Productivity of aboveground and protein value forage legume species, cultured in the cerrado tocantinense

Abstract

In areas of savanna soils naturally low in nutrients because of their training process, together with poor management can further accentuate the deficiency of nutrients, especially nitrogen, which limits the production of pastures in these regions. The supply of N to forage is a way to minimize this problem, and one of the forms of N supply in the system is the use of legumes that perform the fixation of atmospheric N and transfers to the plant, increasing production and food quality. This study was conducted to evaluate biomass production and protein value of legumes as fodder. The experiment was conducted in the rainy season. The design was a randomized block design with four replications and three species of legumes (Labe, Labe, and Calopo Estilozantes) as treatments. The variables were biomass, fresh weight, N content in plant tissues, protein CP and neutral detergent fiber digestive NDF. In the production of fresh herbage and NDF, the Labe, Labe was the legume showed better results because it presents a longer growth cycle than the other species, the estilozantes was the plant that had a higher protein value, showing a good alternative for animal consumption.