GROWTH DYNAMIC AND FORAGE YIELD OF Trachypogon plumosus UNDER LEVELS OF SOIL FERTILITY CORRECTION AND REGROWTH AGES

Abstract We assessed the effects of levels of soil fertility correction (control, liming, fertilization and liming + fertilization) and of regrowth ages (21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, and 84 days) on growth dynamic and forage yield of Trachypogon plumosus in the Roraima´s savannas. Dry matter (DM) yields, absolute growth rate (AGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), and leaf area ratio (LAR) increased consistently with regrowth age, while the crop growth rate (CGR) was inversely proportional to regrowth age. The grass showed high responsivity to soil fertility improvement. Liming + fertilization or fertilization alone provided higher DM yields (1,934 and 1,661 kg ha-1), AGR (36.6 and 31.5 kg ha-1.day), CGR (32.5 and 27.9 kg ha-1.day), NAR (4.993 e 4.152 g/m2), LAR (152.9 and 140.9 cm2/g), and LAI (2.42 and 2.14). Regrowth intervals of 56 to 63 days for liming + fertilized and fertilized pastures, and 63 to 70 days for control or liming pastures were appropriate to provide maximum forage yields, growth rates and to prevent larger losses relative to senescence and leaf death.