Distribution of infective gastrointestinal helminth larvae in tropical erect grass under different feeding systems for lambs

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2015-08, Vol.47 (6), p.1145-1152
• Main Authors: Tontini, Jalise Fabíola, Poli, Cesar Henrique Espírito Candal, Bremm, Carolina, de Castro, Juliane Machado, Fajardo, Neuza Maria, Sarout, Bruna Nunes Marsiglio, de Souza Castilhos, Zélia Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Husbandry; Animals; Animals, Newborn - physiology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body Weight; Brazil; Climate; Dietary Supplements; Grasses; Grasslands; Helminthiasis, Animal - parasitology; Helminthiasis, Animal - prevention & control; Helminths - isolation & purification; Larva; Larvae; Life Sciences; Male; Microclimate; Panicum maximum; Parasites; Pasture; Poaceae; Regular Articles; Sheep - physiology; Sheep Diseases - parasitology; Sheep Diseases - prevention & control; Sward; Vertical distribution; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-015-0841-4

This study examined tropical pasture contamination dynamics under different feeding systems for finishing lambs. The experiment aimed to evaluate the vertical distribution of gastrointestinal helminth infective larvae (L3) in erect grass subjected to grazing and to assess the parasite load and its impact on lamb performance in three production systems. Three treatments based on Aruana grass (Panicum maximum cv. IZ-5) were as follows: T1, grass only; T2, grass with 1.5 % of body weight (BW) nutrient concentrate supplementation; and T3, grass with 2.5 % BW concentrate supplementation. The randomized block design had three replicates of three treatments, with six lambs per replicate. L3 were recovered from three pasture strata (upper, middle, and bottom), each representing one third of the sward height, and correlated with microclimatic data. Significant differences (P  0.05). Pasture microclimate did not correlate with larval recovery. At the end of the experiment, the animal fecal egg count was similar among treatments (P > 0.05). The results indicated that different lamb feeding systems in a tropical erect grassland caused differences in grass height but did not affect the distribution of infective larvae among strata. Larvae were found from the base to the top of the grass sward.