The objectives of this trial were to study the effect of supplementation with concentrate on elephant grass pasture rotationally managed on milk yield and composition and live weight changes of crossbred Holstein x Zebu cows. The treatments were: no concentrate (NC) and 2 kg concentrate/cow/day (WC). The experiment was carried out during the rainy season. The area was divided in 44 paddocks of 606 m² each, with 22 for each treatment, with two areas replication of 11 paddocks each. Twelve crossbred cows were utilized (six cows/treatment), with 30 days of lactation and 488 kg of live weight on average. The cows were allocated to the treatments according to a completely randomized block design. The blocks were based on milk yield and body weight of cows at the beginning of lactation. The pasture was managed in a rotational system with 30 days grazing interval and three days of grazing in each paddock. The stocking rate was established at 4.5 cows/ha. The pasture was fertilized with 200 kg/ha/yr of N and K2O, divided in three equal applications. It was also applied 40 kg/ha/yr of P2O5 and 1,000 kg/ha/yr of dolomite limestone. The average fat corrected (4%) milk yield was 11.4 and 12.6 kg/cow/day and the average daily gain during the experimental period was 114 and 180 g per cow for treatments NC and WC, respectively. There was a significant treatment effect for milk yield, but no effect on live weight gain.
concentrate; crossbred cows; elephantgrass; fertilization; milk yield; rotational grazing; live weight
