The quality of B. radicans, former B. radicans pasture, was evaluated using extrusa collection, hand-plucked and total availability methods. Three esophageous fistulated steers were used for the extrusa collection. Samples for total availability of the pasture were collected cutting plant material close to the ground inside a metalic square (0.5 x 0.5m). hand-plucked method was performed manually. There was a significant effect for the months of collection for the in vitro dry matter disapperance, but not among the collection methods tested. The extrusa collection method showing the highest values (62.1%). There was no difference for crude protein among the simulated grazing and extrusa methods. The CP values for the total availability methods were under 7%. Mean values for the neutral detergent fiber (72.3%) and acid detergent fiber (38.2%) obtained by the collection methods tested confirmed that tropical forrages have high cell wall contents. The samples obtained by the total availability method did not represent the animals ingesta. The collection method influenced the pasture quality evaluation. The hand-plucked method can be a satisfactory estimated for the diet select by the cattle.
extrusa; fiber; hand-plucked; protein; tanner grass
