It was evaluated in this work the contents of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), total digestible nutrients (TDN), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) in the aerial section of the Tanzania grass (Panicum maximum), fertilized with nitrogen and phosphorus during the summer and autumn. The experimental design was complete randomized, with a 4 × 3 factorial scheme, and four N rates (0, 100, 200, and 300 kg/ha/year), and three pentoxide diphosphorus (P2O5) rates (0, 50, and 100 kg/ha/year), with three replicates. Three cuts were made at 40 cm of the soil, every 35 days. After each cut, the fertilization was accomplished, and P2O5 was applied only once on the uniformed cut and N was parceled in three times. Nitrogen rates did not affect contents of magnesium and they reduced contents of dry matter, calcium and phosphorus, while phosphate fertilization increased levels of phosphorus. Fertilization had a quadratic effect on the levels of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and total digestible nutrients providing a forage of better quality as doses increased, mainly nitrogen doses. In the studied edaphoclimathic conditions, it is recommend fertilization of Tanzania grass with 300 kg of N/ha and 100 kg of P2O5/ha.
crude protein; dry matter; minerals; neutral detergent fiber; Panicum maximum; roughage
