Forage yield and quality in elephant grass cv. Pioneiro harvested at different cutting height sand times

• Published in: Semina. Ciências agrárias : revista cultural e científica da Universidade Estadual de Londrina Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 1017 - 1028
• Main Authors: Figueira, Danúbia Nogueira, Neumann, Mikael, Ueno, Robson Kyoshi, Galbeiro, Sandra, Bueno, Antônio Vinícius Iank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Londrina 26.04.2016
• Subjects: Estrutura física da forragem; Fibra em detergente neutro; Fibra em detergente ácido; Produção de massa de forragem; Proteína bruta
• ISSN: 1676-546X; 1679-0359
• DOI: 10.5433/1679-0359.2016v37n2p1017

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cutting height and harvest time on forage yield and quality in elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) cv. Pioneiro. Experimental plots were arranged in a randomized block split-plot design. The treatments consisted of four residual heights (30, 40, 50, and 60 cm)and three successive harvest times (January, March, and May 2011). There was a significant interaction between residual height and harvest time for the proportion of stems (P<0.05) and leaves (P<0.01) in the forage. A similar result was observed for fresh (P<0.01) and dry (P<0.01) forage yield at the first and third harvests. There was a quadratic relationship between dry forage yield and residual height, with a maximum yield of5738 kg ha-1ataresidual height of 50.17 cm in the second harvest. The increase in residual height from 30 to 60 cm, regardless of harvest time, reduced neutral detergent fiber (NDF)and acid detergent fiber (ADF) and increased crude protein content. Forage yield and quality were highest at 40-50 cm residual heights.