Influence of low light intensity on growth and biomass allocation, leaf photosynthesis and canopy radiation interception and use in two forage species of Centrosema (DC.) Benth.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) monocropping have had a great socio-economic and environmental impact on the world and agroforestry systems has been considered an alternative for more sustainable production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different arrangements of agroforestry systems of the species E. urophylla x E. grandis and P. dubium and the pruning of the trees on the dynamics of solar radiation and soybean yield. A field experiment was conducted in Southern Brazil. In order to achieve the objective of the study, the solar radiation transmissivity and the productive performance of the soybean were evaluated. In this study, the soybean yield was determined by the arrangement of the agroforestry system and forest species utilized. The soybean crop cultivated in the understory of the P. dubium trees showed the highest yield response. The use of silvicultural practices for the management of forest species should be considered to generate the balance of the productive system. In this context, tree pruning is a viable side for agroforestry systems, as it promotes an increase in the incidence of solar radiation in the understory, resulting in an increase in soybean yield, especially when integrated with P. dubium.

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Dynamics of solar radiation and soybean yield in agroforestry systems

Growth was evaluated three tropical forage legumes in two cropping systems: silvopastoral system (SSP) and full sun. A completely randomized design was adopted in factorial three legumes (estilosanthes cv. Campo Grande ( Stylozanthes macrocephala x Stylozanthes capitata ), tropical kudzu ( Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth) and macrotiloma ( Macrotyloma axillare cv. Java )) x two farming systems, with 4 repetitions. A eucalyptus SSP already deployed, with spatial arrangement of 12 x 2 m between trees was used. Legumes were planted in January 2014 a uniform cut being made in May 2014. The court assessment was carried out 125 days after the uniformity cut. There was difference for mass production of dry legumes (PMMSL) between cultivation systems, evidencing increased productivity in the farming full sun. The macrotiloma showed higher PMSL (5.29 kg DM ha -1 cut -1 ), while the kudzu obtained the lowest yield (3.42 kg DM ha -1 cut -1 ) in the sun growing full. The cultivation of legumes in SSP increased the levels of mineral matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber. The shade provided by the SSP caused a reduction in the mass of dry matter production, but also altered the chemical composition of the studied legumes.

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Growing tropical forage legumes in full sun and silvopastoral systems

This study aimed to evaluate the production of Mombasa grass cultivation under two different systems: monoculture and silvopastoral, with heights of 70, 80, 90, and 100 cm. Two seasons were evaluated: rainy period (December to March) and rain/drought transition (March to June). The variables evaluated were: total dry mass (TDM), dry mass (DM) of the morphological components, number of tillers, efficiency of nitrogen use, DM content, number of harvest cycles and cutting intervals. The experimental design was a randomized block design with five replications. The monoculture system presented the highest yields of TDM, number of tillers and DM of the morphological components in the two evaluated periods. The main variable affected by shading was the number of tillers per area, which directly affects all variables linked to production. In addition to the type of system, the time of the year also influenced the production of DM of the grass. The evaluation of grass productivity in silvopastoral system evidenced that the plant tends to respond differently to cutting management when compared to the monoculture system. In the monoculture system, the recommended height for greater TDM yield and better leaf/stem ratio in the rainy period and the rainy/drought transition period was 80 cm, maintaining the residue height at 40 cm. As for SSP, cutting height of 70 cm presented the highest TDM and leaf/stem ratio for the two evaluated periods, maintaining the residue height at 40 cm.

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Cutting Height of Mombasa Grass Under Silvopastoral and Monoculture Systems

Protein nutrition plays a key role in ruminant performance and represents the largest proportion of costs in animal feed. The present study evaluated whether the roughage portion of Santa Ines sheep diets could be supplemented with different ratios of tropical kudzu as a protein source and assessed the best inclusion level of tropical kudzu based on digestibility, intake, nitrogen balance and feeding behavior. Twenty rams were evaluated during the 20-day experimental period, and they were fed formulated diets with a roughage portion (60%) consisting of Elephant grass and tropical kudzu, the latter supplemented at different concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 75% on a dry matter basis). Forty percent of the concentrate portion consisted primarily of ground corn and soybean meal adjusted to obtain an isoproteic diet. Chemical and bromatological analyses, as well as, analyses to assess intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance and feeding behavior, were conducted. No statistically significant differences were found (P>0.05) for the intake and digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), hemicellulose (HEMI), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) or for the feeding behavior (feeding, rumination and idle times in h/day) and nitrogen balance between the diets studied. Thus, tropical kudzu can be considered a feed alternative to supplementation with prime protein foods (in this case, soybean meal) in sheep diets.

Tropical kudzu as a protein source in sheep diets

The objective of this study was to evaluate the composition of calcium, phosphorus and potassium, and the leaf: stem ratio of four tropical forage legumes: Calopogonium mucunoides (calopo), Pueraria phaseoloides (puero), Macrotyloma axillare (archer) and Neonotonia wightii (perennial soybean), under different levels of arti?cial shade (0, 30, 50 and 70%) in the summer and autumn seasons of 2006 and 2007, respectively. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in factorial 4x4 design with four replications. Was used SNK test at 5% probability to evaluate the effect of the legume species 1

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Composição mineral de leguminosas forrageiras cultivadas sob diferentes níveis de sombreamento Mineral composition of legumes for ages cultivated under different levels of shade

Tatiana Oliveira da Silva

Papers

Composição mineral de leguminosas forrageiras cultivadas sob diferentes níveis de sombreamento Mineral composition of legumes for ages cultivated under different levels of shade