Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Randall S. Currie / Mithila Jugulam / Italian ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot), one of the problem weeds of the US, evolved resistance to multiple herbicides including glyphosate due to selection in Arkansas (AR). Glyphosate is a 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) inhibitor and amplification of EPSPS gene, the molecular target of glyphosate confers resistance to this herbicide in several weed species, including Italian ryegrass from AR. The objective of this study was to determine the expression of EPSPS gene and protein as well as distribution of EPSPS copies on the genome of glyphosate-resistant Italian ryegrass (ARR) using a known susceptible Italian ryegrass (ARS) from AR. EPSPS gene copies and expression of ARR and ARS were determined using quantitative PCR with appropriate endogenous controls. EPSPS protein expression was determined using Western blot analysis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on somatic metaphase chromosomes to determine the location of EPSPS copies. Based on qPCR analysis, ARR plants showed a wide range of 12 to 118 EPSPS copies compared to a single copy in ARS. EPSPS gene expression correlated with the gene copy number in both ARR and ARS. Individuals with high EPSPS copies showed high protein expression in Western blot analysis. FISH analysis showed presence of brighter EPSPS signals, distributed randomly throughout the genome of ARR individuals compared to a faint signal in ARS plants. Random distribution of EPSPS copies was previously reported in glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth. Overall, the results of this study will help understand the origin and mechanism of EPSPS gene amplification in Italian ryegrass.

Memoria para optar al Título Profesional de: Ingeniero Agrónomo / Se evaluó el potencial fitoacumulador de ballica (Lolium perenne L.) y/o trébol blanco (Trifolium repens L.) para ofrecer una alternativa de limpieza de sitios contaminados con cobre. Se realizó un ensayo con suelos de la V Región (Valparaíso) de Chile cultivados con vid de mesa (Vitis vinifera L.) que mostraban un alto (TB: bajos rendimientos de V. vinifera), bajo (TA: altos rendimientos de V. vinifera) e intermedio (TM: rendimientos medios de V. vinifera) nivel de Cu (DTPA) disponible (140, 40 y 90 mg kg-1, respectivamente). Durante el año 2013 y en invernadero, cada suelo (cinco repeticiones) fue sembrado con L. perenne y/o T. repens en macetas. Después de ocho meses las plantas fueron cosechadas para obtener la masa de materia seca y los contenidos de Cu tanto en los tejidos aéreos como radicales de las plantas. Así también, se determinaron los contenidos de Cu disponible, intercambiable y total de los suelos. Para las condiciones iniciales de CuDTPA intermedio y alto (TM y TB), el metal fue acumulado principalmente a nivel de raíces en los cultivos individuales y la combinación de ellos, pero ballica y ballica+trébol fueron más eficientes en cuanto a la absorción de Cu. Si bien las especies vegetales son capaces de remover el metal de los suelos, los contenidos de Cu al final del ensayo permanecieron altos (hasta 50 mg kg-1 de Cu disponible), denotando la necesidad de realizar estudios de más largo plazo y de verificar que estos resultados se repitan a nivel de campo. / To assess their potential as copper phytoaccumulators in soils and to offer a cleanup alternative of contaminated sites, ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and/or white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were used. The study was conducted with soil from the 5th Region (Valparaíso) of Chile cultivated with table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) and showing a high (TB: low yields of V. vinifera), low (TA: high yields of V. vinifera) and intermediate (TM: medium yields of V. vinifera) levels of available Cu (DTPA). During 2013 and in a greenhouse assay, each soil (five replications) was sowed with L. perenne and/or T. repens in pots. After eight months plants were harvested to obtain dry matter and Cu contents in plant aerial and root tissues. Available, exchangeable and total Cu were measured also in soils. Under initial high and intermediate levels of CuDTPA conditions (TB and TM), metal was accumulated mainly at roots level in single and combined crops, but single ryegrass and ryegrass+clover were more efficient in the Cu uptake. Although species are able to remove metal from soils, the Cu contents at the end remained high (up to 50 mg kg-1 of available Cu), indicating that long-term trials are necessary and confirm these results at field level.

