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A less‐explored alternative to animal production in the subtropics is a mixture of perennial cool‐ and warm‐season forage grasses. This study aimed to determine a grazing management strategy to enhance forage production and attenuate the seasonality of a mixed pasture composed of kikuyugrass (Pennisetum clandestinum) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). Four treatments were implemented in a completely randomized block design using a factorial scheme (2 × 2) with three replicates. The factorial arrangement consisted of two canopy heights (12 and 17 cm) associated with or without a single autumn grazing of 7 cm. Evaluations were conducted over 2 years. Nitrogen fertilization was performed only during the winter and spring seasons. Regardless of grazing height targets (12 or 17 cm), severe defoliation in autumn increased forage accumulation by 10% in mixed pastures composed of kikuyugrass and tall fescue; however, such management strategy should not be recommended because it delayed canopy recovery by 90–120 days, restrained winter grazing, and, paradoxically, increased forage production seasonality. Tall fescue was the dominant species in all treatments in the second year of evaluation, and we hypothesized that the lack of N fertilization during the summer impaired the persistence of kikuyugrass and was the main reason for this dominance effect. Therefore, we suggest evaluating summer N fertilization strategies, which could benefit both species and ensure the persistence of kikuyugrass in the mixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the defoliation patterns of individual tillers, efficiency of herbage utilisation, and forage production in continuously stocked Brachiaria humidicola cv. Comum swards during periods of the year of restricted pasture growth. The experiment was conducted at the Embrapa, Campo Grande-MS, Brazil, from April to October 2012. Treatments consisted of two grazing management strategies, defined by two ranges of sward height (10–15 and 20–25 cm) managed under continuous and variable stocking rates. The experiment was conducted as a completely randomised block design with three replications. During periods of resource constraints, grazing management strategies based on 'steady state' sward heights did not alter defoliation patterns, herbage utilisation efficiency (HUE), and forage production in Brachiaria humidicola swards under a continuous stocking method. A direct implication of our results is that grazing management strategies during the driest and coldest periods of the year in the tropics should be developed based on the conditions most suitable for better promoting faster pasture recovery and a return to production in the following spring; it is unlikely that any grazing management strategy would be successful in increasing herbage production and/or HUE in periods of restricted pasture growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]