FORAGE OFFER AND INTAKE AND MILK PRODUCTION IN DUAL PURPOSE CATTLE MANAGED UNDER SILVOPASTORAL SYSTEMS IN TEPALCATEPEC, MICHOACAN

Abstract

The study was carried out during the dry season (March to May) in three dual-purpose cattle farms located in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan, Mexico, in order to evaluate the forage offer and intake, and milk production in Brown Swiss cows. Two farms had silvopastoral systems with Leucaena leucocephala cv. Cunningham associated with Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania, and one of them also included mango trees (Mangifera indica); the third farm had a traditional system with Cynodon plectostachyus in monoculture. In the traditional system, cows were offered 8 kg animal-1 day-1 of concentrate feed during the milking period, and only 1.5 kg animal-1 day-1 in the silvopastoral systems. Edible forage offer in the silvopastoral farms was 2470 and 2693 kg DM ha-1 grazing-1, and in the traditional system it was 948 kg DM ha-1 grazing-1. Forage intake in the silvopastoral systems was 8.25 and 11.81 kg DM animal-1 day-1, whereas in the traditional system it was 3.63 kg DM animal-1 day-1. Milk production in the silvopastoral system was 9.0 and 9.2 kg animal-1 day-1, while in the traditional system it was 10.4 kg animal-1 day-1. The silvopastoral systems with L. leucocephala cv. Cunningham associated with P. maximum cv. Tanzania produced high edible forage offer and allowed to obtain milk yield similar to that of the traditional system with C. plectostachyus in monoculture, but on a lower concentrate feed intake.