Las malezas causan perjuicios económicos al competir con los cultivos por la captura y utilización de los recursos escasos disponibles, fundamentalmente luz, agua y nutrientes minerales del suelo. Por este motivo, es necesario realizar operaciones de control sobre las poblaciones de malezas para reducir sus tamaños hasta niveles aceptables y lograr así los rendimientos esperados en los cultivos. De los numerosos métodos de control existentes, el control químico, a través del uso de herbicidas, es el principal método para el manejo de dichas poblaciones. En la actualidad, el uso intensivo de herbicidas es cuestionado debido a los perjuicios que ocasionan sobre la flora y fauna benéfica, la contaminación de suelos y aguas y los posibles residuos en alimentos, la posibilidad de la aparición de poblaciones de malezas resistentes a los mismos y por sus potenciales efectos sobre la salud humana. Por esta razón, en los últimos años se entiende necesario efectuar un uso racional de los métodos químicos y combinarlos, de ser posible, con prácticas mecánicas y culturales para controlar las poblaciones de malezas con bajo impacto ambiental. Esta actividad, que se ha identificado como deseable para muchos de los agroecosistemas productivos de Argentina en los que se han empezado a manifestar malezas problemáticas, puede verse beneficiada por el desarrollo de herramientas de soporte a la toma de decisiones basadas en modelos matemáticos. En la presente tesis se estudiaron aspectos de la biología y la ecología del raigrás perenne (Lolium perenne) como maleza de cultivos de trigo en la región semiárida del sudoeste de la provincia de Buenos Aires, y se desarrollaron modelos matemáticos con el objetivo de diseñar herramientas que permitan predecir el comportamiento a campo de la maleza y controlarla de la manera más eficiente, de modo de maximizar el rinde del cultivo y, por ende, las ganancias netas del productor, y al mismo tiempo reducir el impacto ambiental de las prácticas de control sobre el agroecosistema en cuestión. En el Capítulo 2 se presentan los resultados del estudio de los cambios en los parámetros térmicos asociados a la germinabilidad de las semillas de L. perenne en función del tiempo de postmaduración a campo y se propone un modelo de tiempo térmico de postmaduración orientado a predecir la salida de la dormición primaria de las semillas de la especie. En el Capítulo 3 se construyeron modelos de la producción de semillas de L. perenne y se estimó el tiempo térmico necesario para pasar de un estadío fenológico al siguiente. En el Capítulo 4 se propone un modelo de planeamiento operativo del control químico, con el objetivo de determinar los momentos óptimos de aplicación de herbicidas en cultivos de invierno orientado a maximizar el beneficio económico de la actividad teniendo en cuenta el impacto ambiental. En el Capítulo 5 el modelo propuesto se aplica al sistema trigo – raigrás. Finalmente, en el Capítulo 6 se realiza una discusión general de la tesis, se enumeran las principales conclusiones que surgieron a partir de los resultados y se destacan las líneas de investigación futuras asociadas al trabajo en ella desarrollado. / Weeds cause economic losses by competing with crops for the available scarse resources, mainly light, water and mineral nutrients from the soil. For this reason, it is necessary to control weed populations in order to reduce its sizes to an acceptable level and reach the expected crop yields. There are numerous control methods and, among them, chemical control is the most popular. Nowadays, the intensive use of herbicides is questioned because of the damage caused to benefic flora and fauna, soil and water pollution, the appearance of residues in food, the probability of developing weed resistant populations and its potential effects on human health. For this reason, in the last years, it has been reputed necessary to make a more rational use of chemical methods, and combine them, if possible, with mechanical and cultural strategies to control weed populations at a low environmental impact. This activity has been considered desirable for many productive agroecosystems of Argentina with presence of problematic weeds, and can benefit from the development of decisión support systems based on mathematical models. In this thesis, aspects of the biology and ecology of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) as a weed of wheat crops in the semiarid región of the south-west of Buenos Aires province have been studied, and mathematical models developed as tools that allow the prediction of the weed behaviour in the field and their control in a more efficient way, in order to maximize crop yield and net income, and at the same time reducing the environmental impact of control practices on the agroecosystem. In Chapter 2, results are presented of the study of thermal parameters change associated to L. perenne seed germinability as a function of after-ripening time in the field, and an after-ripening thermal time model is proposed, as an attempt to predict primary dormancy loss of the species seeds. L. perenne seed production models were developed in Chapter 3, and the thermal time needed for phenological state change was also estimated in this chapter. Chapter 4 proposes an operational planning model of the chemical control, in order to find the optimal application time of herbicides in winter crops, to maximize the economical benefit also considering the environmental impact. In Chapter 5, the model proposed in Chapter 4 was applied to the wheat – perennial ryegrass system. Finally, in Chapter 6 there is a general discussion of the present thesis, the principal conclusions of the results are listed and related future research work is highlighted.

