Effect of the integrated livestock–forest system on recovery of trichostrongylid nematode infective larvae from sheep

• Published in: Agroforestry systems Vol. 90; no. 2; pp. 305 - 311
• Main Authors: Faria, Eduardo Ferreira, Lopes, Luciano Bastos, dos Reis Krambeck, Daniela, dos Santos Pina, Douglas, Campos, Artur Kanadani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: adults; Agriculture; Agroforestry; anemia; anthelmintics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; control methods; Dry matter; eggs; Feces; field experimentation; forage; Forestry; Gastroenteritis; gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal tract; Grasses; herds; Larvae; Life Sciences; Livestock; Monoculture; Nematoda; nematode larvae; Nematodes; Parasites; parasitism; Ruminantia; Seasons; Sheep; sheep breeds; silvopastoral systems; soil; Soil surfaces; spring; summer; Trichostrongylidae; Winter; Brazil; ASW, Brazil; Parasitic infection; Sheep farming; Integrated system
• ISSN: 0167-4366; 1572-9680
• DOI: 10.1007/s10457-015-9855-1

Trichostrongylids nematodes are capilliform worms that parasitize the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants that frequently cause serious injuries such as severe gastroenteritis and acute anemia. Sheep breeds are highly susceptible to these parasites, including adult animals as well. In sheep herds, this parasitic disease is traditionally controlled through the use of antihelminthics; however, some possible auxiliary methods of control have been suggested, and among them is the adoption of the integration livestock–forest system. The aim of the present study was to evaluate comparatively the recovery of trichostrongylid nematode larvae (L3) from sheep in a integration livestock–forest system and in grass monoculture, also analyzing the climatic influence in the four seasons of the year. The study was carried out from December 2013 to September 2014 in the experimental field of Embrapa Agrosilvopastoral located in the municipality of Sinop/MT, Brazil. In each season of the year, each treatment received thirty samples of feces weighing 20 g and containing approximately 60,000 eggs of trichostrongylid nematodes. At the end of 14 days, the remaining feces from the soil surface, as well as soil below the deposition area, and the adjacent forage near the feces were collected and taken to the laboratory where the number of infective larvae per kilogram of dry matter (L3/kg DM) in each collected material was determined. The recovery of L3 larvae was possible in all seasons and in all samples collected. There was a significant interaction between treatments and seasons of the year (p < 0.05). The silvopastoral system showed greater counts of L3/kg DM in the forage during the spring, summer, and winter collections. The feces collected in the winter were the material with highest counts of L3/kg DM in the study, with 30,199 in silvopastoral area, and 22,020 in grass monoculture, which differed significantly (p < 0.05). The soil also showed the same response, with 6112.74 L3/kg DM in silvopastoral system and 4847.56 L3/kg DM in grass monoculture, which were also significantly different (p < 0.05).