Productivity and nutritive value of Tifton 85 grass irrigated and overseeding with oats

The study was conducted from April to November, 2012, at a farm of dairy products in the municipality of Mariluz, Nortwest of Parana, with the objective to evaluate the productivity, botanical composition and nutritive value of Tifton 85 overseeding with oats, in the presence and absence of irrigation. The experimental design was a randomized block in split-plot with four replications. The plots were with and without irrigation. The subplots consisted of oats overseeding: FMS 2, IAPAR 61, IAPAR 126 and a treatment with Tifton 85 alone. The collection cycles composed the split plots. Irrigation increased pasture productivity with mean production of 2760.4 kg ha(-1) cycle(-1) with higher leaf/stem ratio of 2.8, increasing dry matter digestibility. The values of crude protein were higher in irrigated and decreased in non-irrigated and irrigated, along the collection cycles from 18.6 to 13.6%. The highest productivities were obtained through overseeding with oats FMS 2 and IPR 126. Tifton 85 alone showed the greatest amount of neutral detergent fiber and lesser digestibility.