No description available.

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is a competitive weed in small grain production areas throughout the northwestern and southeastern US. In small grains, Italian ryegrass has generally been controlled with postemergence treatments of diclofop, or diclofop-methyl, a member of the subfamily of the aromatic carboxylic acid family, the aryloxyphenoxypropionates. The first incidence of diclofop resistance in Italian ryegrass was reported in Virginia in 1995. Experiments to characterize diclofop resistance in several Virginia biotypes of Italian ryegrass included the following objectives: (1) evaluation of the presence of diclofop resistance in several Italian ryegrass biotypes collected across Virginia, (2) evaluation of alternative herbicide efficacy for diclofop resistant Italian ryegrass control, and (3) characterization of the aryloxyphenoxypropionate (APP) resistance mechanism in resistant Italian ryegrass biotypes. The response of 32 biotypes to diclofop collected from various locations statewide with varying histories of diclofop applications confirmed diclofop resistance in Virginian Italian ryegrass populations. At 4-times the label-recommended application rate, only 50% of biotypes previously exposed to diclofop in a cropping situation were adequately controlled versus 94% of the biotypes not previously treated with diclofop. Tralkoxydim provided the most effective control of four of the biotypes. No postemergence treatment effectively controlled one biotype previously exposed to diclofop applications. Effective preemergence herbicide treatments for Italian ryegrass control in the greenhouse included acetochlor (two formulations) and flufenacet plus metribuzin. In the field, flufenacet plus metribuzin resulted in excellent Italian ryegrass control, little crop injury, and acceptable barley yields. Acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) assays and herbicide absorption, translocation, and metabolism studies were conducted to investigate resistant mechanism(s) to two APP herbicides, diclofop and quizalofop. ACCase assays indicated no differences in enzyme activity between the two biotypes of Italian ryegrass evaluated. Furthermore, no significant differences in the specific activity of ACCase were detected between the two biotypes in the absence of diclofop. [14C]Quizalofop-P absorption, translocation, and metabolism did not differ between resistant and susceptible Italian ryegrass biotypes. Lack of a significant biotype effect suggests that differential metabolism does not explain the differential response to diclofop treatments observed in the herbicide dose-plant response experiment. / Ph. D.

No

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-25T19:30:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvano Harkatin.pdf: 1558277 bytes, checksum: 5f4533a401fd66edf359180bcca181b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Integrated systems of agricultural production (ISAP), when well managed, can result in environmental benefits, including the optimization of the use of phosphorus (P) for food production. Brazilian soils are presented naturally low in P, and practices aimed at efficient use of this nutrient can result in economic and environmental benefits to society. The objectives of this study were: (i) measure the quantitative yield of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam) and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill); (ii) to evaluate the accumulation of P (annual ryegrass and soybean); (iii) investigate the changes in the attributes of soil fertility (pH and available-P); (iv) to assess the yield of dry matter available for grazing (DMA); (v) yield of crude protein (YCP); and (vi) concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude protein (CP) and P in ryegrass in ISAP undergo sources (triple superphosphate - TSP, reactive phosphate - RP Arad and magnesium thermophosphate - MTP) and P levels (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha-1 P2O5 total). The experiment was installed in April / 2009 at farm Capon do Cipo, in the municipality of Castro (PR). The experimental design was a randomized complete block in incomplete factorial (3x3 + 1). After 48 months of study, soil samples from the 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-20 cm were collected to determine the concentrations of available P by two methods (Mehlich-1 – M-1 and ion exchange resin - IER) to assess the availability of P for the soybean crop (2012/13). Similar yields were observed among the evaluated sources (TSP, RP and MTP) at 48 months of experimental evaluation; However, higher accumulation of P were observed for the most soluble sources. The determination of P by the extractors (M-1 and IER) overestimated the concentrations of P in the soil in condition of application of RP. But best fixes between soil P and crop attributes were higher for extraction by IER in 0-20 cm layer. Lower concentrations of NDF in annual ryegrass were verified by applying MTP, without, however, presenting the highest concentrations of P. / Sistemas integrados de produção agropecuário (SIPAs), quando bem manejados, podem resultar em benefícios para o ambiente, inclusive, otimização de uso do fósforo (P) para produção de alimentos. Os solos brasileiros apresentam-se naturalmente pobre em P, e as práticas que visam eficiência de uso deste nutriente podem resultar em benefícios econômicos e ambientais para a sociedade. