Abstract
This study evaluated the influences of nitrogen fertilizer and energy supplementation cattle on the growth performance of beef cattle. This study was conducted at the Federal University of Technology of Paraná, Dois Vizinhos through continuous grazing on 6.3 ha, divided into nine paddocks. The treatments were: Alexander grass +100 kg ha−1 of N (N100); Alexander grass + 100 kg ha−1 of N + 0.5 kg per 100 kg of weight live supplementation of wheat bran (N100S); and Alexander grass +200 kg ha−1 of N (N200), with an average herbage allowance of 10% for all treatments. Crossbred and non-castrated steers with an average weight of 276 ± 41 kg were used for 107 days. The crude protein from entire plant differed (P < 0.05) between treatments, with the greater value (14.8%) occurring in the N200, and the lesser value (13.3%) occurring in the N100S. The herbage accumulation rate was greater (P < 0.05) in the N200 (55.7 DM ha−1 d−1) than that in the N100S and N100 (40.0 and 39.7 kg DM ha−1 d−1, respectively). The N100S produced greater (P < 0.05) average daily weight gains (0.815 kg animal day−1) than did the N200 (0.685 kg animal day−1) and N100 treatments (0.727 kg animal day−1).
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Adami, P. F., Soares, A. B., Assmann, T. S., Assmann, A. L., Sartor, L. R., Pitta, C. S. R., and Migliorini, F. 2010. Dynamic of a papuã pasture under two grazing intensities and two nitrogen levels. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia. 39, 2569–2577.
Andrews, M.; Raven, J.A.; Lea, P.J. 2013. Do plants need nitrate? The mechanisms by which nitrogen form affects plants. Annals of Applied Biology. 163, 174–199.
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. 2006. EMBRAPA. Sistema brasileiro de classificação do solo. 2.ed. Rio de Janeiro, Embrapa Solos, 306p.
Canadian Council on Animal Care. 1993. Guide to the care and use of experimental animals. Vol. 1. E. D. Olfert, B. M. Cross, and A. A. McWilliams, eds. 2nd ed. CCAC, Ottawa, ON. Available from http://www.ccac.ca/Documents/Standards/Guidelines/Experimental_Animals_Vol1.pdf [Accessed: 25 april 2014].
Costa, R.R.G.F.; Costa, K.A.P.; Santos, C.B.; Severiano, E.C.; Epifanio, P.S.; Silva, J.T.; Teixeira, D.A.A.; Silva, V.R. 2016. Production and nutritional characteristics of pearl millet and Paiaguas palisadegrass under different forage systems and sowing periods in the offseason. African Journal of Agricultural Research. 11, 1712–1723.
De Bona, F.D., Schmidt, F., Monteiro, F.A. 2013. Importance of the nitrogen source in the grass species Brachiaria brizantha responses to sulfur limitation. Plant and Soil. 373, 201–216.
Dierking, R. M., Kallenbach R. L., and Grun, I. U. 2010. Effect of forage species on fatty acid content and performance of pasture-finished steers. Meat Science. 85, 597–605.
Fernandes, R.M., de Almeida, C.M., Carvalho, B.C., Neto, J.A.A., Mota, V.A.C., de Resende, F.D., and Siqueira, G.R. 2016. Effect of supplementation of beef cattle with different protein levels and degradation rates during transition from the dry to rainy season. Tropical Animal Health Production. 48, 95–101.
Fonseca, L., Mezzalira, J.C., Bremm, C., Filho, R.S.A., Gonda, H.L., and Carvalho P.C.F. 2012. Management targets for maximising the short-term herbage intake rate of cattle grazing in Sorghum bicolor. Livestock Science 145, 205–211.
Goering, K.H., Van Soest, P.J. 1970. Forage fiber analysis (apparatus, reagents, procedures, and some application). Washington, D.C.: US Department of Agriculture, 379p. (Agricultural Handbook).
Hodgson, J. 1990. Grazing management. Science into practice. Essex: Longman England. 203p.
