The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of finishing Lacaune lambs fed Cratylia argentea hay as an alternative to Tifton 85 (Cynodon spp). Twenty-four Lacaune lambs aged between five and six months (average body weight [BW] 21.50 ± 3.38 kg) were arranged in a split-plot randomized block design. The plots consisted of different Cratylia to Tifton 85 hay proportions (0, 20%, 40%, or 100%, dry matter [DM] basis) as a roughage replacement in the total diet. The subplots represented two evaluation times, entitled “initial period” and “final period”, which consisted of the early seven days of total feces and urine collection, and the last seven days of the experiment, respectively. The lambs were blocked by weight with six replicates per treatment. The results show that the level of Tifton 85 replacement for Cratylia hay in the roughage portion of the lamb diet did not influence (P > 0.05) weight gain (WG), dry matter intake or dry matter digestibility; feed conversion, feed efficiency; and the evaluated nitrogen balance variables. Thus, the alternative legume successfully maintained animal performance of Tifton 85. The digestibility coefficient of neutral detergent fiber decreased linearly as Tifton 85 replacement for Cratylia level was increased, which probably happened due to the presence of highly lignified material within the Cratylia hay. In conclusion, Cratylia hay can be recommended as a feeding strategy for livestock production, especially in regions with unfavorable soil and climate, which requires greater inputs for the production of forage grasses, as Tifton 85.

In-season weed control with glyphosate could be a feasible option if bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] tolerance to glyphosate was better understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the tolerance of bermudagrass cultivars 'Goodwell' and 'Greenfield' to varying glyphosate rates under controlled environment. The experimental design was a factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design (CRD) with the two forage bermudagrass cultivars and the five glyphosate application rates (0.35, 0.47, 0.95, 1.37, and 2.75 lb a.i. ac −1) plus the nontreated control. Visual injury (VI) was collected at 8, 16, and 24 days after glyphosate application (DAG), and dry matter regrowth relative to nontreated control (%DMR rel) was measured at 56 DAG. Results indicated that VI developed faster in Goodwell until 8 DAG, but both cultivars had similar glyphosate VI at its peak (16 DAG). Although glyphosate VI was similar in both cultivars at 16 and 24 DAG, Goodwell showed greater %DMR rel at glyphosate rates ≥0.95 lb a.i. ac −1 than Greenfield at 56 DAG. Moreover, the prediction of %DMR rel from previous canopy VI followed distinct negative exponential relationships for each cultivar-DAG combination. The Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) numerical differences were negligible when comparing relationships at different DAGs for a specific cultivar. Practically, VI readings taken at any evaluated DAGs were considered appropriate for estimating %DMR rel. Results suggested that bermudagrass glyphosate tolerance is cultivar-dependent, where Goodwell showed improved tolerance allowing in-season glyphosate application to control weeds at higher rates than Greenfield. Studies at field conditions must be performed to validate our findings. Abbreviations: AICc, Akaike Information Criterion; %DMR rel , percentage of dry matter regrowth relative to the non-treated control; DAG, days after glyphosate application; VI, visual injury. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.