Published on Nov 29, 2018

1. GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR CONSERVATION & UTILISATION
OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FORAGES Issue 8 – November 2018
Another year of implementing the Global
Strategy for the Conservation and Utilisation
of Tropical and Sub-Tropical Forage Genetic
Resources is coming to an end, with this the
3rd newsletter for 2018.
Closer collaboration with the two CGIAR cen-
tres, CIAT and ILRI, kicked off with meetings
between key technical genebank staff and
the Global Crop Diversity Trust in April and
again in October (p.2). Despite our ambitious
original plan to bring together representa-
tives of international and some key national
centres in 2018/early 2019 to identify priori-
ties for collaboration, that meeting needs to
be delayed and perhaps flagged to happen
alongside the 2020 International Grassland
Congress. However, individual national cen-
tres are using the impetus provided by stra-
tegy implementation to develop their own
collaboration priorities/opportunities. A first
of such actions will be a visit to Australia by
Brazilian (embrapa) forage germplasm spe-
cialists in 2019. We see such interactions and
the already closer collaboration between the
CGIAR centres as significant moves towards
a healthier tropical forage germplasm world.
Upgrading the Tropical Forages Database is
taking place in parallel to strategy implemen-
tation; it has made great progress in 2018.
This database enables users to select from
170 species the most appropriate germplasm
for particular uses and environments, combi-
ned with a comprehensive fact sheet for
every species. Originally released in 2005 in
the days of CD-ROMs and poor internet
availability, the new database version will
leap to today’s technology standards, desig-
ned for use beyond computers: on smart-
phones and tablets, and to be a key tool for
forage researchers and genebank managers.
Issues of taxonomy and using the currently
correct (binomial) name seems trivial or an
annoyance to many. But over a relatively
short period of 10-20 years, the number of
genera and species taxonomically reviewed
and subsequently renamed is substantial. If
these name changes were associated with
little-known species, perhaps it would not be
critical. Over the past decade, however,
some of the most economically important
tropical forage genera globally have been
reassigned: such as the genus Brachiaria to
the genus Urochloa; some Panicum spp. to
the genus Megathyrsus, incl. Panicum maxi-
mum (M. maximus); and some Pennisetum
spp. to the already large genus, Cenchrus.
There are other examples. The Tropical
Forages Database project has taken the view
that it must adopt a taxonomy standard to
accommodate these ongoing taxonomic
revisions. After much debate the project has
settled on using GRIN-accepted taxonomy.
This newsletter will follow suit. Hence, we
encourage all genebank and forage users to
do the same and, likewise, encourage their
collaborators. It helps communication if we
all follow one single system.
Once more we thank the Crop Trust for its
support of this Newsletter in 2018. We wish
you enjoyable reading and a happy 2019!
Bruce Pengelly & Brigitte Maass
Evolving forage networks
A number of new forage networks are evolving in Costa
Rica (Photo) and Colombia as well as in Southeast Asia.
Page 3-4
Forages for cattle in Indonesia
Over some years already, tropical forages have made a
big difference to Bali cattle keepers on the Indonesian
Lombok Island.
Page 5-6
Forages for the Future
IN THIS ISSUE

2. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 2
PRIORITIZING LEGUMES & GRASSES
What are genebank functions?
Probably not many users of tropical and subtropical
forages have visited a genebank. How does it look like?
And what are its typical functions?
A genebank is a centre for conserving genetic resources
under suitable conditions to prolong their lives. The form
that these resources are conserved in is called
germplasm; meaning the genetic material that forms the
physical basis of heredity and that is transmitted from one
generation to the next by germ cells. If you don’t know
the difference:
genetic resources are more like a concept of all diversity
contained in a species, whereas germplasm is tangible,
i.e. what you can hold in your hand.
