Protein-Energy Supplementation for Different Categories of Animals in Beef Cattle on Natural and Cultivated Pastures of the Brazilian Pantanal

Research Article

Ann Agric Crop Sci. 2020; 5(1): 1059.

Protein-Energy Supplementation for Different Categories of Animals in Beef Cattle on Natural and Cultivated Pastures of the Brazilian Pantanal

Santos SA1*, Souza GS2, Tomich TR3, da Graça Morais M4, Franco G4 and de Abreu UGP1

1Embrapa Pantanal Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Brazil

2Embrapa Sede, Brasília, Brazil

3Embrapa Gado de Leite, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

4UFMS, Campo Grande, Brazil

*Corresponding author: Sandra Aparecida Santos, Embrapa Pantanal Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Brazil

Received: April 22, 2020; Accepted: May 11 2020; Published: May 18, 2020

Abstract

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of protein-energy supplementation during the dry period on the performance of different categories of beef cattle in different management systems of natural and cultivated pastures in the Brazilian Pantanal. Different categories of animals (weaned calves, heifers, primiparous and multiparous cows) were stratified by weight and distributed in one of the following feeding treatments: T1 - natural pasture (grazed), with liquid supplementation (control); T2 - natural pasture (deferred grazing), with liquid supplementation; T3 - cultivated pasture (deferred grazing), with liquid supplementation, from June to September 2006. A continuous stocking method was adopted (0.3, 0.6 and 0.6 of Animal Unit per hectare (AU/ ha) for T1, T2 and T3, respectively). Forage availability and quality, supplement intake by livestock, animal performance and ingestive behavior were evaluated over two periods, totaling 90 days of evaluation. Analysis of variance showed differences between initial weight and finished weight in each period between different feeding treatments and animal categories. Animal weight gains were observed during the initial period (mid-season drought), when 440 to 2.800 kg DM forage/ha was available, while weight losses were observed in the final period (late-season drought) when 580 to 800 kg DM forage/ha was available. In the late-season drought, T3 allowed less weight loss among the categories. Primiparous and multiparous cows lost more weight and these higher losses may be related to the higher demand for dry matter intake these categories require. Considering forage offer as the limiting factor during the second period, we concluded that protein-energy supplementation is viable only when the stocking rate is adjusted according to availability of forage.

Keywords: Calf rearing phase; Deferred grazing; Forage offer; Grazing behavior

Introduction

One of the main challenges to achieving sustainability in beef cattle production in tropical rangeland is to promote the correct management of pastures and to define appropriate feeding supplementation strategies for specific or natural pasture grazing systems.

The Pantanal is the largest tropical continental wetland area of the world composed of heterogeneous landscape of seasonally flooded grassland, savannah and forests. The existence of large natural pasture areas favored cattle ranching with low-input feed. However, the availability and quality of native pastures depend on the proportion of the existing landscapes (spatial variation), as well as the climatic conditions (temporal variation), especially the distribution of rainfall intensity during the year [1]. As in the other tropical regions, the Pantanal presents a highlighted seasonality in the quantity and quality of pastures during the year, with periods of food restriction in the drought but, depending on the location of the ranch and the intensity of the rainfall, food restriction may also occur during the flooding period [2].

In traditional extensive beef cattle production systems, little attention has been given to animal nutrition during calving, conception and weaning periods. To meet the most demanding animal categories, one of the management strategies adopted by ranchers has been the replacement of low quality native forages by exotic forages, especially those of the genus Urochloa and species of African origin [3], which are usually deferred for use in the dry season.

Among pasture management practices, deferral of pastures during or at the end of the rainy season may be a strategy to increase forage availability for the dry season. This practice was recommended for pasture with stoloniferous and decumbent growth habits [4]. Among native forage species, Mesosetum chaseae is an alternative grass to exotic species for storing forage in the field for the dry season [5]. In general, deferred pastures have poorer quality, which is a limiting factor for animal performance, and it is therefore necessary to provide supplementary feed [6].

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the liquid protein/energy supplementation on the performance of different categories of beef cattle grazed on natural pastures (deferred or not) and exotic pasture (deferred) during the dry season in the Brazilian Pantanal.

Methodology

The study was conducted at Nhumirim ranch (18°59’0”S, 56°39’0”W), a research station located in the Nhecolândia sub-region of the Brazilian Pantanal, from June to September 2006.

The experiment comprised three feeding treatments (three management units), four animal categories (multiparous cows, primiparous cows, yearling heifers and weaned calves) and two periods (mid- and late-season drought).This work was performed following the ethical standards required by Brazilian legislation.

The feeding management treatments were: T1 = natural pasture dominated by Mesosetum chasae without deferred with liquid supplementation; T2 = deferred natural pasture dominated by M. chasae with liquid supplementation; and T3 = deferred exotic/ native pasture dominated by Urochloa humidicola with liquid supplementation. In T2 and T3 the pastures were deferred in the end of January 2006 with deferral period of four months.

The pastures were mapped using CBERS satellite images according to Rodela et al. [7]. The main landscape units Figure 1 were classified according to their degree of flooding: woodland (noninundated area), savanna (non-inundated area) and flooded open grassland/Urochloa spp. (may be flooded for up to six months), wet grassland (perennial) and water bodies (perennial). These landscapes types are characteristic of the Nhecolândia sub-region Photo 1.