Qualidade de silagens de BRS Capiaçu (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach.), com adição da parte aérea da mandioca (Manihot Esculenta Crantz)

Abstract

The Amazonian cattle herd has been increasing in recent years, reaching around 2.4 million animals in 2023. In view of this, it is essential that good management practices aimed at ensuring the productivity and health of animals are adopted within production systems to promote the advancement of livestock in the state. The preparation of silage is an alternative to ensure animal feed, especially in the dry season in the region, where the degradation of pastures is accentuated, requiring strategies to minimize the impacts of droughts. A viable alternative for producers who wish to reduce feed costs is the production of BRS Capiaçu grass silage, since its production is relatively simple and does not require large investments in equipment. One of the perspectives of current livestock farming is the search for less expensive supplementary food sources for the formulation of diets for animals. In this scenario, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) stands out. The aerial part of cassava can be used as green fodder or preserved in the form of hay or silage. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of BRS Capiaçu silages at two cutting ages (60 and 120 days) with the addition of increasing levels of cassava shoots (0, 10, 20 and 30%). The following bromatological analyses were performed: Dry Matter (DM), Crude Protein (CP), Mineral Matter (MM), pH and Aerobic Stability. It was found that the aerial part of cassava reduced the moisture content of the 60 and 120 day silages. The inclusion of increasing levels of cassava shoots in silage produced with BRS Capiaçu grass at 60 days of age increased the dry matter content from 16.54 to 35.2% and crude protein from 3.47 to 10.55%, as well as increased the aerobic stability time. On the other hand, the silage produced with BRS Capiaçu grass with 120 days of age was the one that presented the lowest levels of mineral matter due to the higher physiological age of the plant, however, with the addition of increasing levels of cassava shoots, it significantly increased the crude protein levels of the silage from 9.42 to 19.96%. Therefore, the inclusion of cassava shoots can be strategically used to increase the levels of dry matter and crude protein and, consequently, improve the quality of silages produced from BRS Capiaçu.