Determinación de la respuesta en productividad vegetal y animal de pasturas degradadas a diferentes estrategias de manejo

The present work was carried out at the Experimental Station “Dr Mario A. Cassinoni” (University of the Republic. Faculty of Agronomy, Paysandú, Uruguay). It was carried on the field paddock n° 33 (Latitude 32º 22’30,98” y Longitude 58º 03’46,00”) during the period April 15 to December 28, 2021. The main objective of the work consisted in evaluating the effect of the incorporation of Lolium multiflorum and Trifolium pratense by intercropping with different fertilization strategies and chemical control and the effects on forage production, botanical composition and meat production. The experiment was performed on an old meadow initially composed by Festuca arundinacea, Trifolium pratense and Lotus corniculatus. It consisted of 4 treatments with different strategies of fertilization and chemical control that allowed to evaluate and quantify de variables mentioned previously. The experiment used randomized complete block design (RCBD), the experimental area was divided in 3 blocks and each block divided in 4 plots equally and they were assigned the treatments randomly. The grazing management was rotative determining periods of occupation and rest depending on the height of the pasture. At the spring the entry of the animals on the plots was with a maximum of 20 cm and the exit with maximum of 7 cm. They were used 20 steers Hereford-Angus cross of 300 kg live weight average at the start of the grazing. There were used 5 animals per treatment. Climatologically in the winter the precipitations were similar to the historical average but temperatures were a bit lower than usual, this caused delay in the entry of the animals. In spring rains occurred much more isolated with an accentuated drought in December and temperatures higher than normal. This impacted on the potential of the production of the pastures and probably on animal production. In terms of the results of the work there were differences in forage production and proportion of species of interest in favor of fertilized treatments while meat production had not significant differences between treatments.