Goat performance on pure Andropogon gayanus pastures or associated with legumes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the grazing of goats in a grass monoculture system and in intercropping systems of grass + legumes. A randomized block design was adopted, with the treatments arranged in a split-plots scheme. The plots consisted of three cropping systems: monoculture— Andropogon gayanus cv. Planaltina; mixture I— A. gayanus cv. Planaltina + Stylosanthes cv. Campo Grande; and mixture II— A. gayanus cv. Planaltina + Calopogonium mucunoides . The subplots consisted of two grazing cycles. The highest ( P = 0.04) total forage mass (TFM) was recorded in the mixture I ( A. gayanus cv. Planaltina + Stylosanthes . cv. Campo Grande), which was 2.6 ± 0.1 tons DM/ha. The crude protein (CP) was lower in the monoculture which also showed the highest content of neutral detergent fiber (NDF). The grazing time in the monoculture was the longest (8.23 ± 1.14 h). The goats used a longer time for rumination ( P