Productive potential of three Urochloa hybrids in low-fertility soils of the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

Tropical livestock production relies on the availability of adapted forages capable of sustaining productivity under limiting soil conditions. This study evaluated the performance of three Urochloa hybrids grown in low-fertility soils of a seasonally dry tropical forest in the Peruvian Amazon. The experiment was conducted at the Estación Experimental Agraria El Porvenir–INIA under a randomized complete block design with three replications and five consecutive harvests at 60-day intervals. Soil characteristics and Growth, yield, productive, and quality parameters were evaluated. Rotational harvesting improved soil properties, including organic matter and nutrient availability. During the initial harvests Cobra showed better growth and yield performance; however, Mavuno and Mulato II surpassed it at later stages, especially in fresh and dry matter yield. In the fourth and fifth harvests, Mavuno achieved the highest production (32.10 and 32.94 t ha⁻¹ of fresh matter, and 7.65 and 7.18 t ha⁻¹ of dry matter), followed by Mulato II (28.82 and 29.15 t ha⁻¹ of fresh matter, and 6.73 and 6.70 t ha⁻¹ of dry matter), both significantly better than Cobra (20.51 and 21.51 t ha⁻¹ of fresh matter, and 5.00 and 5.16 t ha⁻¹ of dry matter). Annual carrying capacity was highest for Mavuno (3.72 TLU ha⁻¹⸱year⁻¹), followed by Mulato II (3.41 TLU ha⁻¹⸱year⁻¹) and Cobra (2.97 TLU ha⁻¹⸱year⁻¹). The protein contents of Mavuno (9.61 g⸱kg⁻¹) and Mulato II (9.54 g⸱kg⁻¹) were significantly higher than that of Cobra (6.33 g⸱kg⁻¹). Mavuno and Mulato II hybrids have proven to be promising forage alternatives for sustainable livestock systems in seasonally dry tropical conditions.