Authors : Jesus Herrera Corral, Francisco Gonzalez Gonzalez, Oscar F. Carrete Carreon, Nestor Naranjo Jimenez, Martin E. Pereda-Solis and Yolanda Herrera Arrieta
Abstract: The sustainable exploitation and management of natural resources requires greater knowledge. Grasslands are complex ecosystems where the interaction of their components rules the preservation of the resource. Grazing is a form to regulate the existence of grasslands and their rational use depends on the knowledge that integrates the management. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the botanical and chemical composition of the diet selected by cattle grazing on open grassland in Northern Mexico. Voluntary forage intake, digestibility, crude protein and detergent fiber were calculated. A total of 65 species, 53 genera and 16 families are present in the grasslands of the study area. The families with the greatest number of genera were: Gramineae (23), Compositeae (11), Leguminaseae (3) and Convolvulaceae (3). The diet selected by cattle in the rainy season is composed by plants from 10-12 families, 10 genera and 11 species of grasses, 27 genera and 28 species of herbaceous plants. The diet for the dry season was composed by 4 families, 4 genera and 4 species of grasses; 3 genera and 3 species of herbaceous plants. In general, the diet was composed of 40 species which corresponds to 61.5% of the species found in the grassland. Voluntary intake was 2.51% of live weight for the rainy season and 2.16% for dry season. The content of crude protein and digestibility in the diet was 7.18, 6.13, 65.18 and 63.4% for the rainy and dry season, respectively. The analysis of fibers by season showed significant differences (p<0.05) and no significant differences were found between animals and days of sampling by season.
Jesus Herrera Corral, Francisco Gonzalez Gonzalez, Oscar F. Carrete Carreon, Nestor Naranjo Jimenez, Martin E. Pereda-Solis and Yolanda Herrera Arrieta, 2011. Composition and Quality of Cattle Diet under Extensive Grazing on Grasslands in Northern Mexico. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 10: 2831-2837.