Trade and consumption of buffalo meat in Brazil.

Due to the lack of information concerning the buffalo production chain, the aim of this survey was to identify consumer behaviour, acceptance and trends in relation to buffalo meat. The survey research method was used, for which an online questionnaire was prepared using Google Forms, and distributed via digital platforms to Brazilian consumers. Using the exploratory technique of multivariate statistics, ordination was carried out by principal component analysis (PCA), where the words were grouped into dimensions. Of the respondents, 44.82% had already consumed buffalo meat; however, many did not know whether they had already tried it, since 50.24% of the respondents said they could not identify any difference between buffalo meat and beef. An identification and indication of the origin were considered important by 44.82% of respondents. The respondents cited 1130 different terms, the word 'quality' appearing in most responses. Principal component analysis explained 93.32% of the variations in the consumer perception of buffalo meat. A part of Brazilian consumers is unaware of the buffalo production chain, and have never had the opportunity to consume the meat. The creation and divulgation of a certificate of identification, together with the benefits to health from consuming buffalo meat is fundamental for consumer confidence, which, together with the ready availability of the product, would allow expansion, consolidation and improvement of the production chain. The results of the study show the potential for increasing the consumption of buffalo meat among Brazilian consumers, providing the product included a guarantee of origin, quality and healthiness.

Morphophysiology of forage peanut submitted to different intensities of defoliation on grazing with sheep.

The aim was to monitor the growth, the dry mass accumulation curve, and the structural photosynthetic components of forage peanut pasture, in different intensities of defoliation in sheep rotational stocking. Experimental area of Arachis pintoi (cv. Amarillo) had 0.29 ha divided equally into 16 paddocks of 180 m2 where they were assigned in a randomized block design with four repetitions; intensities of grazing were very lenient, lenient, moderate, and severe, represented by the residue heights of 11.2, 8.4, 5.9, and 3.2 cm respectively, from 14 cm (pre-grazing height). Weekly evaluations were carried out in the remaining period and in the pre and post-grazing period, with the forage cut to soil level for the determination of the dry mass available, separation of the structural components of pasture, and determination of the area of the leaflets. From this information, the values of leaf area index, leaf to stem ratio, and growth ratios were calculated. With these results, for the growth variables, regression curves were estimated as a function of the rest days offered by each treatment. Despite the lower mass of forage obtained when the leaf area is severely defoliated, the species presents even accumulation of biomass and foliar area. Severe grazing intensity resulted in greater accumulation of leaves, reflected in the leaf area ratio and leaf weight ratio. The lenient intensities provide less rest time between grazing, requiring a greater number of paddocks. Under the research conditions, severe defoliation provides less forage to the animals.

Yield, structural composition and nutritive characteristics of ryegrass cultivars used to haymaking in lowland soils / Rendimento, composição estrutural e características nutritivas de cultivares de azevém utilizadas para fenação em solos de várzea

This research aimed to evaluate the dry matter yield, structural composition and nutritive characteristics of diploid and tetraploid annual ryegrass cultivars on different phenological development to haymaking on lowland soils. The experimental design was developed based on randomized blocks with split plots, four cultivars of annual ryegrass (BRS Ponteio and FEPAGRO São Gabriel, diploid; INIA Escorpio and KLM 138, tetraploid), and three phenological crop phases (vegetative, pre-blossoming and blossoming). Were evaluated, dry matter yield, leaf:stem ratio, leaf weight ratio, tiller population density, specific leaf area, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber. All data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by Tukey-Kramer test (p< 0,05). Highest forage mass is obtained with harvest in blossoming stage. Tetraploid cultivars present better leaf proportion and higher content of crude protein during vegetative stage. The decrease the in concentration of protein with the change of phenological stage is less evident on diploid cultivars. The vegetative stage enables harvest forage with high nutritional value, with lower production of biomass.

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o rendimento de matéria seca, composição estrutural e características nutritivas de cultivares de azevém anual, diploides e tetraploides em diferentes estádios fenológicos, para fenação, em solos de várzea. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso, com parcelas divididas, com quatro cultivares de azevém anual (BRS Ponteio e FEPAGRO São Gabriel, diploides; INIA Escorpio e KLM 138, tetraploides) e três estádios fenológicos (vegetativo, pré-florescimento e florescimento). Foram avaliadas: rendimento de matéria seca, relação folha/colmo, razão de peso foliar, densidade populacional de perfilhos, área foliar específica, proteína bruta, fibra em detergente neutro e fibra em detergente ácido. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas pelo teste Tukey-Kramer (p <0,05). A maior massa de forragem é obtida com a colheita no estádio de florescimento. As cultivares tetraploides apresentam melhor proporção foliar e maior teor de proteína bruta durante o período vegetativo. A diminuição na concentração de proteína, com a mudança de estádio fenológico é menos evidente nas cultivares diploides. O estágio vegetativo possibilita a colheita de forragem com alto valor nutricional, mas com menor produção de biomassa.