Productive and structural responses of Urochloa brizantha cv. piata subjected to management strategies

This experiment was carried out to evaluate management strategies for Piata grass grown in the soil-climatic conditions of the south region of Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The treatments corresponded to four management strategies determined by the following pre- and post-harvest heights: 30/10, 30/15, 35/20 and 40/15. A completely randomized design with five replications was employed totaling twenty experimental units. The highest number of harvests was observed in the plots subjected to strategies 35/20 and 30/15, which allowed for two additional harvest cycles when compared with strategies 40/15 and 30/10. The strategies that provided plants with the greatest pre-harvest heights, 40/15 and 35/20, resulted in lower leaf elongation rates, stem elongation rates, and leaf senescence. Because of the lower post-harvest height, strategy 30/10 resulted in the largest tiller population, an average of 829 tillers m(2). The highest herbage accumulation value, 18.600 kg ha(-1) DM, was observed with management strategies 40/15 and 30/15. The management of Piata grass based on the harvest target of 30/15 associates elevated herbage production with a favorable pasture structure for grazing.