Influence of phosphorus fertilization and introduction of winter forage species on forage offer from natural pasture

The beef cattle production in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is based on natural pasture grazing, which are of low productivity and seasonal growth. The present work was done to test the effects of Italian ryegrass and arrowleaf clover introduction in natural pasture under different phosphorus fertilizer, soluble and natural, associated or not to the lime, on forage improvement from natural pasture. The study was conducted at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria on a Paleudalf. The treatments were: foscal (simple superphosphate + lime); triple superphosphate + lime; triple superphosphate; rock phosphate of Gafsa; without phosphorus fertilizer and without lime, and natural pasture. Except for the last treatment, the others received potassium and nitrogen fertilizers and introduction of Lolium multiflorum and Trifolium vesiculosum. The autors used 3.2 Mg ha-1 of lime (elevation of the pH-H2O to 5.5), 180 kg ha-1 of P2O5, 130 kg ha-1 of K2O and 70 kg ha-1 of N. The productivity of dry matter was evaluated for the following periods: winter, spring, spring-summer and summer-autumn. The phosphorus fertilization increased the productivity of dry matter of the pasture and the soluble phosphates provided greater productions than the rock phosphate. The lime did not increase productivity of Lolium multiflorum and natural pasture, but Trifolium vesiculosum responded to this input.