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Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Sward structure and relationship between canopy height and light interception for tropical C4 grasses growing under trees

Tiago Celso Baldissera A B F , Laíse da Silveira Pontes C , André Faé Giostri B , Raquel Santiago Barro D , Sebastião Brasil Campos Lustosa E , Aníbal de Moraes A and Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Epagri—Company of Agricultural Research and Rural Extension of Santa Catarina, Estação Experimental de Lages, Rua João José Godinho s/n, Bairro Morro do Posto, CEP 88502-970, Lages, SC, Brazil.

B UFPR—Federal University of Paraná, Rua dos Funcionários 1540, Juvevê, CEP 80035-050, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.

C Estação Fazenda Modelo, IAPAR—Agronomic Institute of Paraná, Avenida Euzébio de Queirós s/n, Caixa Postal 129, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil.

D Faculty of Agronomy, UFRGS—Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Bento Gonçalves 7712, CEP 91501-970, Caixa Postal 776, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

E UNICENTRO—State University of Midwest, Rua Simeão Varela de Sá 03, Vila Carli, CEP 85040-080, Guarapuava, PR, Brazil.

F Corresponding author. Email: tiagobaldissera@epagri.sc.gov.br

Crop and Pasture Science 67(11) 1199-1207 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP16067
Submitted: 26 February 2016  Accepted: 6 September 2016   Published: 13 October 2016

Abstract

The canopy height (CH) at 95% light interception (LI) is a valuable defoliation frequency strategy used to handle variability in herbage accumulation throughout the year, mainly in C4 grasses. Such a strategy has been adopted as an open pasture management index, but defoliation frequency and intensity remain unsolved issues for shade-grown forages. A field experiment was conducted for 2 years to determine the influence of tree canopy (Eucalyptus dunnii) shading and nitrogen availability (0 and 300 kg N ha–1 year–1) on CH at 95% LI of six perennial tropical forage species. The plots were cut at 95% LI, and the height of the residual sward was kept at 50% of the corresponding CH at 95% LI. The shade level ranged from ~40% at the beginning of the experiment to ~60% at the end of summer 2013. Variations in CH at 95% LI occurred because of shading and across seasons. The range of these variations was species-dependent. Overall, species growing under trees showed higher CH, except for Paspalum notatum and Megathyrsus maximus in the first year. There was a significant increase in the length of the sheaths and leaves, as well as a decrease in tiller density and leaf : stem ratio in plants growing under trees. Nitrogen also had an impact on CH; however, its application did not compensate the shade effect on CH. Therefore, our results suggest that greater CH should be considered in case of defoliated, shade-grown plants and that such strategy might change throughout seasons.

Additional keywords: environmental preservation, forage species, integrated crop–livestock systems, plant competition, shade avoidance syndrome.


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