Publication Date
1989
Description
Cattle rearing in Brazil depends almost exclusively on pastures, of which, 35 % consist of cultivated introduced species. Guineagrass, Panicum maximum Jacq. is the main introduced forage grass species in cattle finishing, because of its ease of propagation, fast establishment after sowing and rapid and abundant growth of high quality forage during the rainy season. About 10 cultivars are commercialized in the country, the most important being « Coloniao » : a tall, tufted perennial plant (up to 3.5 m) with erect stems and long leaves (up to 1.0 m). It presents management problems however ; when allowed to grow excessively, leaf/stem ratio decreases reducing quality, and stems are rejected by cattle. Excessive extraction of nutrients from the soil to permit this growth, and little or no regrowth in the dry season result in pasture degradation after a few years. These reasons have led the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation-EMBRAPA, to introduce in 1982, 426 accessions of Panicum maximum, representative of the natural variability of this species, which are being evaluated at the National Beef Cattle Research Center (CNPGC), at Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, since 1984 (Savidan et al., 1985). The objectives are to select morphologically distinct accessions which combine agronomic productivity and better winter growth to good seed production, and may contribute to pasture diversity. This paper reports the results of the agronomic evaluation and selection of accessions.
Citation
Jank, L; Savidan, Y H.; Costa, J.C G.; and Do Valle, C B., "Pasture Diversification Through Selection of New Panicum maximum Cultivars in Brazil" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 45.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session3/45
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Pasture Diversification Through Selection of New Panicum maximum Cultivars in Brazil
Cattle rearing in Brazil depends almost exclusively on pastures, of which, 35 % consist of cultivated introduced species. Guineagrass, Panicum maximum Jacq. is the main introduced forage grass species in cattle finishing, because of its ease of propagation, fast establishment after sowing and rapid and abundant growth of high quality forage during the rainy season. About 10 cultivars are commercialized in the country, the most important being « Coloniao » : a tall, tufted perennial plant (up to 3.5 m) with erect stems and long leaves (up to 1.0 m). It presents management problems however ; when allowed to grow excessively, leaf/stem ratio decreases reducing quality, and stems are rejected by cattle. Excessive extraction of nutrients from the soil to permit this growth, and little or no regrowth in the dry season result in pasture degradation after a few years. These reasons have led the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation-EMBRAPA, to introduce in 1982, 426 accessions of Panicum maximum, representative of the natural variability of this species, which are being evaluated at the National Beef Cattle Research Center (CNPGC), at Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, since 1984 (Savidan et al., 1985). The objectives are to select morphologically distinct accessions which combine agronomic productivity and better winter growth to good seed production, and may contribute to pasture diversity. This paper reports the results of the agronomic evaluation and selection of accessions.
