Forage supply, litter deposition and leaf/stem ratio in ryegrass pasture managed at different heights

The objective of this work was to determine the structural components and the forage supply in ryegrass pastures managed at different heights. A randomized block design with four grazing heights (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm) and one with the absence of grazing (30 cm) was adopted. Four repetitions were carried out, totaling 20 experimental units. Sixty days after the emergence of ryegrass cv. Estanzuela 284, grazing began with the use of four sheep testers, grazing for 45 days. Subsequently the sampling was performed, and the material was separated into fractions of dead material, leaves and stems+ sheaths. Dry matter production increased linearly in response to grazing heights with an increase of 399.76 kg ha-1 for each centimeter increase in pasture management height. However, the increase in management heights also caused a linear increase in litter deposition. For each centimeter of increase in the management height, a deposition of 62.96 kg ha-1 of litter was verified. The leaf/stem ratio presented a quadratic behavior in response to the increase in pasture management heights, so that the lowest leaf/stem ratio was observed at the estimated grazing height of 15.6 cm. The study showed that the higher the pasture height, the higher the dry matter yield, the greater the availability of forage, and consequently the better the animal performance.