The Amazonian cattle herd has been increasing in recent years, reaching around 2.4
million animals in 2023. In view of this, it is essential that good management practices
aimed at ensuring the productivity and health of animals are adopted within production
systems to promote the advancement of livestock in the state. The preparation of silage
is an alternative to ensure animal feed, especially in the dry season in the region, where
the degradation of pastures is accentuated, requiring strategies to minimize the
impacts of droughts. A viable alternative for producers who wish to reduce feed costs
is the production of BRS Capiaçu grass silage, since its production is relatively simple
and does not require large investments in equipment. One of the perspectives of
current livestock farming is the search for less expensive supplementary food sources
for the formulation of diets for animals. In this scenario, cassava (Manihot esculenta
Crantz) stands out. The aerial part of cassava can be used as green fodder or
preserved in the form of hay or silage. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate
the quality of BRS Capiaçu silages at two cutting ages (60 and 120 days) with the
addition of increasing levels of cassava shoots (0, 10, 20 and 30%). The following
bromatological analyses were performed: Dry Matter (DM), Crude Protein (CP),
Mineral Matter (MM), pH and Aerobic Stability. It was found that the aerial part of
cassava reduced the moisture content of the 60 and 120 day silages. The inclusion of
increasing levels of cassava shoots in silage produced with BRS Capiaçu grass at 60
days of age increased the dry matter content from 16.54 to 35.2% and crude protein
from 3.47 to 10.55%, as well as increased the aerobic stability time. On the other hand,
the silage produced with BRS Capiaçu grass with 120 days of age was the one that
presented the lowest levels of mineral matter due to the higher physiological age of the
plant, however, with the addition of increasing levels of cassava shoots, it significantly
increased the crude protein levels of the silage from 9.42 to 19.96%. Therefore, the
inclusion of cassava shoots can be strategically used to increase the levels of dry
matter and crude protein and, consequently, improve the quality of silages produced
from BRS Capiaçu.
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