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For further information contact: Carlos
Lascano
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Pasturas
Tropicales (Journal)
Volumen 28, No. 2, Agosto
2006
 This
issue of the journal Pasturas Tropicales is now on-line.
Access the summaries.
More
information on the journal.
Contact: Michael
Peters
Better
Buffaloes from Improved Forages
 CIAT's
work with smallholders in Southeast Asia to improve the supply
of forages is a good example of the economic power of quality
improvement. The forage technologies, developed with support
from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
and the Asian Development Bank (ADB),
help farmers raise healthier animals, with less investment
of time and energy (especially in collecting fodder and herding
animals).
See the complete
text in the latest issue of our corporate annual report,
CIAT in Focus 2004-2005: Getting a Handle on High-Value
Agriculture
Contact: Rod Lefroy
(Regional Coordinator for Asia)
Workshop on Adapting Crops and Forages to Acid Soils
 The
workshop on "Advances in improving acid soil adaptation
of tropical crops and forages, and management of acid soils"
was jointly organized by EMBRAPA,
CIAT, and IRD.
Funded by the Brazilian
Government, the workshop was held in Brasília,
October 2005. The 30 participants reviewed advances made in
(1) adapting major food and feed crops to acid soils, and
(2) managing acid soils. The main topics discussed included
identifying, screening, and breeding for aluminum resistance
in crop and forage germplasm; the physiological and molecular
mechanisms involved in aluminum resistance and low phosphorus
tolerance; how native Cerrado plants adapt to acid
soils; and soil management and agropastoral production for
no-tillage systems in acid-soil regions. The participants
noted the dramatic adoption of Brachiaria brizantha
cv. Marandu, which is spittlebug resistant. Opportunity was
taken to strengthen and plan collaborative activities, and
identify future research needs.
Download the workshop program
(717 kb) and the abstracts
(942 kb)
Using Spatial Analysis Tools for Conserving Forages in the
Field
 A
new online
article describes the use of spatial analysis tools for
identifying potential areas where forage species can be conserved
in the field.
This novel approach used FloraMap™
and DIVA-GIS in disturbed environments of Latin America. The
paper, published in Ecology and Society, also discussed the
possibilities of establishing low-maintenance plant communities
and the potential dangers of exotic weeds. Further studies
of genetic drift in forage populations would not only be scientifically
valuable but would also help identify useful genotypes for
local use.
The study was an interdisciplinary effort by CIAT's projects
on forages and land use.
Peters M; Hyman G; Jones P. 2004. Identifying
areas for field conservation of forages in Latin American
disturbed environments. Ecol Soc 10(1). http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss1/art1/
See more pictures
CIAT offers Cratylia seed to cattle farmers
A Shrub Legume that Can Feed Cattle during Periods of Drought
 During
the dry season cattle farmers face many problems to feed their
livestock. To help livestock owners, CIAT is providing seed
of Cratylia, a drought-resistant legume of high nutritional
value to livestock.
More information
Endophytes, Invisible Protectors of Tropical Grasses
 For
the first time, an endophyte—Acremonium implicatum—was
identified by a CIAT-Japan team as inhabiting Brachiaria,
tropical America's most important pasture. This invisible
fungus lives within the microscopic intercellular spaces of
its host plant, in a mutually beneficial relationship. It
enhances plant vigor and improves resistance to pests, diseases,
and drought in return for shelter and nutrients. Environmentally,
this endophyte helps discourage pesticide abuse by keeping
pastures healthy, but seems to make grazing livestock ill.
While nothing is yet known of the effects of A. implicatum,
some South American tribes grow endophyte-carrying grasses
for medicinal purposes (especially for birth control and delivery)
and religious rites. The CIAT-Japan team believes that tropical
endophytes have enormous potential for industry, medicine,
and agriculture.
More information
Seed Production of Hybrid Brachiarias
Set to Take Off in Thailand
 The
Brachiaria hybrid, Mulato, has significant potential in Southeast
Asia because of its vigorous growth, relatively good quality
feed and excellent dry season productivity. On-farm seed production
trials commenced in 2003 with 7 farmers. In 2004, with support
from the Mexican seed company Papalotla,
more than 1800 smallholder seed producers established 700
hectares of two hybrids (Mulato and Mulato 2) using seedlings
transplanted from nursery beds. The seed hand-harvested of
the two hybrids was less than expected due to an unforeseen
long dry season. Plans for 2005 are to produce over 200 tons
of Mulato and Mulato 2 with the participation of over 1000
small farmers.
