Performance of meat sheep, chemical composition and structure of tropical pasture grasses managed under intermittent capacity

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of sheep in different tropical forages and the structure of the canopy and chemical composition of pasture. The treatments consisted of two cultivars of Panicum, Massai and Aruana and two of Brachiaria, Marandu and Piatã under intermittent capacity and variable stocking rate, in the rainy season. Santa Inês intact male sheep were used. The greatest leaf blade mass and leaf blade:stem ratio for cv. Massai were observed in the pre- and post-grazing. The harvest efficiency of leaf blades and stem did not differ among cultivars. In both components of cvs. Marandu and Piatã showed the lowest NDF level. The highest crude protein value in stem and leaf blade were observed in Aruana and Marandu cultivars. Marandu also presented the highest in vitro dry matter digestibility of leaf blades. Animals kept in Aruana pastures had the highest average daily gain. The highest stocking rates and animal yield per area were observed in the pastures of cv. Massai and Marandu. The grasses are able to produce satisfactory results for sheep production on pasture under exclusive system in the northeastern Brazil during the rainy season.