To ensure conservation of germplasm (i.e. seeds or life
plants or tissue culture) for long time, it must be assured
that seed is available in sufficient quantity, it is viable
and free of diseases. Therefore, germination and plant
health testing belong to the essential genebank
functions. But also, users want to be sure about the
identity of an accession as there may be quite some
difference in terms of adaptation and/or other plant
characteristics among distinct accessions within one
species. Therefore, plants will be characterized
morphologically and agronomically when they are
grown out during seed increase. Nowadays, also often
molecular markers are applied to characterize an
accession. For adequate documentation, many of these
data are being made publicly available. Finally, a gene-
bank also distributes small quantities of seeds to users,
such as researchers, students and/or development
projects. Have you ever requested forage germplasm?
Brigitte Maass
Definitions from the Glossary of the Crop Genebank
Knowledge Base.
  
Abbreviations & Acronyms
ACIAR Australian Centre for International
Agricultural Research
CATIE Centro Agronómico Tropical de
Investigación y Enseñanza, Costa Rica
CGIAR Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research
CIAT Centro International de Agricultura Tropical
CNPL National Chamber of Milk Producers, Costa
Rica
CORFOGA Corporación Ganadera, Costa Rica
CP Crude protein
CRFN Costa Rican Forage Network
cv. Cultivar – registered, commercial variety
DM Dry matter
EARTH Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical
Húmeda, a university in Costa Rica
EC-LEDS Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission
Development Strategies
One of the recommendations of the Global
Strategy for the Conservation and Utilisation
of Tropical and Sub-Tropical Forage Genetic
Resources was that the two International
Centers, CIAT and ILRI, should join forces
more closely and strive to harmonize the
curation of their forage germplasm collect-
ions. After an initial meeting in April this year
(see NL #7, p. 4), this has been pursued
during 2018 by comparing all activities in
detail, by both revising written documents of
operating and site visits to the two gene-
banks located in Cali, Colombia and Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. For the first time, technical
teams from the two centers have been
brought together in October 2018.
Workshop participants from Colombia and Ethiopia
in front of the new ILRI genebank building, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. PHOTO: S Landersz
Abbreviations & Acronyms – contd.
FITTACORI Fundación para el Fomento y Promoción
de la Investigación y Transferencia de
Tecnología Agropecuaria de Costa Rica
ILRI International Livestock Research Institute
INTA National Institute of Agricricultural Inno-
vation and Technology Transfer, CRI
INTA National Inst. of Agric. Technol., Argentina
KALRO Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research
Organization
MAG Ministerio de Agricultura, Costa Rica
NAMA National Appropriate Mitigation Actions
R&D Research and development
TEC Institute of Technology, Costa Rica
TSTF Tropical and Sub-Tropical Forages
UCR Universidad de Costa Rica
UNA Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica
UNRAM University of Mataram, West Nusa
Tenggara, Indonesia
USAID US Agency for International Development
USDA US Department of Agriculture
UTN Universidad Técnica Nacional, Costa Rica
Arcenio Ciprian (CIAT) and
Asebe Abdena (ILRI) talking forages at ILRI’s
Zwai site in Ethiopia. PHOTO: BLMaass
The format of the workshop was that
relatively few plenary sessions took place
where presentations were made. Most time
was spent in discussions within concurrent
thematic technical groups. Adequate time
was provided for observing technical
experiences, for exchanging views and for
gaining lessons, while hands-on genebank
work was demonstrated at the working place
at ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ahead of the workshop, staff in charge of
field operations in Colombia and Ethiopia
spent 2 days to visit the ILRI Debre Zeit and
Zwai field sites to observe seed regeneration
and processing practices in detail. They also
got to know the field genebanks, where
some important grass collections are
conserved, such as Urochloa (syn. Brachiaria)
and Megathyrsus (syn. Panicum).
The overall spirit of participants was one of a
lot of curiosity and excitement. For the
Colombians it was a unique experience to
travel to an African country and learn from
their peers. Interestingly, there were no real
language barriers. The Ethiopians, on the
other hand, shared and demonstrated their
daily practices without any reservation. In
the final discussions, plans were made how
to improve both efficiency and quality of
operations of these two genebanks for
enhancing germplasm conservation and
utilization of tropical and subtropical forages.