More information
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CD-ROM Pasturas Tropicales United in one
Volume 1979-2002
 To
compile all the documents published in the journal Pasturas
Tropicales between 1979 and 2002 and to promote the publication
at the national and international levels, a CD-ROM, Revista
Pasturas Tropicales: Unidas en un Solo Volumen, was launched
in the past few days.
The new format is based on an index structure, which permits
consultation by year and issue of each volume, or by author,
species, or subject.
With this product, the journal Pasturas Tropicales taps new
information management technologies and researchers and farmers
will hopefully have a timely and easily used medium for discovering
the latest research findings on the grasses and forages of
the lowlands of tropical Latin America.
To order a copy, see our product
catalog.
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New Booklet (in Spanish only)
Multi-purpose Forage Species: Options for Central American
Livestock Producers
 Livestock
producers will find this tool useful for selecting forage
species depending on local climate and soil conditions. The
booklet contains easy-to-understand information on forage
species on offer to livestock producers in Costa Rica, Honduras,
and Nicaragua, taking into account those forage species most
used in the areas covered by CIAT's Tropical Forages Project.
The booklet was developed under the project "Participatory
Agricultural Research in Action: Selection and Strategic Use
of Multipurpose Forage Germplasm by Small Farmers in Hillside
Production Systems in Central America", financed by BMZ/GTZ.
To order a copy, see our product
catalog.
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Release of New Forages
 Three
new forage materials, popularly called Toledo, Veranera, and
Maquenque are available to farmers in Colombia and other countries
in the region.
The new materials are the result of many years of evaluation
of grass and legume accessions carried out by CIAT and the
Colombian Corporation for Agricultural and Livestock Research
(CORPOICA)
to identify strategies aiming to improve dual-purpose livestock
systems using forage components, under the umbrella of the
technical and scientific collaborative agreement signed with
Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MADR).
More information
Download the material brochures (in Spanish):
Pasto
Toledo Brachiaria brizantha CIAT 26110 (452 kb)
Cultivar
Veranera, Cratylia argentea (Desvaux) O. Kuntze CIAT
18516 (579 kb)
Maquenque,
(Desmodium heterocarpon (L.) DC. subsp. ovalifolium
(Prain.) Ohashi CIAT 13651) (598 kb)
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Tropical Forages Database Released to the Market
 A
new electronic tool, prepared by CIAT’s Tropical Forages
Project, was released to the market: the Tropical Forages
Database on CD-ROM.
This extremely useful tool will help researchers
and extension agents select and release the most productive
grasses and legumes in different tropical agroecosystems and
thus benefit a large number of producers.
The information contained in this database
was compiled together with national agricultural research
institutions of South America, Central America, the Caribbean,
Africa, and Europe. The results of forage germplasm evaluation
trials carried out in the tropics since 1978 are also included.
A high percentage of the data included in the database come
from formal forage evaluation networks.
To order a copy, see our product
catalog.
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| Forage
and Livestock Systems in Asia
 Livestock
are vitally important for many of Asia's poorest rural communities.
Small- and medium-sized animals in particular provide significant
sources of food and cash. Medium-sized and large animals also
form a central part of the social safety net, since they can
be sold to meet major household needs or in case other components
of the farming system fail. As farmers expand livestock production,
they quickly discover the limits of naturally occurring forages
and recognize the need for better feed resources. As a first
step toward meeting this need, CIAT staff evaluated a wide
range of tropical grasses and legumes for diverse agroecosystems
and uses. They selected about 40 broadly adapted forages from
an original collection that included 400 accessions of numerous
species.
Visit the CIAT in Asia Web site
for more information.
Contact: Rod Lefroy
(Regional Coordinator)
Centrosema pubescens
is now Centrosema molle
 The tropical forage species, known since last century as Centrosema
pubescens was re-named as Centrosema molle,
to correct a poor interpretation of the original description,
which had led to confusions in subsequent classifications.
