A study was conducted in the Brazilian Cerrados to evaluate the performance of six tropical forage grasses (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu, B. brizantha cv. MG-4, B. decumbens cv. Basilisk, Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça, Melinis minutiflora and Hyparrhenia rufa), associated or not with the tropical forage legume Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Mineirão, in a silvopastoral system with a clone of Eucalyptus sp. The forages were established in plots of 12 x 10 m, in the interrows of eucalypts, in a randomized block design with three replications. Ground cover, proportion of the legume and total dry matter availability in the understorey were evaluated one year after the establishment, under short time grazing. After two grazing cycles, there was reduction of the proportion of the legume in the mixture with all grasses, notably with the more aggressive ones (B. brizantha cv. Marandu and B. decumbens), where it practically disappeared. With the other grasses, however, the presence of the legume favored the productivity of the understorey. The grasses with the best productive performance were B. brizantha cv. Marandu, B. decumbens and P. maximum cv. Mombaça, the latter mainly when associated with the legume.
agroforestry systems; grazing; legume; mixture; persistence; shading
