Cynodon plectostachyus as a source of livestock feed in central

Cynodon plectostachyus as a source of livestock feed in central

Cynodon plectostachyus as a source of livestock feed in central Mexico
J. G. Estrada-Flores1, F. López-González1, F. Avilés-Nova2, O. A. Castelán-Ortega3
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Rurales (ICAR), 2Centro Universitario Temascaltepec,3 Facultad de Ciencias
Agrícolas
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Instituto Literario No. 100, Colonia Centro, Toluca, Estado de México,
C. P. 50000
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
1
Key Words: Livestock, forage, Cynodon plectostachyus
Introduction.
African Star Grass is one of the forage resources most commonly used by farmers in regions with warm-humid
climates. The objective of this work was to determine the nutritional and agronomic characteristics of African Star
Grass (Cynodon plectostachyus) and their effects on milk production through the variables: crude protein (CP), neutral
detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), organic matter digestibility (OMD), net forage accumulation (NFA),
stem:leaf ratio, live:dead matter ratio, milk production and voluntary intake in the three pastures evaluated.
Material and Methods.
The work took place from April 2007 to March 2008, with evaluations carried out on a monthly basis. The data were
analyzed through the Minitab Statistical Package (version 14), and a randomized block design was used in which blocks
were the pastures, and the treatments were the months of evaluation. Milk production and voluntary intake were
analyzed by a Latin square design 4x4, where periods were columns and cows were files. Voluntary intake was
determinate by alkanes method. The general lineal model command of Minitab versión 14 (Minitab, 2000) was used for
the statistical analysis.
Results and Discussion.
The results showed there were no significant differences between pastures evaluated for the NDF, ADF or OMD
variables (P>0.05). In CP variable, significant differences were found between the periods (P<0.05). Significant
differences were also discovered in the agronomic evaluation of pastures (P<0.05) between height of pasture, net forage
accumulation (NFA), live matter, dead matter and leaf and stem, both between pastures and in the monthly evaluations.
Milk production was similar (P>0.05) in the three experiments like in Razz et al. (2004) and Balocchi et al. (2002).
Conclusions.
African Star Grass can therefore be considered a good choice for milk production systems in the southern part of the
state of Mexico, due to its characteristics of adapting to the environment, the way it is managed in the region and its
nutritional and agronomic characteristics, obtained through this study.
References.
Balocchi, L. O., Pulido, F. R. y Fernández, V. J., 2002. Comportamiento de vacas lecheras en pastoreo con y sin
suplementación con concentrado. Agricultura Técnica (Chile) 62(1):87-98.
Minitab Version 14., 2000. Statistical software. User´s guide 1: Data graphics, and macros. USA.
Razz, R., Clavero, T. y Combellas, J., 2004 respuesta productiva y reproductiva de vacas doble propósito
suplementadas con concentrado pastoreando Panicum maximum y Leucaena leucocephala. RC, 14(6): 526-529.
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