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Water footprint, herbage, and livestock responses for nitrogen‐fertilized grass and grass–legume grazing systems

2021; Wiley; Volume: 61; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/csc2.20568

1435-0653

David M. Jaramillo, José Carlos Batista Dubeux, Lynn E. Sollenberger, João Vendramini, Cheryl Mackowiak, Nicolás DiLorenzo, Liza Garcia, Luana M. D. Queiroz, Erick R. S. Santos, Bruno Grossi Costa Homem, Flávia de Oliveira Scarpino van Cleef, Martin Ruiz‐Moreno,

Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Abstract Replacing N fertilizer with forage legumes may increase sustainability of grazing systems. The objectives were to evaluate herbage and animal responses and to quantify the water footprint associated with beef production in N‐fertilized grass or grass–legume systems during 4 yr under continuous stocking. The three year‐round forage systems were: Grass+N which included N‐fertilized bahiagrass ( Paspalum notatum Flüggé) during summer which was overseeded with N‐fertilized cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.) and oat ( Avena sativa L.) during winter; Grass+Clover included bahiagrass without N fertilizer during summer which was overseeded with rye, oat, and a mixture of clovers ( Trifolium spp.) during winter; and Grass+Clover+RP included rhizoma peanut ( Arachis glabrata Benth.)–bahiagrass mixture during summer which was overseeded with a similar rye–oat–clover mixture as for Grass+Clover. Clover inclusion improved uniformity of herbage distribution throughout the winter. Including rhizoma peanut increased cattle average daily gain (ADG) by 74% during summer. The ADG in Grass+Clover+RP was 0.61 kg d −1 compared with 0.35 kg d −1 on Grass+N and Grass+Clover. The water footprint during summer was less in Grass+Clover+RP than Grass+Clover (18 and 25 m 3 kg −1 bodyweight, respectively). Gain per area (GPA) was similar across all treatments through the year, indicating similar productivity in grass–legume and N‐fertilized grass systems. The N‐fertilizer inputs were reduced from 224 to 34 kg N ha −1 yr −1 in Grass+Clover+RP, compared to Grass+N. Inclusion of rhizoma peanut and clovers contributes to developing sustainable grazing systems with reduced levels of off‐farm inputs.