Most stargrass and bermudagrass species grown in Brazil were developed and evaluated in the United States. The cultivars grown in Brazil were not developed for Brazilian environmental conditions and there are no official records showing the introduction of the species in Brazil, thus this happened possibly due to the curiosity of some cattle farmers. The aim of the project was the development of stargrass and bermudagrass clones adapted to soil and climatic conditions of Minas Gerais State, Braz

Status: Completed     Start date: Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2014

Among the existing grass as alternatives to pasture-based production, the genus Cynodon (stargrass and bermudagrass) has advantages such as high productivity and forage quality, responsiveness to fertilization, resistance to cattle trampling, adaptability to a wide range of soil and climate conditions, and good tolerance to waterlogging and low temperatures. These factors distinguish Cynodon from other grasses predominant in tropical conditions and justify considering such specie

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2013

The increase in productivity in dairy farming will be essential to ensure increases in the production and supply of milk and milk products to meet the world's growing population. Appropriate technologies should be developed and adopted to enable increased productivity in a sustainable way, ensuring greater milk production with reduced number of animals and farming area. The efficient use of dietary nutrients is one of the premises of sustainable production systems, since their inefficient use no

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2014

In Brazil, milk production is practiced by more than one million farmers, mostly smallholders, who have in pastures and swards for green chop the most important sources for cattle feeding. Dairy agribusiness plays a significant role in food supply for the domestic market, in the generation of jobs and income for the population and in recent years has also become increasingly important in the Country’s export line. The intensification of animal production systems demands the use of forage species

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2016

Pastures assume a prominent position in the Brazilian agricultural scenario. The area occupied by forage plants accounts for three quarters of the national agricultural area. Pasture, as an exclusive food source, is the basis for nearly 90% of the beef consumed in Brazil and most of the milk produced in the country. It is estimated that, in Brazil, the grasses of the Brachiaria genus are cultivated in approximately 84 million hectares. Despite the nationwide importance of this grass for

Status: Completed     Start date: Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2012

Pastures assume a prominent position in the Brazilian agricultural scenario, covering about three quarters of the cultivated area nationwide. In addition to the physical aspect, pastures are the main feeding source for the Brazilian herd. Pastures account for almost 90% of the beef consumed in Brazil and for most of the 21 billion liters of milk produced annually in the country. It is estimated today that in Brazil grasses of the genus Brachiaria are cultivated in approximately 84 millio

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2008

Pasture as an exclusive feeding source accounts for almost 90% of the beef consumed in Brazil and for most of the nearly 35 billion liters of milk produced annually in the country. It is estimated today that, in Brazil, grasses of the genus Brachiaria are cultivated in approximately 84 million hectares. In Brazil, the most cultivated species of Brachiaria are B. decumbens, B. brizantha, B. humidicola and B. ruziziensis. With the increasing agricult ...

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2008

The dairy activity in Brazil has undergone extensive changes. If, on the one hand, the industry tends more and more to value items associated with the quality of milk, such as fat, protein, total milk solids, etc., the prices paid or the incentives applied are arbitrary or defined based upon the financial return arising from one unit of the product. On the other hand, the dairy farmer does not know if the received incentive value, when it exists, is interesting from the point of view of returnin

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2008

One of the largest livestock problems in Southern Brazil has been the scantiness of varieties of forage species more adapted to this region. In addition, due to global warming and the demand for increased productivity with reduced use of inputs, there is a need of studies on germplasm tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought, and the evaluation of symbiotic organisms to promote biological nitrogen fixation in grasses. Thus, this project aimed to develop improved populations of some of the m

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2012

raditional breeding has generated significant genetic gain over time. However, this strategy falls short of yielding information on the biological processes involved. Additionally, there are great difficulties for the genetic improvement of characteristics which are measured solely in one gender and/or late in the life span of the animal. With the development of DNA chips it became possible maximizing genetic gain by reducing the generation interval and increasing the intensity of selection. The

Status: Completed     Start date: Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2010