ABSTRACT The present study aimed to correlate the age and weight of Girolando heifers with uterine and ovarian development. Sixty heifers between 12 and 36 months old were weighed and subjected to ultrasound assessment to measure the diameters of each uterine horn and ovaries, monthly. These measures continued until their first ovulation. The animals were divided, for data analysis, according to their age into five groups: GI (12 to 14 months), GII (15 to 18 months), GIII (19 to 24 months), GIV (25 to 30 months), and GV (31 to 36 months). The dispersion diagram was used to assess the correlation between data collected monthly from uterus/ovaries and weight/age. An average daily growth of 0.0032 mm was recorded for the right ovary (RO) and 0.0051 mm for the left ovary (LO). The average size of the RO in GI was 17.58 mm and the LO was 15.28 mm; in GII, the RO was 16.72 mm and the LO was 15.89 mm; in GIII, the RO was 18.37 mm and the LO was 16.55 mm; in GIV, the RO was 19.09 mm and the LO was 17.49 mm; and in GV, the RO was 19.89 mm and the LO was 18.96 mm. The uterine horns showed an average daily growth of 0.0064 mm and 0.0071 mm for the right (RU) and left (LU) uterine horn, respectively. The average sizes of the uterine horns per group were: RU, 11.46 mm and LU, 11.48 mm; RU, 12.41 mm and LU, 12.63 mm; RU, 13.16 mm and LU, 13.19 mm; RU 14.30 mm and LU, 14.58 mm; and RU, 16.12 mm and LU, 16.68 mm for the groups GI, GII, GIII, GIV, and GV, respectively. The heifers showed an average daily weight gain of 0.224 kg and the groups GI, GII, GIII, GIV, and GV had an average weight of 220.5, 239.3, 287.6, 332.9, and 380.1 kg, respectively. Therefore, weight growth correlates with the growth of the ovaries and uterine horns; furthermore, these data correlate positively as the animals age.

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a dinâmica da massa de matéria seca radicular (MSR) e da distribuição percentual (DP) da densidade radicular do capim Florico (Cynodon nlemfuensis), na camada de 0 a 40 cm de profundidade, sob diferentes estratégias de pastejo. Utilizaram-se duas frequências de desfolha (90 e 95% de interceptação luminosa, como critério para a entrada dos animais em pastejo) e duas severidades de desfolha (20 e 30 cm de resíduo pós-pastejo). Realizaram-se quatro avaliações sazonais no sistema radicular, entre o inverno de 2012 e o outono de 2013, tendo-se utilizado a técnica do monólito com escavação de trincheiras, e retirada de amostras de 1 dm3 da superfície do solo até 40 cm de profundidade, em quatro extratos sequenciais de 10 cm de profundidade cada um. Menores valores de MSR (0.69 g dm-3) foram obtidos no inverno, nas quatro estratégias de pastejo, e os maiores na primavera (1.64 g dm-3), para 30 cm de resíduo pós-pastejo, e no outono (1.63 g dm-3) para 20 cm de resíduo pós-pastejo, independentemente da interceptação luminosa adotada. Entre 52 e 66% da densidade de MSR foi observada na camada de 0-10 cm, nas quatro estratégias de pastejo, em todas as estações do ano.

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the variations in root dry matter mass (RDM) and the percentage distribution (PD) of the root density of Florico grass (Cynodon nlemfuensis) in the 0-40-cm soil layer, when managed under different grazing strategies. Two defoliation frequencies (90 and 95% light interception, as the criterion for allowing animals in the paddock) and two defoliation severities (post-grazing heights of 20 or 30 cm) were assessed. Four seasonal evaluations of the root system were performed between the winter of 2012 and the autumn of 2013, using the monolith and trench excavation technique, collecting 1-dm3 samples from soil surface down to a depth of 40 cm, in four sequential extracts of 10 cm each. Lower RDM values (0.69 g dm-3) were obtained in winter, with the four grazing strategies, whereas higher values were observed in spring (1.64 g dm-3), for the 30-cm post-grazing residue, and in autumn (1.63 g dm-3) for the 20 cm post-grazing residue, regardless of the light interception value. Between 52 and 66% of the RDM density was observed in the 10-cm layer, for all four grazing strategies, in all seasons.