Abstract

The Tithonia diversifolia is a plant that has a large root volume, a special ability to recover nutrients from the soil, even when they are found in small proportions, its wide range of adaptation allows it to reach high productions of livestock feed. In order to establish the relationship between age and performance indicators of this species in the edaphoclimatic conditions of Cauto Valley, the study was developed following a randomized block design, with five treatments (60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days). The production of total, edible biomass and dray matter yield (DMY) were evaluated; as well as the establishment of the relationship between these and the days of the forage, regression equations (linear, quadratic, cubic, logarithmic and gompertz) were analyzed and the descending method was used for their selection. With increases as plant maturity progresses, the best results were obtained at 180 days (46.18t GM/ha; 10.96t DM/ha), during the rain for total foliage and DMY, while the edible biomass in dry season with 16.20t GM/ha; with first, second and third order function settings and R² higher than 0.90 in both climatic season. The established models explain the close relationship between dependent and independent variables, with their increase in both seasonal periods.

Keywords: Shrub; Biomass; Equations; Age; Yield