Germination, Vigor of Seeds and Emergence of Fabaceae Seedling in Bovine Faeces

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.