Forage yield of Urochloa brizantha [(Hochst. Ex A. Rich.) R.D.] cv. Insurgente at different cutting heights

Resumen

Objective: Evaluate the forage yield of Urochloa brizantha cv. Insurgente at different
cutting heights.
Design/ methodology/ approach: the experiment was carried out at the Universidad
del Papaloapan, Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, Mexico. Four cutting heights were evaluated (5,
10, 15, and 20 cm) during the rainy, norther, and dry seasons. The experiment followed
a randomized block design with four replicates. We evaluated plant height (PH), green
matter yield (GMY), dry matter yield (DMY), growth rate (GR), and morphological
components, such as leaf yield (LY), sheath yield (SY), and stem yield (StY).
Results: the cutting height and season interaction was significant for all the evaluated
variables (P?0.01). The highest PH (42 cm) was obtained with a cutting height of 20 cmduring the rainy season. The highest GMY and DMY (2,484 and 606 kg ha -1 ,
respectively) were obtained with cutting heights of 15 cm during the rainy season. These
values were similar (P>0.05) to those obtained at 20 cm (2,410 and 582 kg ha -1 ,
respectively). The highest LY, SY, and StY values were obtained with cutting heights of
15 and 20 cm during the rainy season. The highest GR (31 kg MS ha -1 day -1 ) was
observed during the rainy season, regardless of cutting height.
Findings/ conclusions: for each of the evaluated seasons, cutting heights of 15 and 20
cm resulted in the highest forage yields of U. brizantha cv. Insurgente.