And of course the Ethiopians expressed the
wish to gain a similar experience by visiting
CIAT in Colombia.
Brigitte Maass
Harmonizing CIAT & ILRI forage
germplasm collections

3. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 3
Background
In October 2012, the Ministry of Agriculture
and the National Chamber of Milk Producers
of Costa Rica (CNPL) held a workshop aimed
at diagnosing the competitiveness of dairy
operations in the country. Supported by the
Interamerican Institute for Cooperation in
Agriculture (IICA), they determined that both
public and private institutions should focus
on R&D, extension, and innovations in
forages in order to increase the competitive-
ness and resilience of dairy operations in the
next decade.
Following a presidential decree, Costa Rica
declared its National Strategy for Low-
Carbon Livestock in November 2015. Along
with that strategy, 2 acting bodies were
created: Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMA) and the Costa Rican Forage
Network (CRFN). Among others, both
organizations have the objective to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. CRFN specifically
aims to implement and transfer technologies
related to forage production that are
nationally appropriate for livestock
operations in Costa Rica. NAMA seeks to
 intensify livestock production,
 promote adaptation to climate change, &
 support the mitigation of greenhouse
gases in the national livestock sector.
Members and goals of CRFN
A diverse group of institutions has been
involved with the development of CRFN,
representing academia (UCR, CATIE, UNA,
UTN, TEC, EARTH), government (MAG,
INTA), and the private sector (CORFOGA,
CNPL)—for acronyms see page 2.
Among other goals, CRFN will define and
prioritize research and extension projects
that have potential to impact livestock
operations in the short- and long-term. CRFN
will provide input for members to submit
proposals on relevant research activities to
funding agencies. Approval and support of
CRFN would strengthen the impact of such
projects at a broader scale.
Additionally, CRFN has been holding an
Annual Forage Meeting since November
2015, which has had increasing attendance
each year. The upcoming meeting will take
place in Atenas, 3-5 April 2019.
Third annual forage meeting in Atenas, Costa
Rica. PHOTO: LA Villalobos
Main achievements to date
Some key achievements of CRFN in the past
5 years have been:
 Establishing an Online platform for
sharing publications of CRFN members
(SIDALC-IICA);
 Professional database with forage
researchers and specialists (Agriperfiles-
IICA);
 Gateway and oversight for local and
international funding (FITTACORI,
USDA, EC-LEDS);
 List of available resources and tools for
research among CRFN institutions and
members;
 Annual reports detailing activities and
projects that are presented to members
and government authorities;
 Use of social networks for outreach of
extension activities.
Current research interests
An effort is underway to prioritize the
research objectives most relevant to
livestock operations in the country. Due to
limited funding sources, however, topics
were characterized on a timeline that
considers current available resources of
CRFN members as well as prospective
equipment acquisitions.
Ongoing projects
In the past 2 years, 6 research projects have
been funded by the Enhancing Capacity for
Low Emission Development Strategies (EC-
LEDS) program and USAID (Table).
CRFN owes its successes to the efforts
developed by both public and private
institutions and to input from each and every
researcher and technician interested in
contributing to new outcomes for livestock
operations in the years to come. Ideally, this
overview of CRFN’s achievements will attract
more participants to join the effort, as we
believe our goals can be transferred and
replicated to benefit the future of livestock
operations across Costa Rica and elsewhere.
BY: Luis A Villalobos-V (Univ. Costa
Rica), Daniel Sanabria (National
Dairy Association), Jorge Segura
(Ministry of Agriculture)
CONTACT: LA Villalobos (Email:
luis.villalobosvillalobos@ucr.ac.cr)
Costa Rican Forage Network (CRFN):
A collaborative effort towards the sustainability of livestock operations
Project Principal
Investigator +
Affiliation
Aim
Use of tree marigold (Tithonia diversifolia) as
a supplement for dairy cattle
A Alpizar, UNA To evaluate substitution levels of concentrate on
milk production, quality and costs.
