FORAGE ESTIMATION METHODS IN ASSOCIATIONS OF OVILLO GRASS, PERENNIAL RYEGRASS AND WHITE CLOVER

Grazing must be managed according to the meadow; for it, it is necessary to have techniques that estimate forage availability, quality and its subsequent recovery. The objective of this research was to evaluate the indirect methods of rule and ascending plate and their relationship with the direct method of the fixed square in associations of ovillo grass, perennial ryegrass and white clover. Treatments consisted of the following associations (%): 20-40-40, 00-50-50, 40-20-40, 50-00-50, 20-70-10, 70-20-10,100-00-00, 40-40-20 of ball (Ov), perennial ryegrass (Ba) and white clover (Tr). The evaluated traits were: forage yield with the fixed frame, rule height and ascending plate in two years of evaluation. Apart from the associations, the following ascending order was obtained in the seasons at the height with the rule: spring > summer > autumn > winter with 37 > 23 > 17 > 15 (P > 0.05). The association with greater height with the ascending plate was variable regardless of the season of the year. In spring were 40-20-40, 20-40-40 and 70-20-10 of ball grass, perennial ryegrass and white clover with 29 cm, in summer was 50-00-50 with 19 cm, in autumn 20-40-40 with 18 cm and in winter 20-70-10 with 12 cm (P = 0.05). Both, in the height method with the ruler and ascending plate as in the fixed frame method there was a linear trend, and the highest relationship, with R-2 of 0.8059 (P > 0.001), was the rule method, and the lowest, with R-2 0.7213 (P > 0.05), was the ascending plate. In conclusion, there was a greater relationship in the forage yield of the fixed frame with the method of height with the rule and less with the ascending plate.