Animal production and nutritive value of a coastcross pasture mixed with forage peanut

In this study, the following treatments were used: coastcross + forage peanut + 200kg/ha of N; coastcross + forage peanut + 100kg/ha of N; coastcross + 200kg/ha of N and coastcross + forage peanut (plots) in the winter, spring, summer, and autumn (subplots), designed in randomized blocks. Heifers were managed under continuous stocking and variable stocking rate on pasture maintained at 17cm height. Samples were collected every 28 days determining the nutritional value of forage. Average daily gain (ADG), weight gain (WG), stocking rate (SR), and number of animals/day (NAD) were evaluated. As for forage nutritional value, the worst results were found in pasture without fertilization, 16.9% and 6.0% CP of leaf and stem, respectively, and 70.1% NDF in leaves. In the spring and summer, animals had a higher ADG, 0.518 and 0.515kg/animal, than 0.396 and 0.293kg/animal in the winter and autumn, respectively. SR was higher in pastures that received higher nitrogen doses, 5.38AU/ha in average; and in the summer, 6.81AU/ha. LWG was higher in fertilized areas, 1,341kg LW/ha, than in not fertilized pastures, 735kg/ha.