Guatemala grass (Tripsacum andersonii) for
green-chop + silage under strip irrigation
L Pineda, UCR To measure grass yield + quality with strip
irrigation during the dry season in the North
Pacific of Costa Rica.
Yield, quality + greenhouse gas emissions of
Lolium multiflorum cv. Jumbo at 2 altitudes
with 3 N fertilizers
L Villalobos,
UCR
To evaluate grass productivity by assessing yield,
regrowth capacity, nutritional value, and GHG
emissions.
Yield and persistence of cool-season grass
as monoculture or associated with kikuyu
grass under grazing systems.
W Ramirez,
INTA
To enhance DM intake of grazing dairy cattle
through the establishment of cool-season forages
in perennial pastures.
In-situ degradation of T. diversifolia and
enteric methane emissions
V Arronis, INTA To estimate the ruminal degradation of tree
marigold at different phenological stages.
Dry matter yield and quality of Urochloa
brizantha (syn. Brachiaria brizantha) cv.
Diamantes 1 in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific
E Orozco, INTA To determine the optimum harvest stage of
Diamantes 1-Brachiaria from 5 stages of
regrowth.

4. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 4
Forages network in Colombia
The 2nd meeting of the Colombian Forage
Network was held 5–6 September 2018 at the
Nataima Research Center in Espinal, Tolima
department, where advances made by the
CIAT-Agrosavia project were showcased. …
The workshop brought together experts from
CIAT and Agrosavia (formerly Corpoica)
national-level research centers in the fields of
agronomy, zootechnics, livestock production,
plant breeding, plant physiology, soils, mole-
cular biology, chemistry, and socioeconomics.
The 1st meeting was held in April 2018 at the
Turipaná Research Center in Cereté, Córdoba
department.
On 16 Nov. 2018, Agrosavia released a new
Megathyrsus cultivar ‘Agrosavia Sabanera’,
which is a product of the Forages Network.
Read more of this article in the
CIAT-Agrosavia Colombian Forage Network work-
shop at Nataima Research Center. PHOTO: CIAT
New partnership for a more
sustainable forage production
CIAT and the Papalotla Group, a worldwide
leading company in the production of
improved seeds for tropical hybrid pastures,
signed the agreement “Sustainable inten-
sification for environmental benefits”. This
agreement follows a long-term collaboration
between both organizations, achieving a wide
dissemination of hybrid pastures developed by
CIAT and distributed by Papalotla, such as
Cobra, Cayman, Camello, Mulato, and
Mulato II. This agreement allows the Papa-
lotla Group to produce and commercialize the
new hybrids developed by CIAT in three lines:
Urochloa (syn. Brachiaria) hybrids currently
being developed, B. humidicola and
Megathyrsus (syn Panicum) hybrids.
Read more of this article in the
Asian Forage Legume Platform
A new Forage Legumes Network in Asia helps
sustainably diversify tropical crop-livestock
systems. Researchers from eight Asian
countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, China,
India, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, and
Vietnam – gathered at the end of 2017 in
Haikou City, China, to form the Asian Forage
Legumes Platform. This is in response to the
increasing pressure for farming systems in Asia
to produce more without causing further harm
to the environment. As soils deteriorate and
become unable to provide the nitrogen that
crops need, nitrogen-fixation from the
atmosphere turns out to be very important in
agriculture. … Beyond facilitating soil health,
when used as forages, legumes provide high-
quality livestock feed. The network aims to
further the understanding of and promote
biological nitrogen fixation within the region.
The Asian Forage Legumes Platform aims to
increase the level of knowledge on biological
nitrogen fixation (BNF) in Asia, with a view to
facilitating increased benefits from BNF of
farming systems in Asia, by:
• facilitating collaboration among network
members on research projects;
• fostering communication around success-
ful integration of forage legumes in the
region; and
• sharing forage germplasms, rhizobia
strains and methods of evaluation.
