Forage production and morphological components of coastcross pasture mixed with peanut forage

This experiment was carried out from July 2006 to June 2007. It was used an experimental design of random blocks with split plot in time, with two replications using the following treatments: Coastcross + peanut forage + 200 kg/ha of N; Coastcross + Peanut Forage + 100 kg/ha of N; Coastcross + 200 kg/ha of N and Coastcross + Peanut Forage in the following seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. To estimate the forage mass production availability, the double sampling and triple pairing technique, respectively, every 28 days was used. The proportions of grass, legumes, weeds, uncovered soil and litter were evaluated. The material from the double sampling technique was separated into leaf blade, stem + sheath and dead material fractions. Regarding of forage availability, the pasture submitted to treatment without nitrogen had the lower mass, while that submitted to 200 kg/ha of nutrient without the presence of legume had the highest forage mass. For the peanut forage mass, the pasture without fertilization presented the best result. The forage production was higher in pastures submitted to treatment with 200 kg of N/ha followed by that fertilized with 100 kg of N/ha. The grass accumulation rate followed the same trend of forage production. No difference were observed for uncovered soil, litter and uncovered area between treatments; however, the pasture submitted to the dose of 200 kg of N/ha without legume presented lower incidence of invasive plants. No differences were observed for the leaf/stem ratio, leaves mass and dead material mass between treatments; however, the grass submitted to 200 kg of N/ha without legume presented the greatest stems mass.