the purpose of determining the best time for pasture recuperation and utilization of the forage accumulated of Acacia angustissima for herd supplementation during dry season. The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks (split-plot) with three replicates. The periods of stockpiling began on February 28, March 28 and April 28 and constituted the main plots; and the utilization months (June 30, July 30, August 30 and September 30), the subplots.  The months of deferment and utilization affected significantly (P<.05) dry matter (DM) yields and the chemical composition of the forage legume. The data indicate the feasibility of legume stockpiled, to provide forage with rich quality in dry season. For the stockpiled in February, higher dry matter (DM) yields were obtained with utilization in September or August; for the stockpiled in March, utilization in September was the most productive, which did not differ (P<.05) of utilization in August, while stockpiled in April, September utilization provided the higher MS yields, which did not differ (P<.05) to them obtained with utilization in August or July. For utilizations in June or July, the stockpiled in February or March provided the higher DM yields (P<.05), while for utilization in August and September, stockpiled in February provided the most DM yields (P<.05). The stockpiled in March or April, irrespective to utilization time, showed higher N, P, K. Ca and K concentrations. In order to obtain greater forage yields with better quality, it is suggested that recuperation begin in February or March for forage legume utilization in July, August and September.