Abstract 503

Velloso,-L; Strazzacappa,-W; Procknor,-M

Boletim-de-Industria-Animal. 1982, 39: 2, 107-116; 18 ref.

Production of green material and DM per ha pasture in winter after growth for, on average, 240, 300 or 360 days was considerable, but quality was poor, with DM increasing progressively from 36.7 to 61.9% and crude protein declining from 3.0 to 2.4 and 2.6% of DM and crude fibre increasing from 41.5 to 44.1% of DM. Freshly chopped grass from the pasture was supplied freely twice daily in 3 digestibility trials to 3 Holstein X zebu bulls initially about 2 years old, given also water and mineral mixture. Intakes of nutrients and apparent digestibility coefficients are shown for grass of the 3 ages tested. Mean digestible protein in DM decreased from 0.55% at 240 days to 0% thereafter, and TDN from 51.37 to 38.26 and 46.00%. It was concluded that jaragua grass pasture of up to 240 days' growth could be grazed as an auxiliary maintenance forage, but could never, in winter, sustain meat or milk production.