Do Grazing Strategies Influence Morphological Components and Sheep Behavior in Marandu Pastures?

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different grazing strategies before pasture deferral on the structure of marandu grass pastures and the ingestive behavior of sheep during the winter, as well as to analyze correlations between pasture morphological components and animal behavior. The treatments were (1) continuous stocking at 15 cm (LC 15), (2) intermittent stocking with pre‐ and postgrazing heights of 25 and 15 cm (LI 25/15), and (3) continuous stocking with gradual lowering from 35 to 15 cm (LC 35/15). Sheep behavior was evaluated at the beginning (July) and middle (August) of the grazing period. Sheep in LC 35/15 pastures spent more time ruminating (132.9 min day −1 ) compared with LC 15 (105.0 min day −1 ) and LI 25/15 (101.9 min day −1 ) pastures ( p < 0.10). At the beginning of winter, pastures showed higher forage mass (9148 kg DM ha −1 ) and higher proportions of live leaves (25.3%), whereas in midwinter forage mass decreased (6362 kg DM ha −1 ) and dead tissue increased ( p < 0.05). Grazing time was negatively correlated with forage mass ( r = –0.70) and live leaves ( r = –0.91) and positively correlated with dry matter content ( r = 0.91; p < 0.05). These results indicate that sheep increase grazing time as pasture structure deteriorates, compensating for reduced availability of nutritious tissues. The LC 35/15 strategy provided higher forage mass and favored rumination, suggesting it as a suitable management practice for deferred marandu pastures during the winter.