Characterization of population of <i>Machaerium aculeatum</i> Radi in Itambé-PE

Abstract

This work aimed to characterize an “espinheiro” (Machaerium aculeatum Raddi) population. For this purpose, 100 plants growing naturally in a Brachiaria decumbens pasture were evaluated. The following response variables were measured: plant height, crown diameter, leaf biomass, stem biomass, trunk density, stem diameter, root biomass, and chemical composition of grazable biomass (leaves and stem < 4 mm). A descriptive statistics was used for data interpretation. Mean results for plant height, crown diameter and stem diameter were 4.9±3.1 m, 3.09±2.2 m, and 85.8±80.0 mm, respectively. Among the evaluated response variables, plant height, crown diameter, crown biomass, and stem diameter showed the higher correlation between each other. Chemical composition of grazable biomass was 44.0±4.9, 17.0±2.8, 55.3±3.2, 37.8±3.0, 7.1±1.1, 11.2±1.9%, for concentration of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ashes and lignin respectively. These results indicated that the chemical composition of this legume is similar to other forage legumes, being an alternative species for silvipastoril systems in this region.