Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos

Bio: Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos is an academic researcher from Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. The author has contributed to research in topics: Forage & Pennisetum purpureum. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 182 publications receiving 1690 citations. Previous affiliations of Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos include Universidade Federal de Viçosa & Federal University of Pernambuco.

Potential of Caatinga forage plants in ruminant feeding

Abstract: Caatinga is the most important biome for the livestock in the Brazilian semi-arid region. This review paper aimed to present information on different forage aspects of caatinga vegetation for ruminant feeding. Caatinga vegetation is formed mainly by shrubs and small trees, usually presenting thorns, deciduous leaves, and leaf abscission occurring frequently at the onset of the dry season. Additional components of the botanical composition in this biome includes the families cactaceae, bromeliaceae, and a herbaceous component formed by grasses, legumes, and forbs, often presenting annual cycle. Quantitative information of caatinga vegetation is scarce in the literature, mainly for the herbaceous stratum. Methodological aspects such as lack of standardization across evaluations make comparison regarding forage potential of caatinga plant species difficult. Index species must be identified within each caatinga type. Quantitative aspects of biological N2 fixation by caatinga species have not been extensively studied. Regarding forage nutritive value, it is necessary to study N availability for ruminants in caatinga plants, since large proportion of this element may bind to fiber components (ADIN). Manipulation of caatinga vegetation is an alternative to change forage quantity and quality for grazing animals, affecting their performance as a result. Studies measuring qualitative and quantitative variability of native forage resources from caatinga are mandatory in order to improve animal feeding management, with the ultimate goal of creating sustainable animal production based on caatinga vegetation.

Local knowledge about fodder plants in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil

Abstract: This study evaluated local knowledge of the fodder plants of the Caatinga in northeast Brazil (seasonal dry forest). Specifically, the goal was to catalog local knowledge regarding the use of native and exotic forage plants in two rural communities located in the state of Paraiba (northeast Brazil), to provide information for nutritional investigations and to verify how the knowledge of these resources is distributed. The communities were followed for three consecutive years, and interviews were conducted with 44 families (20 men and 24 women). Nine of these individuals were determined by the snowball technique to be key informants who held more specific knowledge about the topic. The data were structured into a database and statistically analyzed. Overall, 136 plants from 37 families and 113 genera were cited, and the knowledge of men was at a higher level than that of women (p < 0.05). Participants demonstrated a sophisticated knowledge of nutritional characteristics such as nutritional value, palatability, availability and productivity. Native plants were highlighted over the exotic, especially for species of the families Cactaceae, Bromeliaceae and Fabaceae. The great diversity of plants cited by the informants demonstrates the potential of local vegetation and the importance of traditional knowledge in the research process and in the characterization of forage resources. This diversity also favors the selection of promising species for future biotechnological investigations.

Caracterização da vegetação de Caatinga e da dieta de novilhos no Sertão de Pernambuco

Abstract: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a composicao botânica, a disponibilidade e a qualidade da forragem e da dieta de animais fistulados alimentados na Caatinga, no periodo chuvoso, em Pernambuco. Avaliaram-se a composicao botânica e a disponibilidade de fitomassa dos estratos herbaceo, arbustivo e arboreo, nos meses de marco e junho. A avaliacao da qualidade da forragem foi feita por meio da analise bromatologica, realizada em todos os meses do periodo chuvoso. Foram encontradas 67 especies, das quais 28 herbaceas, 20 arbustivas e 19 arboreas. Destas, 19 foram encontradas na dieta dos animais. A disponibilidade de fitomassa do componente herbaceo variou de 1.369 kg ha-1 de materia seca (MS), em marco, para 452 kg ha-1 de MS em junho. A disponibilidade do estrato arbustivo aproximou-se do herbaceo, enquanto o componente arboreo contribuiu com apenas 178 kg ha-1 de MS. Apesar de a disponibilidade de fitomassa ser relativamente alta, apenas uma pequena porcentagem do material encontrado pode ser considerada como forragem. Foi observada baixa digestibilidade da proteina, provavelmente em consequencia do alto teor em lignina.

