Estrategias de manejo de pastizales para la producción sustentable en fincas doble propósito en el occidente de Venezuela

Pasture management strategies to sustainable production in dual purpose farms in four Venezuelan Western States This research was conducted to study the strategies used for pasture management in dual purpose farms. The information was obtained in 99 farms located in 11 municipalities of Trujillo, Merida, Tachira, and Zulia States. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and they were analyzed using the SPSS program. The results show that 100 % of the farmers practice grassland rotation, with 31.79 days of resting and 3.3 days of using period. The mean milk production and weight gain were 5.4 L and 393 g daily per animal, respectively. The use of strategies in pasture management was 100 % for mechanical weed control, 12.1 % for chemical weed control, 62.6 % for soil fertilization, 36.4 % for soil analysis, 21.2 % for use of forages legumes, and 17.2 % for irrigation. It was found significant correlations of milk production and weight gain vs. resting and using periods. Besides, there were significant correlations of milk production and weight gain vs. soils fertilization, soils analysis, and the irrigation practices. The use of strategies to pasture management, in combination with pastures rotation and low use of chemical products, suggest the