TY - JOUR AU - Jorge Ray AU - Diocles Benítez AU - Rigoberto García AU - M. Nieto AU - D. García PY - 2017/06/21 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Vertisol Soil fertility Indicators inRotational grazing on the Cauto Valley. JF - Revista de Producción Animal JA - RPA VL - 26 IS - 2 SE - Manejo y Alimentación DO - UR - https://revistas.reduc.edu.cu/index.php/rpa/article/view/1383 AB - The behavior of some Vertisol soil fertility indicators was randomly studied for four years, at a milk production unit on the Cauto River Valley, Cuba. Brachiaria humidicola cv CIAT 679 pasture was used without irrigation and fertilization. Grazing intensity had mean variation values, of 243 UGM/ha in the rainy season and 190 UGM/ha in the dry season. The daily grazing stripe depended on pasture availability. The occupation time was 2 days. No signif-icant variations were observed in time, or associated to grazing intensity in terms of physical properties of the soil. The apparent density decreased according to the season (P < 0.05) and the highest value was observed in the dry sea-son (1.42 and 1.18 g/cm3 ). The grazing stripe variable brought benefits to the balance of exchangeable ions, with a higher ratio of Ca2+/Mg2+and Mg2+/K+. Interaction between season and grazing was produced in mobile forms of soil nitrogen and NO3 -, NH4 + and NFH, higher during the rainy season in the grazing areas. Stripe grazing does not diminish the main soil fertility indicators; however, it does favor nitrogen mobility and mineralization, depending on the most suitable grazing stripe variable for this kind of soil. ER -