Workshop participants visiting a field site with
Stylosanthes guianensis in China. PHOTO: CIAT
Four major interconnected initiatives will be
pursued by the Platform, looking at the
integration of forage legumes into crop-
livestock systems at 4 levels: landscape, farm,
soil-plant, and microbe.
National partners carry out all activities
directly. Currently, there are trials in Vietnam
and China, where forage legumes
Arachis pintoi is intercropped in a demonstration
plot at the Tropical Pasture Research Center in
Danzhou City, China. PHOTO: M Romero/ CIAT.
(Arachis pintoi, Gliricidia sepium, Stylosanthes
guianensis and Canavalia brasiliensis) are
being integrated in orange and mango tree
plantations. In Cambodia, some forage
legumes will be tested following rice, starting
in January 2019: Lablab, Sesbania and Crota-
laria. In the Philippines, partners are in the
process of importing forage legume seeds.
The Platform’s plan is to begin with informal
seed production in every country, followed
by some facilitated import and exchange
between countries in the long term.
Exchange of experiences among countries, a
website, and many more initiatives may
follow depending on available funding.
To this end, CIAT is brokering regional
cooperation in agricultural science and
technology by helping establish research
platforms among Asian countries, jointly
facilitated by CIAT and China.
Partly from: CIAT in Review 2017-2018; the
CIAT Blog, and from the CIAT-Brief Asian
Forage Legumes Platform.
CONTACTS: Sabine Douxchamps, Didier
Lesueur, CIAT, Hanoi, Vietnam
EMAILS: S.Douxchamps@CGIAR.ORG,
D.Lesueur@CGIAR.ORG
50-250Commonly observed annual inputs
through Biological Nitrogen Fixation
for pasture/forage or green manure
legumes to be 50-250 kg N2/ha
(Unkovich et al. 2008).
Networks, networks, ●●●

5. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 5
Cut-and-carry system
Over a decade of research collaborations
between Indonesia’s University of Mataram
and Australia’s CSIRO and University of
Queensland have enhanced the production
of Bali cattle in Central Lombok.
Cattle production on Lombok Island is pre-
dominantly small scale (2-4 cattle per house-
hold) and intensive. Communal shelters
called kandangs are used in areas where
cattle density is high and land availability for
grazing and forage is low, as is the case in
Central Lombok. Animals are fed by cut-and-
carry or by tethering outside the kandang,
and looked after by their owners.
Napier grass (rumput gajah) to be fed to Bali
cattle in a ‘satellite’ kandang in Central Lombok.
Initial research showed that cows were in calf
around every 3rd year, growth rates were low
and smallholders in the 800 communal kand-
angs did not realize significant economic
benefit from the sale of animals.
Key constraints to improving productivity
included scarcity of quality feed, sub-optimal
animal husbandry practices resulting in low
reproduction rates, poor waste management
and limited resources. The kandang system
presented researchers with an opportunity to
address productivity constraints, with a view
to using the communal system as a model to
support individual practice change and, over
the long-term, provide an example of
extension models for government.
A slogan: 3S
The Lombok team developed a slogan for
the research aspiration and approach:
satu induk, satu anak, satu tahun (3S) or
one cow, one calf, one year. This encom-
passed the objectives to shorten the inter-
calving interval (by controlled mating),
increase productivity (through better
nutrition) and decrease calf mortality
(through health and nutrition).
A package of practices was introduced and
tested with farmers, with a view to maxi-
mizing reproductive potential and converting
this to greater turn-off and increased sales,
without overt strain on limited resources,
such as land for forage and space to house
new animals. The package included: planting
and using improved forages, availability of
quality bulls for natural mating 40-60 days
after calving, earlier weaning of calves,
preferential feeding of pregnant and
lactating cows, and kandang hygiene.
Almost reaching the goal
At the end of the research in 2012, produc-
tivity gains from uptake of project practices
included a calving rate of 87% (from 52% in
2003), with calf survival of around 95% (from
85%) and a calving interval of just over 12
months (from 16 months), coming very close
to the 3S aim. While herd size across the
project area remained relatively stable, births
and sales went up.
