In order to meet a demand from farmers who use Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems (ICLS), Embrapa developed the early cycle ryegrass BRS Integração. The material produces 5% more in a cycle 20 days shorter in comparison with BRS Ponteio, a variety also launched by Embrapa in 2007 and which today takes up 60% of the national production of ryegrass seeds. The precociousness makes natural resowing or seed harvest possible before the establishment of summer crops such as soybeans, which allows for crop-livestock integration, as the name of the variety in Portuguese (Integração) suggests. BRS Integração has just been launched during the 40th edition of Expointer, in Esteio, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The variety offers high productivity - about eight tons per hectare - and good initial vigor. The pasture is quickly established as it takes only about 50 days if it is well-managed, declares Andréa Mittelmann, an Embrapa Dairy Cattle researcher assigned to Embrapa Temperate Agriculture, who is one of the people responsible for the novelty. “The most interesting thing about it in terms of productivity is that it beats BRS Ponteio and other cultivars currently grown in Brazil”, she explains. The researchers also verified around 18% of protein content in the materials assessed. Productivity of ryegrass populations (dry matter, kg/ha) in six environments Venue Year BRS Integração BRS Ponteio Common Ryegrass LE 284 Capão do Leão 2006 4,225.71 3,764.36 3,648.37 3,518.15 Ponta Grossa 2006 7,326.40 6,731.55 6,907.85 6,382.55 Bagé 2006 5,571.45 5,971.65 6,203.25 6,233.25 Passo Fundo 2006 9,568.20 9,068.84 7,960.60 7,451.20 Capão do Leão 2014 5,773.20 5,490.80 - 4,318.40 Ponta Grossa 2014 10,400.00 9,454.00 - 6,600.00 Moreover, BRS Integração adapted well to temperate climate regions and some regions with higher altitudes in Brazil's Southeast, due to the fact it was developed from populations originating from the mountain area known as Serra Gaúcha. Which thus results in the variety's better health in the fields. “Imported ones are less tolerant to the diseases that we have here”, Andréa justifies. Another trait is tolerance to lodging, an important aspect for the production of pre-dried silage and seeds. “If the plant falls, it is not possible to machine harvest the seeds, for instance. Perhaps that does not matter for the end user, as not everybody is going to harvest it. But for our partners who perform such intermediate step, which is seed production, that is very important”, she highlights. BRS Integração has bigger and broader leaves than most cultivars. Its thicker culm provides more erect support, which facilitates mechanical grass cutting and hence the work of growers who produce conserved fodder such as pre-dried silage or hay. “It is an excellent material both for grazing and for conserved silage”, Mittelmann concludes. High capacity for resprouting and natural resowing At the end of the production cycle, the ryegrass seeds can be harvested to be sown in the next crop season, or fall on the soil and enter in dormancy until they grow back the following year, once climate conditions return to the ideal for plant development. That is called natural resowing. However, in integrated cultivation areas, the establishment of summer crops does not always occur after the end of the ryegrass cycle, which hinders resowing and makes growers have to buy seeds the following year if they want to replant the pasture. BRS Integração's early cycle nevertheless allows the seeds to fall on the ground before the areas are prepared for the annual crops in the warm season. According to Mittelmann, the new cultivar should be planted in April to be used from June on, if growers observe the correct seasons. Therefore, by September, the variety will be in condition to produce a lot and bring the most advantage to the production system. “Seed production should start in October. However, since BRS Integração plants are likely to resprout after grazing, the pasture can last as much as the variety BRS Ponteio. It is going to depend on the management, which involves grazing and fertilization”, the researcher states. Ryegrass breeding A BRS Integração was developed by Embrapa's Ryegrass Breeding and Genetic Improvement Program – with participation of the units Embrapa Temperate Agriculture, Embrapa Dairy Cattle, Embrapa Southern Livestock and Embrapa Wheat – in the scope of the partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and the Brazilian South Association for the Promotion and Research of Forage (Sulpasto). The experiments and recommendations regarding management were developed in partnership with the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel). In 2007, Embrapa launched its first ryegrass cultivars, BRS Ponteio, which meets requirements for longer-cycle varieties. Nowadays, the cultivar accounts for 60% of the Brazilian ryegrass market, as ryegrass is the main winter grass used to feed cattle in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The development of BRS Integração, in turn, was due to new pasture requirements - like the shorter cycle and the possibility of resowing. Prior to the launch of the material, the selection and improvement work started 15 years ago, in 2002. “It is quite a long time. It includes assessments in many environments, in different years, so that we can learn whether the material is going to have a good performance and really help the production system”, Andréa sums up. Trade Sulpasto is responsible for multiplying and trading the variety. The first units are being cultivated now. The idea is that BRS Integração seeds are made available in December this year, for sowing in the next winter harvest, between the months of March and April. Translation: Mariana Medeiros