Influence of the cut intervals on hay quality of Panicum maximum cv. BRS Tamani in brazilian Cerrado

Abstract The grass Panicum maximum cv. BRS Tamani is a hybrid high-quality, small-sized forage plant with intense tillering activity. This study was carried out to examine the potential of the grass Panicum maximum cv. BRS Tamani at different regrowth ages (49, 63, 77, and 91 d) for hay production, in the rainy period. The experiment was conducted at the Farm School of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul-Brazil, between October 2015 and April 2016. The treatments corresponded to four regrowth ages, with four replicates, distributed into 9 m2 plots. Regrowth ages influenced the morphogenetic characteristics of the grass, except for leaf senescence and final leaf length. Green (9.6-17.6 t ha-1) and dry-matter (2.6-5.9 t ha-1) yields, hay yield (3.4-6.9 t ha-1), and proportions of stem (91.6-455.9 g kg-1) and senescent material (34.8-98.4 g kg-1) increased with the regrowth ages, while the proportion of leaves (837.7-402.1 g kg-1) and the leaf: stem ratio (15.9-0.9) decreased (P<0.05). The dry matter (881.7-852.8 g kg-1) and protein contents (81.2-47.6 g kg-1) of the hay decreased with the higher regrowth ages; however, the neutral detergent fibre (746.5-759.2 g kg-1) acid detergent fibre (519.8-567.7 g kg-1) and lignin (74.3-86.4 g kg-1) contents rose as the regrowth ages did. Nutrient digestibility decreased with the regrowth ages (P<0.05). Panicum maximum cv. BRS Tamani has the potential to produce of hay ha-1, better nutritive value and a high proportion of leaves in the regrowth interval of 49 to 63 d.