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram: (i) mensurar o rendimento quantitativo do azevém anual (Lolium multiflorum Lam) e da cultura da soja (Glycine max (L.) Merrill); (ii) avaliar o acúmulo de P (azevém anual e soja); (iii) averiguar as alterações nos atributos de fertilidade do solo (pH e P-disponível); (iv) avaliar o rendimento de massa seca disponível por pastejo (MSP); (v) rendimento de proteína bruta (RPB); e as (vi) concentrações de fibra insolúvel em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra insolúvel em detergente ácido (FDA), proteína bruta (PB) e P no azevém anual, em SIPA submetido a fontes (superfosfato triplo – SFT, fosfato natural reativo – FNR Arad e termofosfato magnesiano – TFM) e doses de P (0, 60, 120 e 180 kg ha-1 de P2O5 total). O experimento foi instalado em abril/2009 na Fazenda Capão do Cipó, no município de Castro (PR). O delineamento experimental empregado foi o de blocos completos casualizados em esquema fatorial incompleto (3x3+1). Aos 48 meses de estudo, foram coletadas amostras de solo das camadas de 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 e 15-20 cm, para determinação das concentrações de P disponível por dois métodos (Mehlich-1 – M-1 e resina trocadora de íons – RTI) para avaliação da disponibilidade de P para a cultura da soja (2012/13). Foram verificados rendimentos similares entre as fontes avaliadas (SFT, FNR e TFM) aos 48 meses de avaliação experimental; todavia, maiores acúmulos de P foram verificados para as fontes mais solúveis. A determinação de P pelos extratores (M-1 e RTI) superestimou as concentrações de P no solo em condição de aplicação de FNR. Porém, melhores correlações entre o P solo e os atributos das culturas foram maiores para a extração por RTI na camada 0-20 cm. Foram verificadas menores concentrações de FDN na pastagem de azevém anual mediante a aplicação de TFM, sem, no entanto, apresentar as maiores concentrações de P.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-25T19:30:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jessica Alves dos Santos.pdf: 679249 bytes, checksum: 3ae55a8cf411c25ba8cb319cec75453b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-20 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The liming is essential for building soil fertility, enabling exploitation more sustainable of production systems. However, the efficiency and the residual effect of lime used are dependent on the degree of soil disturbance, which has been distinguished in conservation production systems. The objectives of this work are (i) quantify the yields of dry matter (DM) and content crude protein (CP) in maize silage during the years 2008-2014; and (ii) evaluate the changes in soil fertility attributes: active acidity (pH), potential acidity (H+Al), exchangeable acidity (Al3+) and base saturation (V) 24 and 60 months after of liming, in different methods tillage and uses of annual ryegrass during the autumn-winter. The experiment was conducted in Castro (PR) in an Oxisol dystrophic clayey. The design experimental was a randomized complete block design with split plots and four replications. In the plots were studied four methods of soil tillage: conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), no-tillage (NT) and chiseled no-tillage (CNT). In the subplots were studied three purposes of use of annual ryegrass: cover crop (CC), silage (S) and grazing of the dairy heifers in integrated crop-livestock (ICL). In medium-term, the tillage methods (CT, MT, NT, and CNT) do not influence the yield of DM and CP content of maize silage. The uses annual ryegrass for S and ICL not influence yield of DM and provide high CP in corn silage. Using the preceding crop just as CC provides least amount of benefits systems to annual ryegrass production and maize silage. Lower acidity and higher V were observed in layer the 0-5 cm in NT. Compared to the NT, the CNT not improve the acidity and V. The annual ryegrass for the S and ICL provided, over time, decrease in the acidity of the soil in layers below 10 cm depth. The NT combined with ICL provides improvement in soil acidity conditions after 60 months after liming. / A correção da acidez é fundamental para a construção da fertilidade