Brachiaria grasses are sown in tropical regions around the world, especially in the Neotropics, to improve livestock production. Waterlogging is a major constraint to the productivity and persistence of Brachiaria grasses during the rainy season. While some Brachiaria cultivars are moderately tolerant to seasonal waterlogging, none of the commercial cultivars combines superior yield potential a...

Burrowing small mammals in grasslands have long been regarded as pests because they compete for forage with livestock and reduce the forage availability for livestock by destroying pastures through their intensive digging activity. In order to investigate forage competition between the Mongolian Pika (Ochotona pallasi) and livestock an exclosure experiment consisting of four different treatment...

The effect of maize grain supplementation on the resilience and resistance of browsing Criollo goat kids against gastrointestinal nematodes was evaluated. Five-month-old kids (n = 42), raised worm-free, were allocated to five groups: infected + not supplemented (I-NS; n = 10), infected + maize supplement at 108 g/d (I-S108; n = 8), maize supplement at 1% of body weight (BW) (I-S1%; n = 8), maiz...

Preliminary observations suggested that the Neotropical harvestman Jussara sp. (Sclerosomatidae, Eupnoi) had a patchy distribution and a marked seasonality, comparable to species in the Northern hemisphere. This would be an unusual pattern, since conditions of temperature and humidity are very different between tropical and temperate environments. Using a mark-recapture method, we investigated ...

Brachiaria species are cultivated worldwide in tropical and subtropical climates as the main forage source for ruminants. Numerous tropical and warm-season grasses cause hepatogenous photosensitization, among them several species of Brachiaria. Steroidal saponins present in these plants may be responsible for liver damage. However, sporidesmin and other hepatotoxic mycotoxins are likely to prod...

Crabgrass overview Crabgrass was introduced to the United States in 1849 for use as a forage species. The majority of its forage production in Georgia occurs between mid June and early September. Crabgrass can produce relatively large amounts of high quality forage, but is an annual and must produce seed to persist. Pure stands of crabgrass have reportedly produced three to five tons of forage ...

Bermuda grass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] is a major forage for grazing and hay production in the southern United States. The objectives of this study were to determine effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization rate (0, 112, 224, 336, and 448 kg ha−1), split spring and summer applications of N at the 224 and 448 kg ha−1 rates, and harvest periods (spring and summer) on forage yield, crude protein...

Tropical rainforests are considered as hotspots for bird diversity, yet little is known about the system that upholds the coexistence of species. Differences in body size that are associated with foraging strategies and spatial distribution are believed to promote the coexistence of closely related species by reducing competition. However, the fact that many babbler species do not differ signif...

The objective of this work was to use a meta-analytical approach to evaluate the regulation of voluntary intake in cattle fed tropical forage-based diets using dietary digestibility and bulkiness. Treatment mean values were collected from 53 studies with lactating dairy cows and 126 studies with feedlot growing and finishing cattle that were published in Brazil from 1990 to 2012. In all studies...

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was evaluated for its accuracy in analyzing the nutritive value of tropical grass hays made by Florida livestock producers. From 1982 to 1987, a unique set of producer hays was obtained representing four tropical grass species, and an unknown range of maturities, fertilization schemes, weather conditions, and hay making and storage procedures. Gener...