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. 2023 Apr 12;13(8):1323.
doi: 10.3390/ani13081323.

Pigeon Pea Intercropped with Tropical Pasture as a Mitigation Strategy for Enteric Methane Emissions of Nellore Steers

Althieres José Furtado  1   2 , Adibe Luiz Abdalla Filho  1   2 , Jaqueline Fernandes Bruno  1   2 , Rolando Pasquini Neto  1   2 , Annelise Aila Gomes Lobo  1   2 , Gabriele Voltareli da Silva  1   2 , Flavio Perna Junior  1 , Teresa Cristina Alves  2 , Alexandre Berndt  2 , André de Faria Pedroso  2 , Sérgio Raposo de Medeiros  2 , Patrícia Perondi Anchão Oliveira  2 , Paulo Henrique Mazza Rodrigues  1
Affiliations

Pigeon Pea Intercropped with Tropical Pasture as a Mitigation Strategy for Enteric Methane Emissions of Nellore Steers

Althieres José Furtado et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

In this study, we evaluate the effects of intercropping pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) with tropical pastures for feeding Nellore cattle and compared animal performance and enteric CH4 emissions with other pasture-based systems during the dry and rainy seasons of 2021. Thirty-six Nellore steers (with a body weight of 221 ± 7 kg and an age of 15-16 months) were randomly distributed in three treatments with three replicates (in paddocks of 1.5 hectares each): (1) a degraded pasture of Urochloa spp. (DEG); (2) a recovered and fertilized pasture of Urochloa spp. (REC); and (3) pigeon pea intercropped with Urochloa spp. (MIX). Enteric CH4 emissions were estimated using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas technique, and dry matter intake (DMI) was determined using internal (iNDF) and external (TiO2) markers. Forages were collected by hand plucking after observations of ingestive behavior, and feces was collected after voluntary defecation. The proportion of grass and legume intake was estimated by C stable isotopes, and the forage nutritional quality was determined, while animal performance was monitored monthly, and the stocking rate was adjusted by the "put and take" technique. The results indicated that intercropping pigeon pea with tropical grasses is an interesting strategy for sustainable livestock production based on pastures. The MIX treatment was able to meet the nutritional requirements of the animals, which presented higher performance. In addition, there was a reduction in CH4 emissions up to 70% when expressed per average daily weight gain in comparison to the DEG treatment.

Keywords: Brachiaria spp.; Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.; SF6; Urochloa spp.; cattle; greenhouse gas.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average temperature (°C), accumulated rainfall (mm) and water balance (mm) throughout the experimental period.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Decomposition of the treatment × season interaction for the lignin (Lig; a), ether extract (EE; b), gross energy (GE; c), and condensed tannin (CT; d) contents and dry matter digestibility (DMD; e) of the forages collected by hand-plucking in the different pasture-based systems, considering the proportion of Urochloa spp. (C4) and pigeon pea (C3) intake for the MIX treatment estimated by C stable isotopes. Different capital letters indicate statistical differences among treatments in the same season, while different lowercase letters indicate statistical differences between seasons for each treatment by Fisher’s test (p < 0.05). Vertical bars represent the standard error of the means.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Decomposition of the treatment × season interaction for stocking rate expressed as UA per hectare (a) and as number of animals per hectare (b) in the different pasture-based systems during the experimental period. Different capital letters indicate statistical differences among treatments in the same season, while different lowercase letters indicate statistical differences between seasons for each treatment by Fisher’s test (p < 0.05). Vertical bars represent the standard error of the means.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Decomposition of the treatment × season interaction for enteric CH4 emissions (a–d) and Ym (e) in the different pasture-based systems during the experimental period. Different capital letters indicate statistical differences among treatments in the same season, while different lowercase letters indicate statistical differences between seasons for each treatment by Fisher’s test (p < 0.05). Vertical bars represent the standard error of the means.
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