Efeito do consórcio de gramíneas com feijão-caupi na entressafra sobre a produção de bovinos de corte

Abstract

Legumes use intercropped with grasses is advantageous mainly due to the assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen carried out by the legumes, which reduces the demand for nitrogen fertilizers, as well as increasing the nutritive value of pasture. Therefore, in intercropped cultivation, legumes that are not antagonistic to grasses must be selected, in order to compromise the system's productivity. One possibility for use in pastures is the use of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and, therefore this research aimed to identify whether cowpea offers an increase in animal performance when intercropped with grasses in the off season. Experiment was carried out in the municipality of Itiquira, Mato Grosso, in a randomized block design, in a 4x2 factorial scheme. The treatments consisted of four grasses cultivation (Urochloa ruziziensis cv. Kennedy, Urochloa brizantha cv. Paiaguás, Urochloa brizantha cv. Piatã and Panicum maximum cv. BRS Tamani) in two systems (monoculture and intercropping with cowpea cv. BRS Tumucumaque) in the off-season of 2016 and 2017. Systems were sown in succession to soybeans (March), and the animals entered the area in May. Samples were collected in May, June and July to measure forage mass, morphological, botany and chemical-bromatological composition. The intercropping of grasses with cowpea provided an increase in stocking rate for Tamani and Paiaguás grasses, compared to the monoculture system. Furthermore, the intercropping with cowpea provided an increase in weight gain per area in all grasses, except for Piatã grass. In addition, pastures with cowpea had higher crude protein content, with the exception of Paiaguás. Also, all the grasses tested can be used in the off-season in succession to soybean and the intercropping of grasses with cowpea, in general, increases the performance of beef cattle during the off-season.