The objective of the work was to evaluate ruminal fermentation kinetics parameters of Brachiaria brizantha, harvested at 28, 35 and 54 days, using the semiautomatic in vitro gas production technique. Analyses were carried out for dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein (NDF AP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent insoluble nitrogen (NDIN), acid detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN), lignin (LIG), total carbohydrates (TC), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC), fraction B2 and the fraction C, respectively. The data of gas production were adjusted to the bicompartmental logistic model. The design used was completely randomized. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and regression, at the level of 5% probability. There was a significant effect (p <0.05), for the variables DM, NDF AP, ADF, NDIN, ADIN, TC, B2, with linear increase as harvest age advanced. For gas production, fraction A was similar between the ages of 28 and 35 days, with 95.75 and 116.8 mL g-1 of DM, respectively. The recommended age to obtain the best nutritional value of Brachiaria brizantha was 28 days.
Brachiaria brizantha; degradation rate; gas production