The dry matter intake and daily weight gain prediction of cattle by Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) for Brazilian conditions were evaluated. Several published thesis from Departamento de Zootecnia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa were used as a data source for this work, which contain results referent to dry matter intake and daily weight gain of the animals. The available data were tested by CNCPS to compare the estimate and absorved dry matter intake and daily weight gain. The observed dry matter intake ranged among the animal categories and was always underestimated by CNCPS. The best dry matter intake were predicted for steers slaughtered at 405 and 500 kg LW with higher concentrate level in the diet. The regression equation Y OBS = 2.27107 + 0.96747 X CNCPS (r² = 0.92; P<0.01) showed the same tendency as the ideal relation line (Y=X) and could be used to estimate the dry matter intake from the CNCPS predicted values. The observed daily weight gain when compared to the CNCPS predicted values present high variations, and the best daily weight gain was predicted for steers slaughtered at 450 and 500 kg LW fed diets with forage to concentrate rations one by one and for animals slaughtered at 190 kg LW. The regression equation Y OBS = 0.82032 + 0.11853 X CNCPS (r² = 0.08; P<0.05) did not present the same tendency as for the ideal straight line and showed changes on observed daily weight gain. CNCPS presented a good dry matter intake prediction, but was not adequate to predict the daily weight gain.
CNCPS; intake; weight gain; predict
