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Artigos Técnicos

ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF DESMODIUM OVALIFOLIUM´S PASTURES

The desmodium (Desmodium ovalifolium) is a perennial forage legume, native of the

Asia. The plant is a sub-shrub that reaches to a meter of height. The stem presented
practically free of hairs, except in the extremities, where a hairs occurs thin and
silky. The stem nodes, when in contact with the soil, root itself easily. The leaves are
trifoliates, with oval foliates, being the biggest terminal than the lateral. The flowers
are purple or rose-dark, becoming fled after complete opening. In the regional
conditions the flowering and frutication between April and July, characterizing by a
high seed production (100 to 200 kg/ha). The forage legume was introduced in
Brazil in the decade of 70, at present finds-itself disseminated in humid tropics,
being considered one of the promisingest forage legume for the Amazonia.
Considering that Amazônia´s pastures are, basically, cultivated and constituted by
forage grasses, the desmodium arises like an alternative for the pasture
improvement, due to his good nutritious value and capacity of incorporate
expressive quantities of nitrogen upon the soil (100 to 160 kg/ha/ano).

Climate and soil - His better performance occurs in humid regions with annual
rainfall between 1,200 and 2,500 mm. It presents elevated resistance to the dry
season and to shade, however moderated tolerance to the fire. The desmodium
presents higher adaptation to natural low soil fertility, being capable of reach 80% of
his maximum dry matter yield under 80% of aluminum saturation and 2 mg P/kg,
beyond be tolerant to the toxic manganese. However, the growth can be increased
by the elevation of the pH through the liming. In soils with low phosphorus contents,
this response to phosphate fertilization is very high. It is a promiscuous forage
legume, nodulated intensely with the native Rhizobium´s strain, however presents
little nitrogen transference capacity to the soil-plant.

Establishment - Despite of his development be, initially enough slow, after

established presents excellent vigor and high productivity, becoming a lot
competitive. The sowing should be carried out in the beginning of the rainy period
(October/November). The seeds can be distributed in row or in lines, to the depth of
2.0 cm in the spacing of 0.5 to 1.0 m between lines. The density of sowing will be of
2 to 3 kg/ha (broadcast) and 1.5 to 2 kg/ha (lines). For the formation of pastures in
mixtures with grasses recommends 0.5 to 1.0 kg/ha of seeds of desmodium. The
seeds present mechanical dormancy. Chemical scarification can be realized by
immersion in hot water (80oC for 3 to 5 minutes); immersion in sulphuric acid
concentrated by 20 minutes or in solution of sodium muriate to 20% for 30 minutes.

Forage production and nutritious value - The desmodium grows quickly and produces
enough forage yield, however the productivity depends on the soil fertility,
management and climatic conditions. In Rondonia, dry matter yields are around 8 to
12 and 4 to 5 t/ha, respectively for the dry and rainy periods. Desmodium is a
forage legume of abundant growth and provided compatible and persistent mixtures
with Panicum maximum, Brachiaria humidicola, B. brizantha cv. Marandu,
Andropogon gayanus cv. Planaltina and elephante-grass (Pennisetum purpureum).
The desmodium constituted an excellent source of protein for the herd
supplementation, mainly during the dry season, since his contents of crude protein
ranged between 13 and 16%, whereas a grass, in the its great phase of utilization,
presents of 8 to 10%. Plants with eight weeks of growth, presents 0.19% of
phosphorus contents, 0.55% of calcium and 48.2% of dry matter "in vitro"
digestibility. His tannin contents are relatively elevated, when compared with the of

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other tropical forage legumes, what can result in lower voluntary intake, mainly
during the wet season. The weight gains can vary of 300 to 500 g/an/dia and of 500
to 800 kg/ha/ano. It tolerates moderately to defoliate and regrowth well when
submitted to controlled grazing, should not be mowing to less of 20 cm stubble
height.

Management - Desmodium can be utilized under the form of hay, grazing, pure or in
mixture with forage grasses, for the formation of protein-bank (exclusive paddock
alone with the forage legume) or cutting for supply in troughs. When it utilized as
protein-bank, grazing period should be of a to two hours/day, preferential after
morning milking. Gradually, while the animals go being adapted to the high content
of protein of the forage legume, the grazing period can be of two to three hours/day,
mainly during the dry season when the nutrition animal is more critical. The
dimension of the protein-bank area depends on the category and of the number of
animals it will be supplemented, of the demands of the animals and of the forage
availability. In general, a hectare of desmódio is able to supply nutritional,
satisfactorily, 20 to 25 cows during the rainy period and of 15 to 20 cows during dry
season. In Rondônia, the utilization of desmodium protein-bank as complement for
B. brizantha cv. Marandu pastures, resulted in daily milk production of 7.25 and 7.43
kg/cow, respectively for rainy and dry season, in comparison it obtained with cows
without access to the bank-of-protein (7.03 and 6,50 kg/cow, respectively).

Newton de Lucena Costa, Amaury Burlamaqui Bendahan, Paulo Sérgio Ribeiro de

Mattos, Vicente Gianluppi, Ramayana Menezes Braga (Embrapa Roraima)

Embrapa Roraima - newton@cpafrr.embrapa.br

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