The first alert on this inconsistency was given by R.J. Williams
and R.J. Clements during a workshop on Centrosema
held at CIAT in 1987. At this time, however, no change in
scientific nomenclature was proposed.
In 1996, based on a study of Central American material of
Centrosema, the researcher P.R. Fantz proposed to
change the name of C. pubescens to Centrosema
molle Mart. ex Benth.
For additional details, see the
commentary written by scientist Rainer Schultze-Kraft
of the University
of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Saving Livestock in an "El Niño"
Drought
Cratylia argentea cv. Veranera, a product of an
agreement between the Colombian MADR, CIAT and CORPOICA
 Cratylia
argentea, or Cratylia, is a shrubby legume, native to
South America. It was recently released by the Colombian Corporation
of Agricultural Research (CORPOICA,
its Spanish acronym) as cultivar Veranera, and is now astounding
cattle farmers in the Colombian Eastern Plains. It is being
put forward as an effective weapon against the nationwide
drought that will accompany the "El Niño" phenomenon,
forecast to occur next year (further
details).
Download a complete desciption (in Spanish) of Cratylia
argentea cv. Veranera: Cultivar
Veranera: Leguminosa arbustiva de usos múltiples para zonas
con períodos prolongados de sequía en Colombia (579 kb).
Contacts:
Carlos Lascano, Leader,
Tropical Forages Project
Federico Holmann,
Coordinator, Tropileche, CIAT
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Strengthening Private-Sector Ties for Forage
R&D
 CIAT
recently signed a contract with the Mexican company Papalotla
Seeds for development of new hybrids of the tropical forage
grass Brachiaria. In 2000 Papalotla released Brachiaria
hybrid CIAT
36061, the world's first hybrid of this widely cultivated
grass, under the varietal name Mulato. And the company is
now producing and marketing the variety with notable success.
The main advantages of the Brachiaria hybrids are
their high tolerance of infertile acid soils, excellent productivity
and nutritional quality, and improved resistance to spittlebug,
a major pasture pest.
For more information see background
document (123 kb).
Contact: John
W. Miles
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The Role of Forages in Reducing Poverty and
Degradation of Natural Resources in Tropical Production Systems
M. Peters, P. Horne, A. Schmidt, F. Holmann, P.C.
Kerridge,
S.A. Tarawali, R. Schultze-Kraft, C.E. Lascano, P. Argel,
W. Stür,
S. Fujisaka, K. Müller-Sämann, and C. Wortmann
 The
paper reviews the role of forage crops in improving the productivity
of smallholder farming systems and breaking the cycle of poverty
and resource degradation. It reviews the contributions of
forage crops to increasing farm incomes, intensifying farm
production, and contributing to better human nutrition. Several
case studies are presented, including mucuna in Central
America and West Africa, the forage peanut in Colombia, a
forage legume in China, forage crops in Costa Rica and the
production of forage crop seed in Bolivia. The paper also
describes a strategy for farmer participatory research for
identifying suitable forage crops in Southeast Asia.
Download
the paper
(Agricultural Research & Extension Network odi-AgREN,
Network Paper No. 117, July 2001)
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Evaluating Legumes as Cover Crops in Plantations
in the Colombian Eastern Plains
 In
1999, a range of legumes, believed to have potential as plantation
cover crops were evaluated. Accessions of Arachis pintoi,
Desmodium heterocarpon ssp. ovalifolium,
and Pueraria phaseoloides were sown under shade and
shadeless conditions in the Department of Meta, Colombia.
Based on year 2000 results, this work was amplified by studying
different establishment procedures for the most promising
accession, D. heterocarpon ssp. ovalifolium
CIAT 13651,
and compared with the standard management of the standard
cover crop, P. phaseoloides.
More information
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On-farm Evaluation, with Farmer Participation,
of Forages for Multipurpose Use in Central America
 To
address this issue, CIAT, in collaboration with NARS, NGOs,
and farmer groups, identifies germplasm preferred by farmers.
Geographic information system (GIS) tools are being developed
to strategically target forage germplasm, first to environmental,
then to socioeconomic, niches in Central American hillsides.
The work is expected to also contribute to the development
of an overall strategy to guide future research and to aid
the diffusion and final adoption of forage-based technology
by small farmers.
More information
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