Produtividade e composição química de gramíneas tropicais na Zona da Mata de Pernambuco

Abstract: O trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar o potencial produtivo e a composicao quimica de cinco gramineas tropicais (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cv. Pioneiro, P. purpureum Schum cv. Mott; Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Mombaca, P. maximum Jacq cv. Tanzânia e Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst) Stapf. cv. Marandu). Os cortes foram realizados em intervalos de 35 dias e a 40 cm do solo. O cultivar Pioneiro apresentou maior producao de MS (7,35 t/ha/35 dias), quando comparado aos cultivares Mott (5,28 t/ha/35 dias) e Tanzânia (5,23 t/ha/35 dias), nao diferindo dos demais. Brachiaria brizantha apresentou maior numero de perfilhos totais (538,72/m²), entretanto o peso dos perfilhos axilares foi inferior ao dos demais cultivares. Os cultivares de P. purpureum apresentaram maior perfilhamento axilar e menor perfilhamento basal, quando comparados aos cultivares de P. maximum. Os teores de PB variaram de 6,96 a 10,2%, tendo o cultivar Pioneiro apresentado o maior valor. As analises de FDN e FDA nao evidenciaram diferencas entre as forrageiras avaliadas, obtendo-se valores medios de 73,83 e 39,20%, respectivamente. No intervalo de corte avaliado, as forrageiras apresentaram elevada proporcao de folhas (> 80%), mostrando potencial para utilizacao em exploracoes pecuarias na Zona da Mata de Pernambuco.

Seleção de clones de palma forrageira resistentes à cochonilha-do-carmim (Dactylopius sp)

Abstract: Visando selecionar clones de palma forrageira resistentes a cochonilha-do-carmim, realizou-se um experimento em casa de vegetacao no periodo de setembro de 2001 a janeiro de 2002. A partir de infestacao artificial com a cochonilha, foram testados 20 clones de palma forrageira, em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repeticoes. Foram observadas a fixacao de colonias sobre os cladodios e a porcentagem de cladodios infestados, por meio de uma escala de notas variando de 0 a 5. Os clones que apresentaram maior resistencia ao ataque da praga foram Miuda e Orelha de Elefante.

Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle

Abstract: Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle , Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo

Abstract: Resumen en: The aim of this study was a survey of the estimated costs of soil erosion, an issue of fundamental importance in view of the current worldwide discussion...

방목 초지관리 ( Grazing Management )

Abstract:  Image 1 outlines the different ‘strata’ or pastures proportions referred to in the descriptions of PUP grazing management.  Making an informed decision about pasture allocation is centred around quantifying what is on offer both in terms of quantity and quality.  The amount of kikuyu consumed by a milking cow is primarily dictated by the quantity on offer. However, pasture factors that also influence intake are: o the height of the pasture o the amount of previous faecal and urine residual contamination o the quality of the pasture consumed Grazing Kikuyu using PUP

Evolution of hypsodonty in equids: testing a hypothesis of adaptation

Abstract: The independent acquisition of high-crowned cheek teeth (hypsodonty) in several un- gulate lineages (e.g., camels, equids, rhinoceroses) in the early to middle Miocene of North America has classically been used as an indication that savanna vegetation spread during this time. Implicit in this interpretation is the untested assumption that hypsodonty was an evolutionary response to feeding in open habitats, either due to a change in food source (from browse to graze) or to in- creased incorporation of airborne grit in the diet. I examined the adaptive explanation for hypso- donty in equids using criteria pertaining to process and pattern of adaptations set up in the com- parative-methods literature. Specifically, I tested whether hypsodonty appeared coincident with or just after the spread of open, grass-dominated habitats in the Great Plains of North America. Phytolith (plant opal) analysis of 99 phytolith assemblages extracted from sediment samples from Montana/Idaho, Nebraska/Wyoming, and Colorado were used to establish the first contin- uous record of middle Eocene-late Miocene vegetation change in the northern to Central Great Plains. This record was compared with the fossil record of equids from the same area in a phy- logenetic framework. The study showed that habitats dominated by C 3 grasses were established in the Central Great Plains by early late Arikareean ($21.9 Ma), at least 4 Myr prior to the emergence of hypsodont equids (Equinae). Nevertheless, the adaptive hypothesis for hypsodonty in equids could not be rejected, because the earliest savanna-woodlands roughly co-occurred with members of the grade constituting the closest outgroups to Equinae (''Parahippus'') showing mesodont dentition. Expla- nations for the slow evolution of full hypsodonty may include weak and changing selection pres- sures and/or phylogenetic inertia. These results suggest that care should be taken when using func- tional morphology alone to reconstruct habitat change.