New forage germplasm to

improve the productivity and

quality of biomass

Tropical pastures in a changing environment: development

of an international research collaboration in Latin America
and the Caribbean. Turrialba, April 24th, 2019

Mauricio Sotelo and Michael Peters and Chirs Jones

m.sotelo@cgiar.org
Regions

ASIA
Vietnam
CENTRAL AMERICA
Nicaragua

SOUTH AMERICA
Colombia AFRICA
(Including strategic breeding
and germplasm work) Kenya
Conserving the world’s largest collections of
beans, cassava, and tropical forages

37,987 6,643 44,000

Bean Cassava Tropical forage
accessions accessions accessions

Agrobiodiversity is key to maintaining ecosystems and providing

adequate supplies of healthy, nutritious food in the face of climate
change & environmental degradation.

2355
Herbaceous legumes
1680 Shrub legumes
Grasses
19100 2
Others
 Peters et al., 2013

Why are Livestock and forages important: The facts

About two-thirds of the The value of livestock as
world’s total agricultural area a global asset reaches

BILLION
TRILLION
The estimated total number of is used to feed livestock,
livestock worldwide including that accounts for some
Grazed livestock
(including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, 3.3 Bha systems are 25% the world’s single
and about a dozen lesser known species, like jobs
biggest land use.
guinea fowl, yaks, and camels). So,
Of grazing landhow they’re
Total crop areamanaged – and

especially how they’re fed – is profoundly

important forThe people
annualand the planet
contribution of
~200 MHa 50
Of total
livestock to climate change, agricultural
emissions
which is about
In America Latina alone, have been of all human-induced
degraded by overgrazing and other tCO2eq greenhouse gas
emission
unsustainable production practices.
This negative impact is similar in most areas used
These includes emissions from deforestation to make way to pastures.
for feed 70% of sweet water to agriculture, 22% to
livestock
Importance of high nutritional quality and productivity forages
for the tropics
LivestockPlus - the sustainable intensification of
forage-based systems Rao et al., 2015. DOI: 10.17138/TGFT(3)59-82

GENETIC ECOLOGICAL SOCIOECONOMIC

Three innovative/ Improved yield, quality, Better management of Creation of enabling
intensification processes: stress resistance mixed crop-forage-tree- environments (markets,
livestock systems policies, social & human
capital)

Livelihood FOOD MANURE ADAPTATION INCOME POVERTY

and nutrition Organic To climate Generation Alleviation
benefits: security fertilizers change

• Resource use efficiency • Water flows and quality

• Restoration of degraded lands • Reduced erosion &
Ecosystem • Reduced per unit animal GHGs sedimentation
services • Reduce pressure to the forest –
• Mitigation of climate change
Reduce deforestation
• Biodiversity conservation
Colombian Forages Network
Cooperation between National Agricultural Research System (Agrosavia) and CIAT.
Grasses Legumes
Gender Origin # accessions Gender Origin # accessions
Brachiaria spp (Syn CIAT 80 Leucaena spp CIAT 15
Urochloa spp) Clitoria spp CIAT 30
Panicum máximum CIAT 130 Cajanus cajan CIAT/ 75
(Syn Megathyrsus ICRISAT
maximus) Cratylia argentea CIAT 5
Chloris gayana ILRI 20
Arachis pintoi CIAT 5
Andropogon gayanus CIAT 2 Desmodium heterocarpon, CIAT 5
Cenchrus ciliaris ILRI 15 Desmodium velutinum
Paspalum spp CIAT 30 Centrocema molle, CIAT 10
Pennisetum sp ICA-Cuba 3 Centrosema macrocarpum
Total 425 accessions
Agronomic Evaluation of Chloris gayana
• Select the materials with the best agronomic performance and forage production based on dry matter in the
maximum and minimum precipitation period.
• Location and type of soil: CIAT- Palmira - sandy loam soils. B 80
In vitro dry matter digestibility

70

A Forage production 60
50
60
40
50 % 30
Ton DM Ha-1 year -1

20
40
10
30 0

20

10

0
C Crude Protein
20
18
16
14
12
% 10

Figura 2. A. 1. Dry matter productivity of 20 accessions of

8
6
Chloris gayana after 6 week of regrowth in wet and dry season 4
(mean of two cuts). B. In vitro dry matter digestibility. C. Crude 2
0
protein content of accessions that exceeded the productivity
thershold of 40 Tons DM Ha-1 year -1
Agronomic Evaluation of Cenchrus ciliaris
A Forage production B 80
In vitro dry matter digestibility

60 70
60
50
50
%
Ton DM Ha-1 Year -1

40
40
30
30 20
10
20 0

10

0 C Crude Protein
16
14
12
10
%
8
Figura 2. A. 1. Dry matter productivity of 15 accessions of 6
Cenchrus ciliaris after 6 week of regrowth in wet and dry season 4
(mean of two cuts). B. In vitro dry matter digestibility. C. Crude 2
protein content of accessions that exceeded the productivity 0
thershold of 40 Tons DM Ha-1 year -1

