Let's talk about the grasses intended for cutting

Dear readers, we generally describe the pastures intended for grazing, that is, those that can be consumed directly by the animals on the surface where they are sown, but in addition to this there are also species known as cutting pastures that are erect and are harvested mechanically by man with scythes or machetes to transfer them to the cowgirls or pens to supply fresh to the animals, it can also be harvested and preserved through methods such as silage and be supplied at times when pastures intended for grazing decrease their biomass yield.

In that sense, in the southern area of Lake Maracaibo, there are semi-intensive systems where feeding is combined with cutting grasses and taking the animals to grazing; there are also grasses that, although they are intended for grazing, due to the growth they reach, they are sometimes also cut to be supplied to the animals that are confined in the pens, among the species is the megathyrsus maximus and Echinochloa polystachya. Sometimes corn and forage sorghum are also used to supply it fresh or preserved.

In different tropical areas of Venezuela, according to what was reported by the farmer service foundation in 2005, among the most common species of cutting grasses are the elephant Pennisetum purpureum, which is a forage plant that can reach a height ranging from 2 to 4 meters, there is also the dwarf elephant belonging to the same genus, but they have a lower height of approximately 1.5 meters. Other of the species that can also be found is the green and purple King grass that belong to the same genus, but one of them has a purple color that is why the common name of purple King grass. Currently, in the southern area of the lake a species known as cuba om-22 is being introduced, if you want to know in depth about this species we invite you to visit the following link:

These forage species, according to what we have been able to show in the region where we are, adapt very well to loamy soils with good humidity and temperatures ranging between approximately 28 and 37 ° C, on the other hand, as indicated by fusagri, it can reach a yield of 40 tons of green matter per hectare and protein levels between 9 and 12%.

In this same order of ideas, it is important to mention that these grasslands also need rest periods between one cut and another, also depending on whether there are rainy and few rainy periods since, as we have mentioned in other articles when the rainy period arrives the growth of the plant is more accelerated by the availability of water which shortens the rest period. The harvest of these grasses is carried out at a height starting from the ground of one 5 or 10 cm with the intention that there is a remnant that allows regrowth.

After cutting the plant material is taken to the pens or cowgirls, there with the help of a grass cutter, it is cut into smaller pieces of an approximate size of 2 to 5 cm with the intention that the animal can easily perform the process of rumination, in some occasions to improve the palatability of the fodder molasses is added which is a carbohydrate easily assimilated by ruminants. Regarding consumption, it is estimated that an animal can consume the equivalent of 10% of its live weight, that is, a 400 Kg cow would consume 40 kg of pasture.

Dear readers, in some production units they use a kind of corn as a forage crop intended for cutting and it is supplied fresh for the animals, in the particular case of the southern area of Lake Maracaibo it is used for the preparation of silages, which is harvested when the grain of the cob has a milky state, it should also be taken into account that once cut the forage must be supplied as soon as possible to the animal to avoid any type of fermentation of the plant material that causes rejection in the animals.