Efecto del método del pastoreo y la oferta de forraje sobre la productividad del campo natural

This work was carried out at the Mario A. Cassinoni Experimental Station, part of the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of the Republic. It is located at kilometer 363 of Route 3, in the department of Paysandú. The work was conducted in Paddock 13 of the facility, covering an area of ​​37.8 hectares of natural land. The experimental modality consisted of four treatments, each carried out in a subdivision of the same pasture. Two of them were under continuous grazing, while the remaining two were under rotational grazing. The latter two, in turn, consisted of 14 plots of 0.6 hectares each. In addition, one continuous grazing treatment and one rotational grazing treatment were selected, which were managed at high stocking rates, while the remaining two were managed at low stocking rates. The animals used were Holando steers. FO levels are adjusted monthly based on forage availability (kg DM/ha) and expected growth rates, regulating stocking rates based on monthly weighing data. The evaluation period ran from July 24 to October 30. The objectives of the study were to evaluate both primary and secondary production under the influence of grazing methods and stocking rate adjustments, as well as to characterize the vegetation cover associated with the different soil types present in the pasture. For this purpose, a characterization carried out by students was used as a reference, based on the soil types present in the pastures: Low, Medium, and Lithosol. The variables studied were forage height (cm) and mass (kg DM/ha), botanical composition, and average daily animal gain (kg LW/ha). Results were analyzed using ANOVAs, and means were compared using the statistical software Infostat with significance levels of 5% and 10%. Four hypotheses were proposed, examining the effects of grazing method, forage supply, soil type, and study period as independent variables. After analyzing the results, it was concluded that all of the aforementioned variables had a significant impact on the results obtained.