DESEMPENHO E CUSTOS DE NOVILHOS SUPLEMENTADOS COM FONTES DE NITROGÊNIO DURANTE A RECRIA NA TRANSIÇÃO ENTRE ÁGUAS E SECA

Supplements containing soybean meal (true protein source) or extruded urea (NNP) on the consumption, performance and cost of Nellore steers in the breeding phase were evaluated. 36 Nellore steers with initial weight of 291 kg were divided into four paddocks of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu supplements presented 26.75% of CP. There was no significant effect on the final live weight, total weight gain (kg/animal or kg/hectare) and average daily gain. There were significant effects on the daily intake of supplements (1.25 vs. 1.73 kg/day for treatments containing extruded urea and soybean meal, respectively). Revenues were of R$188.27 for treatment with NNP and R$ 221.68 for treatment with true proteins. The gross margin (R$/animal) was 61.06 vs. 53.57 treatments containing NNP and true protein, respectively. We can recommend the total replacement of the true protein by the extruded urea in supplements for growth phase of steers in the wet-dry transition season.