do solo, possibilitando a exploração mais sustentável dos sistemas de produção. Todavia, a eficiência e o efeito residual do corretivo utilizado são dependentes do grau de perturbação do solo, que tem sido distinto nos sistemas de produção. Os objetivos deste trabalho são (i) quantificar os rendimentos de matéria seca (MS) e teor de proteína bruta (PB) no milho silagem durante os anos 2008-2014; e (ii) avaliar as alterações nos atributos de fertilidade do solo: acidez ativa (pH), potencial (H+Al) e trocável (Al3+) e saturação por bases (V) aos 24 e 60 meses após a calagem, em diferentes métodos de preparo do solo e usos do azevém anual durante o outonoinverno. O experimento foi instalado no município de Castro (PR), em um Latossolo Bruno distrófico de textura argilosa. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos completos casualizados, com parcelas subdivididas e quatro repetições. Nas parcelas (10 x 30 m) foram empregados quatro métodos de preparo do solo: cultivo convencional (CC), cultivo mínimo (CM), plantio direto (PD) e PD com subsolagem bianual (PDS). Nas subparcelas (10 x 10 m) foram estudadas três propósitos de uso do azevém anual: cobertura do solo (CS), silagem pré-secada (SPS) e pastejo animal em sistema integrado de produção agropecuária (SIPA). Em médio prazo, os métodos de preparo do solo (CC, CM, PD e PDS) não influenciam o rendimento de MS e teor de PB de milho silagem. Os usos de azevém anual para SPS e em SIPA não influenciam o rendimento de MS e proporcionam incremento nos teores de PB no milho silagem. O uso da cultura antecessora apenas como CS proporciona menor quantidade de benefícios aos sistemas de produção de azevém anual e milho silagem. No decorrer do período, menor acidez e maior V foram observadas na camada de 0-5 cm no PD. Quando comparado ao PD, o PDS não proporcionou melhoria nas condições de acidez e V. O azevém anual destinado à SPS e SIPA proporcionou, ao longo do tempo, diminuição da acidez do solo nas camadas abaixo de 10 cm de profundidade. O PD aliado ao SIPA proporciona melhoria nas condições de acidez do solo após 60 meses da aplicação do calcário.

O aparecimento de plantas daninhas resistentes ao glifosato tem colocado em risco a utilização de culturas que têm a tecnologia RR. A fim de verificar o desenvolvimento de plantas daninhas resistentes ao glifosato, um experimento de campo foi realizado na estação experimental AgroMarochi localizada em Ponta Grossa, estado do Paraná, de 2009 a 2012, com o objetivo de avaliar diferentes sistemas de produção, incluindo a rotação de culturas, culturas de cobertura e aplicação de herbicidas com diferentes mecanismos de ação. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com dezesseis tratamentos e três repetições. Em função dos resultados, conclui-se que: (i) a rotação de culturas e de ingredientes ativos de herbicidas proporcionam melhor desempenho agronômico e econômico (menor risco de aparecimento de plantas daninhas resistentes e maiores produtividades), (ii) os sistemas 3 (soja/ trigo/ soja/ aveia /milho /trigo) e 4 (soja/ azevém/ soja/ azevém/ milho/ aveia), com 33% da área com rotação de cultura com milho na safra de verão, são os mais rentáveis independentemente dos cenários 1 e 2 do VPL (Valor Presente Líquido), (iii) os tratamentos com manejo padrão de herbicidas contribuíram no aumento da população das plantas daninhas (leiteiro, guanxuma, erva-quente, azevém - resistente e não resistente ao Glifosato e buva - resistente e não resistente ao Glifosato), e apresentaram menor rentabilidade, (iv) os manejos com rotação de herbicidas propiciaram a redução da população de plantas daninhas, (v) a cultura de aveia contribui para a redução de plantas daninhas, como azevém e buva resistentes e não resistentes ao glifosato, principalmente, (vi) área em pousio contribui para o aumento da população de plantas daninhas, como azevém e buva resistentes e não resistentes ao glifosato, principalmente, e (vii) a aplicação de Glifosato associado a Atrazina em pós emergência (tratamentos 6, 7, 11 e 14: sistemas de rotação de culturas 2, 3, 4 e 5, respectivamente) não diferiu da aplicação de Tembotrione associado a Atrazina (tratamentos 8, 9, 12 e 15: sistemas de rotação de culturas 2, 3, 4 e 5, respectivamente) na cultura de Milho RR sobre a população de azevém e buva resistente e não resistente ao glifosato. / The emergence of weeds resistant to Glyphosate has been putting at risk the use of crops that have the RR technology. In order to check the development of weeds resistant to Glyphosate, a field experiment was carried out at AgroMarochi experimental station located in \'Ponta Grossa\', State of Paraná, from 2009 to 2012, with the purpose of evaluating different agricultural production systems, including crop rotation, cover crops and application of herbicides with different mechanisms of action. The