Klingman, D.L., Miles, S.R., and Mott, G.O. 1943. The cage method for determining consumption and yield of pasture herbage. American Society Agronomy Journal. 35, 739–746.
Moore, J.E.; Brant, M.H.; Kunkle, W.E.; and Hopkins, D.I. 1999. Effects of supplementation on voluntary forage intake, diet digestibility, and animal performance. Journal Animal Science 82 (Suppl. 2), 122–135.
Mott, G.O., Lucas, H.L., 1952. The desing, conduct, and interpretation of grazing trials on cultivated and improved pastures. In: Proceedings of the INTERNAT IONAL GRASSLAND CONGRESS, 1952 (Pennsylvania State College Press), 1380–1385.
Oliveira, C.C., Villela, S.D.J., Almeida, R.G., Alves, F.V., Behling-Neto, A., and Martins, P.G.M.A. 2014. Performance of Nellore heifers, forage mass, and structural and nutritional characteristics of Brachiaria brizantha grass in integrated production systems. Tropical Animal Health Production 46, 167–172.
Salvador, P.R., Pötter, L., Rocha, M.G., Hundertmarck, A.P., Sichonany, M.J.O., Amaral Neto, L.G., Negrini, M., and Moterle, P.H. 2016. Sward structure and nutritive value of Alexander grass fertilized with nitrogen. Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. 88, 385–395.
Sánchez-Ken, J.G. 2011. Two new species of Urochloa (Paniceae; Panicoideae; Poaceae) from Western Mexico and the updated checklist with a key to species of the genus in Mexico. Systematic Botany. 36, 621–630.
Santana, M.C.A., Euclides, V.B.P., Mancio, A.B., Medeiros, S.R., Costa, J.A.R., and Oliveira, R.A. 2013. Intake and performance of yearling steers grazing guineagrass (Panicum maximum cv. Tanzânia) pasture supplemented with different energy sources. Asian-Australians Journal of Animal Science. 26, 349–357.
Santos, G.T., Cavalieri, F.L.B., Modesto, E.C., 2001. Recentes avanços em nitrogênio não protéico na nutrição vacas leiteiras. In: Proceedings of the Sinleite - Novos Conceitos em Nutrição, 2001, Lavras, Universidade Federal de Lavras, 225–248.
Sartor, L.R., Assmann, T.S., Soares, A.B., Adami, P.F., Assmann, A.L., and Pitta, C.S.R. 2011. Nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency, recovery and leaching of an Alexander grass pasture. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo. 35, 899–906.
Sichonany, M.J.O., da Rocha, M.G., Pötter, L., de Oliveira, A.P.B.B., Ribeiro, L. A., da Silva, M.F., and Salvador, P.R. 2015. Ingestive behavior of heifers in Alexandergrass pasture receiving different amounts of oat grain as supplement. Semina: Ciências Agrárias, 36, 2763–2774.
Tilley, J.M.A., and Terry, R.A. 1963. A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal British Grassland Society. 18, 104–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2494.1963.tb00335.x.
Van Soest, P.V., Robertson, J.B., and Lewis, B.A. 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber and polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science. 74, 3583–3597.
Wilm, H.G., Costello, D.F., and Klipple, G.E. 1944. Estimating forage yield by the double-sampling methods. Journal American Society Agronomy. 36, 194–203.
Wright, A. M., Andrae, J. G., Rosso, C. F., Miller, M. C., Pavan, E., Bridges, W., & Duckett, S. K. (2015). Effect of forage type with or without corn supplementation on animal performance, beef fatty acid composition, and palatability. Journal of animal Science, 93, 5047–5058.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Animal studies
All animal studies have been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.
The manuscript does not contain clinical studies.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Venturini, T., de Menezes, L.F.G., Montagner, M.M. et al. Influences of nitrogen fertilization and energy supplementation for growth perfomance of beef cattle on Alexander grass. Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 1757–1762 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1389-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1389-2