Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures
Reduced supplementation frequency is a broadly applied management practice. Ruminants consuming low quality forages/pastures, supplemented less than once daily are able to maintain body weight gain (BWG), efficiency of use of dry matter, nitrogen and other nutrients, as compared with animals supplem...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidade de São Paulo
2014-04-01
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| Series: | Scientia Agricola |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-90162014000200003&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1828532327472431104 |
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| author | Roberta Carrilho Canesin Telma Teresinha Berchielli Antonio de Vega Ricardo Andrade Reis Juliana Duarte Messana Fernando Baldi Adriano Gomes Páscoa |
| author_facet | Roberta Carrilho Canesin Telma Teresinha Berchielli Antonio de Vega Ricardo Andrade Reis Juliana Duarte Messana Fernando Baldi Adriano Gomes Páscoa |
| author_sort | Roberta Carrilho Canesin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reduced supplementation frequency is a broadly applied management practice. Ruminants consuming low quality forages/pastures, supplemented less than once daily are able to maintain body weight gain (BWG), efficiency of use of dry matter, nitrogen and other nutrients, as compared with animals supplemented once daily. We evaluated the feeding behavior, dry matter intake (DMI), dry matter and organic matter digestibility (DMD and OMD), BWG, Longissimus muscle area and backfat depth of Nellore steers raised on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu pastures during the dry season, with different supplementation patterns. Thirty six animals (338 ± 40.7 kg) were distributed over nine paddocks according to a completely randomized design. Treatments were based on supplementation frequency: once daily (OD), once daily except Saturdays and Sundays (SS), or on alternate days (AD), at 1.0 %, 1.4 % and 2.0 % BW, respectively. Average total DMI accounted for 1.6 % BW day-1, with no effect of supplementation frequency. Supplementation frequency had no effect on BWG or grazing time during the day. There was no difference in Longissimus muscle area animals supplemented daily, SS and AD. The backfat depth was thinner in animals supplemented AD, but even in this case, it was within the standards considered satisfactory for a finishing steer. Reducing supplementation frequency seems a good option to lower labor costs without affecting feed efficiency or carcass quality in beef cattle grazing tropical pastures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T22:51:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3867b87edce54dd9a5bf6287bebfd1f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-992X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T22:51:32Z |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
| publisher | Universidade de São Paulo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientia Agricola |
| spelling | doaj.art-3867b87edce54dd9a5bf6287bebfd1f42022-12-22T00:47:26ZengUniversidade de São PauloScientia Agricola1678-992X2014-04-0171210511310.1590/S0103-90162014000200003S0103-90162014000200003Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pasturesRoberta Carrilho Canesin0Telma Teresinha Berchielli1Antonio de Vega2Ricardo Andrade Reis3Juliana Duarte Messana4Fernando Baldi5Adriano Gomes Páscoa6Universidade Estadual PaulistaUniversidade Estadual PaulistaUniversity of ZaragozaUniversidade Estadual PaulistaUniversidade Estadual PaulistaUniversidade Estadual PaulistaUniversidade Estadual PaulistaReduced supplementation frequency is a broadly applied management practice. Ruminants consuming low quality forages/pastures, supplemented less than once daily are able to maintain body weight gain (BWG), efficiency of use of dry matter, nitrogen and other nutrients, as compared with animals supplemented once daily. We evaluated the feeding behavior, dry matter intake (DMI), dry matter and organic matter digestibility (DMD and OMD), BWG, Longissimus muscle area and backfat depth of Nellore steers raised on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu pastures during the dry season, with different supplementation patterns. Thirty six animals (338 ± 40.7 kg) were distributed over nine paddocks according to a completely randomized design. Treatments were based on supplementation frequency: once daily (OD), once daily except Saturdays and Sundays (SS), or on alternate days (AD), at 1.0 %, 1.4 % and 2.0 % BW, respectively. Average total DMI accounted for 1.6 % BW day-1, with no effect of supplementation frequency. Supplementation frequency had no effect on BWG or grazing time during the day. There was no difference in Longissimus muscle area animals supplemented daily, SS and AD. The backfat depth was thinner in animals supplemented AD, but even in this case, it was within the standards considered satisfactory for a finishing steer. Reducing supplementation frequency seems a good option to lower labor costs without affecting feed efficiency or carcass quality in beef cattle grazing tropical pastures.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-90162014000200003&lng=en&tlng=en |
| spellingShingle | Roberta Carrilho Canesin Telma Teresinha Berchielli Antonio de Vega Ricardo Andrade Reis Juliana Duarte Messana Fernando Baldi Adriano Gomes Páscoa Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures Scientia Agricola |
| title | Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures |
| title_full | Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures |
| title_fullStr | Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures |
| title_short | Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures |
| title_sort | reducing supplementation frequency for nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-90162014000200003&lng=en&tlng=en |
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