Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Parasitic helminth infection in young cattle raised on silvopasture and open-pasture in Southeastern Brazil

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

More than 95 % of Brazil’s beef production occurs in pastures where parasitic helminths are a serious problem, potentially inhibiting an average annual weight gain of 8 kg per young animal. Current pharmaceutical treatments for parasitic infestation are expensive (estimated to cost Brazil 370 million U.S. dollars per year) and sometimes inefficient due to rapid adaptation of worms to new drugs. The presence of trees in pastures (silvopasture) has proven to be environmentally beneficial, but may favor multiplication of parasites and cause higher infestation rates compared to traditional pastures. This study in Southeastern Brazil compared the weight gains of crossbred Holstein and Gir (Zebu) bovines, 8–24 months of age, under two different grazing systems: open (tree-less) pasture, and silvopasture (primarily “Sucupiras Brancas” at 156 trees ha−1). Despite the favorable environment for helminths, silvopasture did not increase the worm egg count per gram of animal feces and did not create overall weight or weight gain patterns different from those of animals grazing on the open pasture. The experiment took place from August 2008 to February 2009, encapsulating the transition from the dry to rainy season; a period when worm infection rates are highest, causing the greatest impact in animal development. The significance of this period aside, the results must be taken as indicative due to the short time frame and the extraneous challenges of climate variation, individual immune system resistance development, and natural helminth predator growth conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

EPG:

Eggs of helminths per gram of feces

OP:

Open pasture

SP:

Silvopasture

WEC:

Worm egg count

DWG:

Daily weight gain

DM:

Dry matter

References

  • Araujo JV, Assis RCL, Campos AK, Mota MA (2006) Efeito antagonico de fungos predadores dos generos Monacrosporium, Arthrobotrys e Duddingtonia sobre larvas infectantes de Cooperia sp. e Oesophagostomum sp. Arq Bras Med Vet Zootec 58:373–380 (in Portuguese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bianchin I (1991) Epidemiologia e controle de helmintos gastrintestinais em bezerros a partir da desmama, em pastagem melhorada, em clima tropical do Brasil. Dissertation, UFRRJ,Rio de Janeiro (in Portuguese)

  • Boffa JM (1999) Agroforestry Parklands in Sub-Saharan Africa. FAO Conservation Guide 34, Rome

  • Campiglia MA (2002) Influencia de sistemas silvipastoris sobre a dinamica populacional de besouros coprofagos. Dissertation, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. http://www.tede.ufsc.br/teses/PAGR0072.pdf. Accessed 13 Mar 2013 (in Portuguese)

  • CNPF—Embrapa (1992) Aspectos tecnicos e economicos do sistema agrossilvipastoril com acacia-negra no Rio Grande do Sul. In: Encontro Brasileiro de Economia e Planejamento Florestal 2, Curitiba, Brazil. Anais. Colombo: Embrapa-CNPF I:211–219 (in Portuguese)

  • Conover WJ (1999) Practical nonparametric statistics, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Corsi M, Martha GB Jr (2001) Pastagens no Brasil: Situacao atual e perspectivas. Revista Preços Agricolas, pp 3–6 (in Portuguese)

  • Davis AL, Van Aarde RJ, Scholtz CH, Delport JH (2002) Increasing representation of localized dung beetles across a chronosequence of regenerating vegetation and natural dune forest in South Africa. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 11:191–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fincher GT (1975) Effects of dung beetle activity on the number of nematode parasites acquired by grazing cattle. J Parasitol 61:759–762

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freitas MG (1976) Helmintologia Veterinaria. Copiadora e Editora Rabelo & Brasil Ltda, Belo Horizonte

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia R, Andrade CMS (2001) Sistemas silvipastoris na Regiao Sudeste. In: Embrapa Gado de Leite. Anais. Sistemas Agroflorestais Pecuarios: Opcoes de sustentabilidade para áreas tropicais e subtropicais. FAO, Brasilia, pp 173–187 (in Portuguese)

  • Garcia R, Couto L (1991) Sistemas silvipastoris: experiencias no estado de Minas Gerais. In: Congresso Brasileiro de Economia e Planejamento Florestal, 2 Curitiba, Brazil (in Portuguese)

  • Garrett HE, Kerley MS, Ladyman KP, Walter WD, Godsey LD, Van Sambeek JW, Brauer DK (2004) Hardwood silvopasture management in North America. Agroforestry Systems, 61–62. Issue 1–3:21–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon HM, Whitlock HV (1939) A new technique for counting nematode eggs in sheep feces. J Counc Sci Ind Res 12:50–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Guimaraes MP, Freitas MG, Costa HMA, Costa JO (1975) Intensidade parasitaria por nematoides no tubo digestivo de bezerros em diferentes faixas etárias. Arquivo da Escola de Veterinaria da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, 27:67–72 (in Portuguese)

  • Gutierrez A, de Gives Pedro ICM, Liebano Hernández E, Lopez Arellano ME, Valero Coss RO, Hernández Velázquez VM (2011) Nematophagous fungi (Orbiliales) capturing, destroying and feeding on the histotrophic larvae of Haemonchus contortus (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae). Revista Mexicana de Micologia, Junio-Sin:29–35

  • Hahn GL (1999) Dynamic responses of cattle to thermal heat loads. J Anim Sci 77(suppl2):10–20