experimental design was a randomized blocks, with sixteen treatments and three replications. In light of the results, it is concluded that: (i) rotation of crops and of active ingredients of herbicide provides better agronomic and economic performance (lower risk of emergence of resistant weeds and higher yields), (ii) the systems 3 (soybean/ wheat/ soybean/ oat/ maize/ wheat) and 4 (Soybean/ ryegrass/ soybean/ ryegrass/ maize/ oat), with 33% of the area with crop rotation with maize in the summer season, are the most profitable regardless of the scenarios 1 and 2 of the NPV (Net Present Value), (iii) treatment with standard management of herbicides contributed in increasing the population of weeds (Euphorbia heterophylla, Sida sp., Spermacoce latifolia, Lolium multiflorum - resistant and not resistant to Glyphosate, Conyza spp. - resistant and not resistant to Glyphosate), and had lower profitability, (iv) the management with rotation of herbicides favored reducing weed populations, (v) the oat crop helps in reducing weeds, as ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and Conyza spp. resistant and not resistant to Glyphosate, mainly, (vi) fallow area contributes to the increasing population of weeds, as ryegrass and Conyza spp. resistant and not resistant to Glyphosate, mainly, and (vii) the application of Glyphosate associate to atrazine in post emergency (treatments 6, 7, 11 and 14: crop rotation systems 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively) not differ from application of Tembotrione associate to Atrazine (treatments 8, 9, 12 and 15: crop rotation systems 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively) in RR maize crop over weed population of ryegrass and Conyza spp. resistant and not resistant to Glyphosate.

The study was conducted with the objective to evaluate the intensity and frequency of defoliation and the tillering dynamics of ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) of stages vegetative and reproductive, under rotational grazing. The interval between grazings was set by the thermal sum required for the appearing of 1.5 ryegrass leave (187.5 ºGD). The experimental design was completely randomized, with two phenological stages and six replicated areas for each stage. In the vegetative stage, the intensity defoliation (54%) it was similar in the different types of leaf blades. In the reproductive stage, the intensity of grazing was higher in leaves growing (78%) in relation to the expanded and senescent leaves (67%). Heifers explored 16.7% more grazing area in the reproductive stage compared to vegetative. The most removal intensity the leaves of expansion and the higher frequency defoliation are compensatory mechanisms used by animals when the ryegrass is located the reproductive stage. The first generation of tillers have greater longevity compared to other generations, contributing 58% of total tillers in the late vegetative stage of ryegrass and 36% of tillers in the last month of pasture utilization. The population of tillers in vegetative and reproductive stages of pasture is maintained stable when the ryegrass pasture is managed in a rotational system, considering the thermal sum of 187.5 ºGD and canopy height in the exit of the animals of the plots around 10 cm. / O trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a intensidade e frequência de desfolhação e a dinâmica de perfilhamento do azevém (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) nos estádios vegetativo e reprodutivo, sob pastejo rotacionado. O intervalo entre pastejos foi estabelecido considerando a soma térmica necessária para a emissão de 1,5 folha de azevém (187,5º GD). O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, com dois estádios fenológicos e seis repetições de área para cada estádio. No estádio vegetativo, a intensidade de desfolhação (54%) foi semelhante nos diferentes tipos de lâminas foliares. No estádio reprodutivo, a intensidade de desfolhação foi superior nas folhas em expansão (78%) em relação às folhas expandidas e senescendo (67%). As bezerras exploraram 16,7% a mais a área de pastejo no estádio reprodutivo em relação ao vegetativo. A maior intensidade de remoção de folhas em expansão e a maior frequência de desfolhação são os mecanismos compensatórios utilizados pelos animais quando o azevém encontra-se no estádio reprodutivo. A primeira geração de perfilhos tem maior longevidade em relação às demais gerações, contribuindo com 58% do total de perfilhos no final do estádio vegetativo do azevém e 36% do total de perfilhos no último mês de utilização da pastagem. A população de perfilhos nos estádios vegetativo e reprodutivo do pasto é mantida estável quando a pastagem de azevém é manejada em sistema rotacionado, considerando a soma térmica de 187,5 ºGD e com a altura do dossel na saída dos animais das parcelas ao redor de 10 cm.