Effect of grazing system and the grass species on the pasture infestation and on the nematode gastrointestinal parasitism in beef cattle

Abstract

During two years, the infestation of infecting larvae on grazing grass and the level of gastrointestinal nematodes in beef cattle, in the region of the Brazilian Cerrado, were monitored. In the first study, parasitological variables were investigated on pasture of Panicum maximum cv Mombaça, under continuous or rotational grazing, with four (36 resting days and 12 occupation days) and ten paddocks (36 resting days and 4 occupation days). In the second study, these variables were evaluated with different forage species (Panicum maximum cv Mombaça, Braquiaria brizantha cv Marandu and Cynodon spp). (Tifton 85), under rotational grazing on eight paddocks (28 resting days and 4 occupation days). In the first study, and only in the first year, the infestation of pasture with infecting larvae was lower (P<0.05) in the rotation system with ten divisions. For the remaining observations of both studies, there were no significant effects of grazing systems and grass species on the fecal egg count and the number of infecting larvae in the pasture. These results indicated that, in the conditions the studies were carried out, the pasture resting for 36 days was insufficient to decrease the EPF and the infestation of pasture.