PJB-2018-101
VARIATION IN NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF BRACHIARIA DECUMBENS BY THE SEASONS AND CUTTING HEIGHTS
SYEDA MARYAM HUSSAIN
Abstract
Brachiaria decumbens cv. ‘Basilisk’ has been widely adopted due to its high productivity and several defensive traits. The study (Dec. 2013- Dec. 2014) was conducted at FZEA-USP, Brazil; to determine the nutritional value of Basilisk in a 4×2 factorial arrangement (CRBD) with four nitrogen doses and two sward heights for four seasons. The chemical analysis were carried out according to (AOAC, 1990) and ANKOM fiber analyzer (Van Soest et al. 1991). Dry matter yield (DMY) and crude protein (CP) increased significantly with increasing nitrogen and highest yield was obtained at summer and higher protein in winter (11.88). The interaction of nitrogen and height in autumn significantly (P>0.05) effect the CP level and highest was noted at 10 cm (8.1 %). The lowest acid detergent fiber (ADF -30.88 %) was recorded in winter and lowest neutral detergent fiber (NDF -70.27 %) at 300 kg N. The in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) increased linearly with nitrogen and in summer the 20 cm plant height gives the highest digestibility (64.1 %). The lowest IVDMD was observed in spring (60.97 %). Overall, the seasons and 300 kg/ha nitrogen dose in Basilisk is sufficient to maintain a high nutritional value by increasing protein and decreasing the fibrous content.
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