MANEJO DE CAPIM XARAÉS (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés) EM DIFERENTES SISTEMAS DE PASTEJO

Abstract

The Xaraés grass is a perennial grass, belonging to the Poaceae family, subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Paniceae, its growth is clumped with prostrate stalks, with excellent vigor and high productivity, it has resistance to pasture leafhoppers and can reach up to 1.5 m in height. It is suitable for tropical Cerrado regions (with more than 800 mm of rainfall per year), the Xaraés cultivar adapts well to medium fertility soils, has a rapid regrowth capacity (when compared to the Marandu cultivar), has an intermediate tolerance to flooding. Its reproduction is in the form of seeds, the ideal time for sowing is between November 15th to January 15th (rainy period), it can be done by casting or in line, the formation time is around 90 to 120 days after germination, it has 9 to 12% of crude protein, with an estimated production of 20 to 30 tons of dry matter/ha/year, it has good digestibility (around 60%) and high palatability. After the establishment of the pasture, it is necessary to do a good management of formation (first grazing), whose purpose is to assist in the formation of the pastures, stimulating the basal tillering of the grass. The grazing system to be implemented can be continuous, rotated or deferred. The choice of system to be implemented on the property will depend on a series of factors, such as its technological level, its objectives and the search for maximizing the production of its herd without affecting the persistence of forage plants. The objective of this work was to approach and describe the cultivar Xaraés (B. brizantha cv. Xaraés) and to present the main pasture systems used in Brazil and techniques used in their management.