Yield and chemical composition of Panicum maximum cv.Tanzania in a silvopastoral system in Chiapas

To evaluate the effect of L. leucocephala incorporation on P. maximum cv. Tanzania biomass production and chemical composition of in a silvopastoral system, an experiment was established in two grasslands, established with P. maximum cv. Tanzania as the only crop in one of them and in the other, associated with L. leucocephala in an arrangement of pastu-res in alleys. In each meadow, 12 exclusion cages of 1 m3 were placed in a completely random design with a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement, two systems (monoculture and silvopastoral) and four cutting dates (28, 56, 84 and 112 d) and three repetitions. Chemical fertilization with Phosphonitrate was applied in each of the exclusion cages for both treatments. A significant difference was observed between systems for the variables height, coverage, production of organic matter (kg/ ha), production of crude protein (kg/ha) and the percentage of FDN, reporting the best values of the silvopastoral system. It is concluded that the use of Leucaena offers important advantages if we consider its capability for producing food of high nutritional value for animals, as well as it improving the forage quality and quantity of the system.