Características agronômicas de cana-de-açúcar para alimentação animal

Abstract

The sugarcane has huge potential as forage use for animal feed, especially in dry periods. Based on the above considerations, the main of this work was to study the productivity of five varieties of sugarcane under the same edaphoclimatic conditions, in the southern region of Espírito Santo. The work was conducted in the experimental area of the Center for Agricultural Sciences and Engineering of the Federal University of Espirito Santo. The sugarcane varieties used were: RB867515; RB835486; RB855536; SP801842; and the regional variety known as Palito cane, widely used by producers in the region. These varieties were recognized for their rusticity, high commercial value, and great suitability for animal feed. The experimental design was a completely randomized block design (RBD) with five treatments (varieties) and 10 replications. Where were evaluated: the number of stalks, stalk diameter (cm), knot length (cm), stalk length with ferrule (m), culm length without ferrule (m), culm fresh mass with ferrule (kg), culm fresh mass stem without tip (kg), broth volume (mL), º Brix and productivity in t.ha-1. The experimental data were subjected to analysis of variance, using the Tukey test at 5% significance for comparison between the means. The evaluated sugarcane varieties show a significant difference. The variety RB867515 showed a greater balance between the evaluated agronomic characteristics and greater potential to continue studies for animal feed.