TITLE:
Germination, Vigor of Seeds and Emergence of Fabaceae Seedling in Bovine Faeces
AUTHORS:
Renata Vianna Lima, Henrique Duarte Vieira, Francielle de Souza Guimarães, Nardele Moreno Rohem Jr., Tatiana Oliveira da Silva, Alberto Magno Fernandes, Cynthia Pires Guimarães, Amanda Justino Acha, Bruno Borges Deminicis
KEYWORDS:
Pueraria phaseoloides, Leucaena leucocephala, Calopogonium mucunoides, Dispersal, Physiological Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.14,
July
3,
2014
ABSTRACT:
This
study was conducted to evaluate the physiological quality of forage seeds after
passage through the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, as well as the emergence
of seedlings derived from these seeds. Three Fabaceae species were used: tropical kudzu, leucaena and calopo.
One hundred grams of seeds of each species were offered, separately, to five
bovines. After the start of the dispersion, the faeces of the animals were
collected every 6 hours, in a total of 72 hours, being taken to the greenhouse
immediately after each collection. The study evaluated the total number of
seedlings in the stool, the lengths of roots and aerial parts, as well as the
natural and dry seedling weight thirty days after the disposal of the faeces in
the greenhouse. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, with
twelve treatments (sampling periods) and five replications (cattle). The best
performance for the total number of seedlings in the faeces of cattle was
observed in the kudzu species. The length of the root, length of the aerial
part and dry matter seedling weight was observed in the leucaena species,
followed by kudzu. The calopo showed low results for all variables due to the
high degradation of the seeds.