The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different sward heights (8.9, 10.0, 11.2, 11.8; 13.3; 13.6; 14.6; 18.2 cm) in the mixture of black oat IAPAR 61 (Avena strigosa Schreb cv IAPAR 61) + field pea (Pisum arvense L.), under grazing, on leaf/stem ratio (L/S), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents and dry matter (DMIVD) and of organic matter (OMIVD) in vitro digestibility. A completely randomized experimental design with two replicates was used. L/S ratio was not influenced by sward height, although it presented quadratic behavior with the progress of maturity of the pasture. CP content presented quadratic behavior during the experimental period, in function of the interaction between sward heights and the time. NDF and ADF contents had a quadratic behavior during the experimental period, with the occurrence of a decrease of it when the plants were shorter and an increase when the plants were higher, due the interaction between time and heights. IVDMD and IVOMD presented linear increments as a result of the increase of sward height, and a quadratic behavior as a consequence of the time in all sward heights, being higher in the average ones.
acid detergent fiber; crude protein; dry matter digestibility; leaf/stem ratio; neutral detergent fiber; organicmatter digestibility