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanski I (1989) Dung beetles. In: Lieth H, Werger MJA (eds) Tropical rain forest ecosystems. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 489–511

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • IBGE—Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (2007) Censo agropecuario 2006. IBGE, Rio de Janeiro

    Google Scholar 

  • INMET—Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (2013) Climatologia da regiao de Divinopolis, MG Brazil http://www.inmet.gov.br. Accessed 13 Mar 2013 (in Portuguese)

  • Kanda N, Yokota T, Shibata EI, Sato H (2005) Diversity of dung-beetle community in declining Japanese subalpine forest caused by an increasing sika deer population. Ecol Res, 20:135–141, http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11284-004-0033-6. Accessed 13 Mar 2013

    Google Scholar 

  • Lima WS (2004) Os inimigos ocultos da pecuária. DBO, Saude Animal, 8–16 (in Portuguese)

  • Martins JL (2001) Avaliacao da qualidade termica do sombreamento natural de algumas especies arboreas, em condicao de pastagem. Dissertation, Unicamp, Campinas http://libdigi.unicamp.br/document/?code=vtls000239680. Accessed 30 Apr 2009 (in Portuguese)

  • Martius C, Höfer H, Garcia MVB, Römbke J, Förster B, Hanagarth W (2004) Microclimate in agroforestry systems in central Amazonia: does canopy closure matter to soil organisms? Agrofor Syst 05:291–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreira MZ, Scholz FG, Bucci SJ, Sternberg LS, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Franco AC (2003) Hydraulic lift in a neotropical savanna. Funct Ecol 17:573–581

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR (2005) Agroforestry: trees in support of sustainable agriculture. In: Hillel H, Hatfield JL, Powlson DS, Rosenzweig C, Scow KM, Singer MJ, Sparks DL (eds) Encyclopedia of soils in the environment, 1. Elsevier, London, pp 35–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair PK, Tonucci RG, Garcia R, Nair VD (2011) Silvopasture and carbon sequestration with special reference to the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado). In: Kumar BM, Nair RPK (eds) Carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems: opportunities and challenges. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 145–162

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sampaio IBM (2010) Estatistica aplicada a experimentacao animal. Fundacao de Ensino e Pesquisa em Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia, Belo Horizonte

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharrow SH, Brauer DK, Clason TR (2009) Silvopastoral practices. In: Garret HE (ed) “Gene” North American Agroforestry: an Integrated Science and Practice, 2nd edn. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 105–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva ME and Lima WS (2009) Controle e aspectos epidemiologicos das helmintoses de bovinos. Boletim técnico #93—Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais—EPAMIG, Belo Horizonte (in Portuguese)

  • Sindan (2012) Sindicato Nacional da Industria de Produtos para Saude Animal—Mercado dos Produtos para Saude Animal, Brazil. http://www.sindan.org.br/sd/base.aspx?controle=8 Acessed 1 Oct 2013 (in Portuguese)

  • Soca M, Simon L, Roche Y, Sanchez S, Aguilar A, Gomez E (2001) Parasitological dynamics of bovine dropping under silvopastoral system conditions. In: International symposium on silvipastoral systems—Second Congress on Agroforestry and Livestock Production in Latin America. San Jose, pp 122–126

  • Spector S, Ayzama S (2003) Rapid turnover and edge effects in dung beetle assemblanges (Scarabaeidae) at a Bolivian Neotropical Forest Savanna ecotone. Biotropica 35:394–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylvain ZA, Wall DH (2011) Linking soil biodiversity and vegetation: Implications for a changing planet. Am J Bot 98:517–527

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ueno H, Goncalves PC (1998) Manual para diagnostico das helmintoses de ruminantes. 4th edition. Japan International Cooperation Agency, Tokyo (in Portuguese)

  • Zimmer AH, Euclides VPB, Macedo MCM (1995) Manejo de plantas forrageiras do gênero Brachiaria. In: Anais do 9º simpósio sobre manejo da pastagem. Plantas Forrageiras de Pastagens. Aristeu Mendes Peixoto e outros, Piracicaba, pp 101–143 (in Portuguese)

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Amilton Naves who permitted us to use his farm, animals and employees to do this research on, and the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) for the award of an overseas research fellowship (bolsa sanduiche) permitting the senior author’s term as a visiting scholar at the University of Florida. There, we are grateful to Professor P.K.R. Nair (School of Forest Resources and Conservation) and Professor Vimala Nair (Soil and Water Science Department) for their assistance and for facilitating the stay of Rodrigo Mendonca in Florida, and to Exagro and CNPQ who supported the study group.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Production, Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, PO Box 567, Av Antonio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30123-970, Brazil

    R. M. A. de Mendonca & A. M. Q. Lana

  2. Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, PO Box 567, Av Antonio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30123-970, Brazil

    R. C. Leite & J. O. Costa

  3. School of Forest Resources & Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    G. Toth

Authors
  1. R. M. A. de Mendonca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. C. Leite
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. M. Q. Lana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. O. Costa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. G. Toth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. M. A. de Mendonca.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

de Mendonca, R.M.A., Leite, R.C., Lana, A.M.Q. et al. Parasitic helminth infection in young cattle raised on silvopasture and open-pasture in Southeastern Brazil. Agroforest Syst 88, 53–62 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9655-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9655-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation