MEAT PRODUCTION EMPLOYING Digitaria swazilandensis FERTILIZED OR IN ASSOCIATION WITH TWO ECOTYPES OF Arachis pintoi. 1997-1999.

Abstract

This experiment was developed in Gualaca Experimental Station in a soil Inceptisol acid with low fertility and saturated with aluminum. During two years pastures of Digitaria swazilandensis in association with two ecotypes of Arachis pintoi CIAT-17434 (Ds+Ap-17434) and CIAT-18744 (Ds+Ap-18744) alone or fertilized with 100 kg N/ha/year (Ds+N), were evaluated in relation to forage availability, botanical composition, forage quality, daily weight increasing, meet/ha/year production and cost per kg of meat produced. Two animal groups F-1 Brahman x Simental and Brahman x Charolaise, were evaluated starting with five month old and 150 kg body weight up to obtaining 430 kg body weight at slaughtering. The average animals/ha was 3.2 (2.5 AU/ha) during rainy season and 1.6 (1.0 AU/ha) in dry season. The forage availability was higher (P<0.01) in Ds+Ap-18744 than Ds+Ap-17434 or Ds+N. In the pastures associated, the ecotype with better prevalence was Ap-18744 (47.8%). The contain of crude protein in gramineae associated with was slightly improved due the presence of A. pintoi. At the other hand, the total protein available in the associated pastures was 42.5% higher than the gramineae alone fertilized with nitrogen. The higher daily weight gain was obtained in the pasture Ds+Ap-18744 (0.802 kg/anim/day) (P<0.01) upon Ds+Ap-17434 (0.648 kg/anim/day) and Ds+N (0.640 kg/anim/day). Also, the higher meat production was obtained in the pasture Ds+Ap-18744 (750 kg B.w.g/ha/year). The mean time for obtaining animals with the slaughtering weight was 10.4, 12.9 and 13 month for Ds+Ap-18744, Ds+Ap-17434 and Ds+N, respectively. The higher year profits (28%) and lower production cost per meat kg before slaughtering (B/.0.66) were obtained in pasture Ds+Ap-18744. We concluded that the introduction of Arachis pintoi in D. swazilandensis allow us to improve the quality of pastures and the production capability as well as the productivity of the gramineae D. swazilandensis, in soils of low fertility, as an alternative to nitrogen fertilization.