9
Options currently being evaluated for the tropics
ILRI (Dryland areas)
Chloris gayana (Rhodes)
• A major forage in the tropics and subtropics.
• Cross-pollinating C4, with diploid and tetraploid forms, usually propagated by seed
• Known for its wide adaptability and ease of establishment
Cenchrus ciliaris (Buffel)
• One of the best pasture grasses for the Africa subtropics
• An apomictic, perennial C4 grass
• Good forage potential, and particularly a candidate for drought tolerance
• Also helps to prevent soil erosion
Pennisetum pedicellatum (Desho)
• Well adapted and widely used in the highlands Ethiopia along with natural resource management practices
• It is a source income through sale of cut forage and planting material

Jones & Sartie. 2018

Forages Breeding

Valheria Castiblanco M.Sc

v.castiblanco@cgiar.org

John W. Miles Ph.D

j.miles@cgiar.org
Current breeding programs

Interspecific – Brachiaria Brachiaria humidicola Panicum maximum

(syn. Urochloa) (syn. Urochloa humidicola) (syn. Megathyrsus maximus)
(decumbens / brizantha / 2006 2016
ruziziensis
1990

Focusing on guarantee effectiveness and therefore

adoption, and launch products with optimum performance
under real farmers conditions.
Commercial releases of forage hybrids

CIAT Brachiaria hybrids planted globally in ha

900,000

CIAT has advanced 800,000

released genotypes, 700,000

more than out of those 600,000

500,000

Four are already commercialized, and 400,000

Four are in development and adaptation. 300,000

200,000

100,000

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Mulato, the first commercial
Brachiaria hybrid (released in
Hybrids has been a success in the market,
2001) was bred by CIAT. reaching a total area of 828,638 ha*
*Estimated by seed sales, assuming 7 kilos of seed per hectare (2017)
 Phenotyping / detection of drought resistance (high performance)
Targeting of Brachiaria grasses to areas with different patterns of drought

Water savers Water spenders

Reducing water loss Maintaining water uptake

Mechanisms
• Closing of stomata Both mechanisms • Deep roots
• Slow growth • Rapid growth
• Leaf senescence • Increased root length density at depth
• Reduced leaf area • Increased root growth at expense of
• Smaller root length shoots
to leaf area ratio • Greater root length to foliar area ratio
High
-Napier grass

Fertility
Cultivars

-Piata -Mulato II -Toledo -Marandu -Cobra -Mulato -Cayman –Rhodes grass

-Basilisk Napier grass
-LlaneroCayman
-Tully -Tupi
Low
700 mm
annual Terminal drought Intermittent drought
precipitation
Source: Cardoso JA (CIAT), unpublished
 Villegas et al., under preparation

BNI Potential of Megathyrsus maximus

Why Megathyrsus? → Key for sustainable intensification (superior biomass and quality)
Goal: To evaluate the BNI potential of different Megathyrsus genotypes for its implementation in a plant
breeding
Nitrification Rates of 132 Genotypes of M. maximus N2O emissions of Megathyrsus
genotypes with contrasting BNI potential

Low
BNI
Mid
Brachiaria
BNI
Control High
BNI
132 M. maximus accessions
Bh CIAT 16888 (+)
Bare Soil (-)

Accessions

 Megathyrsus genotypes with higher BNI capacity than Brachiaria were identified.
 Achieving reduction of N2O emissions up to 84 % (vs. 55 % of Bh) compared to low BNI accessions.
 Silvopastoral test at CIAT to evaluate the productive and environmental
parameters with combinations of grasses and legumes
Polytunnels with capacity for Treatments:
simultaneous measurement T1: Brachiaria hybrid cv Cayman.
T2: Brachiaria hybrid cv Cayman + Canavalia brasiliensis.
of CH4 of four animals T3: Brachiaria hybrid cv Cayman + Canavalia brasiliensis + Leucaena diversifolia.

Objective:
• To determine the weight gain (g/ Animal / day) of steers under grazing in plots with grasses alone and
associated with herbaceous and shrub legumes
• Compare traditional management that gives a farmer to his farm vs a Silvopastoral system
 Silvopastoral system
Daily weight gain Productivity per hectare
1600
1.000 1423
1400
0.900
1219

Kg meat/ha/207 days
0.800 1200 1104
0.700 0.667
kg animal/day

1000
0.600
0.473 800
0.500
0.400 552
600
0.300 0.274
392
0.200 400
227
0.100 200
0.000
T1 T2 T3 0
Treatments T1 T2 T3
Productivity kg meat/ha/207 days Stocking (Kg live weight/ha)

