Silvopastoral systems as a strategy to attenuate the negative effects of heat stress on productivity of beef cows grazing natural grassland

Silvopastoral systems as a strategy to attenuate the negative effects of heat stress on productivity of beef cows grazing natural grassland

Heat stress affects cow-calf performance during the summer; thus, it is relevant to study attenuation strategies. The thermal environment, physiological response to heat stress, concentrations of metabolic hormones and productivity of cow-calf pairs grazing silvopastoral (SPS) and full sun (FS) syst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agroforestry systems Vol. 98; no. 7; pp. 1995 - 2011
Main Authors: Goncherenko, G. A., Báez, F., Fedrigo, J. K., Santa Cruz, R., Claramunt, M., Mercadante, V. R. G., Viñoles, C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-10-2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Agriculture
Beef cattle
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Calves
Cattle
Forestry
Gametocytes
Grasslands
Grazing
Heat
Heat stress
Heat tolerance
Hormones
Insulin-like growth factor I
Life Sciences
Physiological effects
Productivity
Temperature effects
Thermal environments
Vagina
Weaning
Heat stress
Temporary weaning
Reproductive performance
Weaning weight
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Summary:Heat stress affects cow-calf performance during the summer; thus, it is relevant to study attenuation strategies. The thermal environment, physiological response to heat stress, concentrations of metabolic hormones and productivity of cow-calf pairs grazing silvopastoral (SPS) and full sun (FS) systems, associated or not with temporary weaning (TW) were evaluated. Eighty-four Braford crosses cow-calf pairs were randomly assigned to four treatments in two years: (1) SPS + TW (n = 15), (2) SPS − TW (n = 28), (3) FS + TW (n = 18) and (4) FS − TW (n = 23). The black globe temperature humidity index was lower under the trees shade, thus SPS cows explored a larger area ( P  < 0.01) and grazed longer ( P  < 0.05). Live weight of cows and calves and body condition score of cows were greater in SPS than FS ( P  < 0.01). IGF-I concentrations were greater in SPS than FS ( P  = 0.001), but decreased in SPS + TW cow-calf pairs ( P  < 0.01). TW decreased insulin concentration in cows and increased its concentrations in calves ( P  = 0.01). Cows grazing SPS had less observations with vaginal temperature ≥ 39.1°C compared to FS cows ( P  < 0.001). SPS + TW cows tended to ovulate earlier postpartum ( P  ≤ 0.1), but days to conception and pregnancy were similar between groups. In conclusion, SPS provided a more comfortable thermal environment, associated to a decrease in the vaginal temperature of cows. This resulted in longer grazing sessions and hormone dynamics compatible with greater animal productivity and earlier reinitiation of cyclicity. TW decreased IGF-I concentrations in cows grazing SPS, thus the lack of its protective effect on the oocyte impeded the advancement of conception.
ISSN:0167-4366
1572-9680
DOI:10.1007/s10457-024-01081-9