Hemarthria altissima and stargrass Cynodon nlemfuensis with forage accumulation in the region of Campos Gerais, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

With the objective of reducing stress of growing calves, an experiment was conducted from 1982 to 1984 in the region of Campos Gerais, State of Paraná, Brazil, with the following treatments: pasture of Hemarthria altissima, var. “roxinha” without standing hay; pasture of Hemarthria (roxinha) plus standing hay of the same “roxinha”; and pasture of “roxinha” plus standing hay of stargrass IPEAME. The experimental design was the complete randomized blocks method with four replications, with the adoption of the put-and-take method. H. altissima plus standing hay of stargrass IPEAME showed strong effects on live weight (LWG) gains per animal and per hectare, giving an average of 340 g/head/day and 360 kg/ha/year of LWG. H. altissima plus standing hay of the same grass showed gains of 244 g/head/day and 296 kg/ha/year of LWG, not significantly different from the gains of 241 g/head/day and 293 kg/ha/year of LWG produced by the animals that grazed only H. altissima “roxinha”.