Source: Sotelo & Gutierrez., 2015 m.sotelo@cigar.org

Enteric methane emissions per Kg of dry matter intake
60
41.9 H: Hay of Dichanthium aristatum (Angleton)
TLdCa: Brachiaria brizantha cv. Toledo +
50 Leucaena diversifolia ILRI 15551 + Canavalia
g of CH4 · Kg of dry matter -1

brasiliensis CIAT 17009

40 33.1 31.3 Cy: Brachiaria Hibrido CIAT BR/1752 cv Cayman
27.2 CyLl: Brachiaria Hibrido CIAT BR/1752 cv
27.1 25.5
30 Cayman + Leucaena leucocephala CIAT 17263
21.0
EK: Cynodon nlemfuensis (Estrella) + Pueraria
20 phaseoloides (Kudzú)
T: Brachiaria brizantha CIAT 26110 cv. Toledo
10
CyLd: Brachiaria Hibrido CIAT BR/1752 cv
Cayman + Leucaena diversifolia ILRI 15551
0

H TLdCa Cy CyLl EK T CyLd

Animals: 4 Steers of 300 kg in average live
Diets weight

Source: Gaviria et al., 2017 Unpublished data x.gaviria@cgiar.org

 Vazquez et al., under preparation

Ecosystem Services: Silvopastoral systems improve Soil Quality

6
Abundance of soil Macrofauna % Organic Matter
Ants Others 5
6,000 a a 1400
5,000 1200 4
b ab ab a a
4,000 1000
b b ab b 800 3
3,000 ab 600 B BC BCL 5.5m BCL 1.5m BCL 0.0m
2,000 b
b 400
c
1,000 200 1.8 Bulk density
0 0 1.6
B BC BCL 5.5m BCL 1.5m BCL 0.0m 1.4
Brachiaria
Brachiaria Silvopastoral 1.2 a a a ab
Canavalia b
1.0
0.8
B BC BCL 5.5m BCL 1.5m BCL 0.0m

1.5 m
Herbivores Coleoptera Predators 5.5 m from the tree line
Detritivors Others

Biogenic Aggregate
 The silvopastoral arrangement increased the abundance of soil macrofauna and improved soil structure.
 The biological activity of macrofauna and higher soil organic matter found in BCL treatment reduces soil compaction.
Milk production experiment with cows under
forage grazing on CATIE Commercial Farm
Under the Livestock Plus (L +) project
Treatments:
 Brachiaria hybrid cv. Cayman in monoculture
 Cayman in association with Leucaena diversifolia
 Cayman in association with Tithonia diversifolia + Arachis pintoi
 Cayman in association with A. pintoi Dairy farming is done on 34 hectares of
 Control: Current diet is a mix-based of Brachiaria arrecta CATIE’s Commercial Farm. CATIE’s milk
(Tanner) and Cynodon nlemfuensis (Star grass) + concentrate production is an intensive tropical
lowland production model whose main
objective is to produce quality milk at
very low cost with minimal emissions.
 Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 4 repetitions Today the dairy has a total of 120 milk
cows and the milk is sold to the Dos
 Repetition area: 2500 m2 Pinos Cooperative of which CATIE is a
member.

 Treatment area: 1 ha (10,000 m2)

Milk production experiment with cows under forage
grazing on CATIE Commercial Farm
Response variables at different levels
• Forage: ton DM / ha / year, Nutritional quality
• Animal:
kg of milk / cow / day
Nutritional quality of milk: Total solids, Protein, Fat
• Environmental: Emissions of methane at the enteric level
• Soil: Soil health (physics, chemistry and biology), Carbon
stock
• Economic: Analysis of the different systems established in
the project
Participatory evaluation and dissemination of results
Artisan production of seeds (legumes)
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Reference books
Douxchamps, Sabine; Mena, Martín; Van Peters, Michael, Franco, Luis Horacio,
der Hoek, Rein; Benavídez, Alexander; Schmidt, Axel, Hincapie, Belisario. 2011.
Schmidt, Axel. 2011. Canavalia brasiliensis Especies forrajeras multipropósito: opciones
Mart. ex Benth CIAT 17009 : forraje que para productores del trópico Americano.
restituye la salud del suelo y mejora la CIAT, BMZ, GIZ, Cali, CO.
nutricion del ganado. INTA, CIAT, ETH, hdl.handle.net/10568/54681
Managua, NI. hdl.handle.net/10568/69649

Franco, Luis Horacio; Peters, Michael. 2007. Jones, C. and Sartie, A. 2018. Opportunities
Canavalia brasiliensis, una leguminosa for forage improvement through the ILRI
multipropósito. CIAT, Cali, CO. Genebank. Presented at the Class IV of the
hdl.handle.net/10568/70536 University of California, Davis African Plant
Breeding Academy Workshop, ILRI, Nairobi,
28 November 2018. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.
hdl.handle.net/10568/100309
 Thank you!
E-mail:
m.sotelo@cgiar.org

Tropical Forages Researcher at

@CIAT_. Germplasm

This work was conducted as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock, and is supported by
contributors to the CGIAR Trust Fund and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of
Germany. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15
Research Centers in close collaboration with hundreds of partners across the globe. www.cgiar.org