Forage production and animal response in soils in the Cesar valley under a recovery process

The 90% of potential agricultural soils in Cesar (Colombia) are affected by varying degrees of impairment, negatively impacting livestock production, which is one of the most important economic activities in the region. The aim of the study was to contribute to the recovery of degraded grasslands, to progress in rescuing the productive capacity of the affected areas and to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of beef production in this region, by implementing practices in sustainable land management. In assessing weight gains, a completely randomized design was used with repeated measurements over time and the obtained data was subjected to analysis of variance. Sustainable practices were used consisting of appropriate tillage, green manure (Vigna unguiculata), establishment of vegetationwith grasses and legumes (Bothriochloa pertusa, Leucaena leucocephala and Clitoria ternatea) and rotational grazing. We performed a comparative evaluation of feed production and weight gains in calves. The results revealed an increase in dry matter production per unit area and weight gain/animal/day which increased (P≤0.05) by 44.2% and 46.3%, respectively where sustainable practices were applied compared to the control; the highest (P≤0.05) weight gain / ha was seen in the experimental treatment (230.5 kg ha-1) in relation to the control (145.7 kg ha-1).  

• Autores: Roncallo F., Belisario; Murillo S., José; Rodríguez, Gustavo; Bonilla, Ruth Rebeca; Garrido, María Fernanda
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2012
• Institución: Agrosavia
• Repositorio: Agrosavia
• Idioma: spa
• OAI Identifier: oai:repository.agrosavia.co:20.500.12324/35127
• Acceso en línea: http://revistacta.agrosavia.co/index.php/revista/article/view/244; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12324/35127
• Palabra clave: Transversal
• License: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International