Farmers stated that engagement with the
research increased skills and knowledge of
improved livestock management and feeding
practices, and also the social capital of the
groups, through increased cohesion and
cooperation. This resulted in more advan-
tageous engagement with local markets.
The project model of employing and training
young graduates was crucial in providing on-
going support and encouragement to far-
mers. Due to resourcing and existing work-
loads, it is unlikely that the research success
would have been achieved using existing
extension staff. The research also achieved a
strong influence on key policies and
programs at provincial and district levels to
support uptake of practices and approaches.
Research success and impact were the
results of a series of well-planned research
projects brought together over a decade.
Critical success factors include:
 Long-term commitment from ACIAR,
and Indonesian & Australian agencies;
 A participatory approach to engagement;
 a focus on understanding the system &
its pressure and leverage points (incl. the
development of the now widely used
Integrated Assessment Tool for system
modelling);
 the value of investing in adoption and
extension; and
 commitment to building and realizing
critical capacity.
A farmer in southern Lombok carries gliricidia
(gamal) to his cattle. ALL PHOTOS: M v Wensveen
Evaluation of adoption
ACIAR, who funded the Lombok livestock
research, commissioned an evaluation of
adoption 5 years after the project funding
ended. That evaluation showed that some,
but not all, of the practices were still being
used by many farmers involved in the
research projects, and also by ‘satellite
farmers’ who were not active participants,
but lived close to the project kandangs.
The package of promoted practices by the
research projects had several key features,
well known to support adoption, including:
 Practices that are relatively easy to apply
One cow, one calf, one year:
Forage as a catalyst for Lombok’s improved Bali cattle production

6. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 6
Contd.
 Build on existing social institutions &
practices
 Address key constraints & farmer needs
 Have clear benefits even when only
selected practices are adopted
 Demonstrate clear, easily observable
benefits.
More complex practices that require group
negotiation and resource management were
harder to sustain post-project. Of the prac-
tices, planting and use of improved forage
and/or expansion of existing forage showed
the greatest sustainability. Availability of
land remains a constraint for forage pro-
duction, but over 90% of farmers continued
to grow and use forage 5 years after the
project’s formal end. The evaluation revealed
that the area for forage increased (e.g. on
rice bunds and unused land) by necessity as
the area available for grazing continues to
decrease.
Today, key forages in the system are the
Urochloa hybrid Mulato, Panicum (Mega-
thyrsus maximus), Napier grass (Cenchrus
purpureus, syn. Pennisetum maximum) and
the tree legumes, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena
leucocephala and Sesbania grandiflora.
BY: Monica van Wensveen, Liana
Williams, CSIRO, Canberra,
Australia & Dahlanuddin,
UNRAM, Indonesia
CONTACT: Monica.Vanwensveen@csiro.au
READ MORE:
Van Wensveen, Williams & Dahlanuddin 2018.
Adoption of ACIAR project outputs 2017.
Van Wensveen, Dahlanuddin et al. 2017. Final
report for SMAR-2006-096 Scaling up herd
management strategies in crop-livestock
systems in Lombok.
A Bali cow with her calf, feeding on Napier grass.
PHOTO: BC Pengelly
Fodder production in semi-arid eastern
Kenya is characterized by low farm inputs
and outputs. Drought and low soil fertility are
major limiting factors in forage production.
Farmers normally use stover from cereals
such as maize and sorghum or from legumes
like lablab, common beans and cowpeas as
fodder during the dry season.
Lablab on farm in eastern Kenya. PHOTO: A Kerina
In Kenya, Lablab purpureus or ‘Dolichos bean’
is popularly called ‘Njahi’. It is a dual-purpose
legume primarily grown for grain in eastern
Kenya. It is good fodder for livestock. Parti-
cularly under semi-arid conditions, lablab
herbage dry matter (DM) yield is usually
higher than that of beans and cowpeas. It can
yield up to 6 t/ha of herbage DM. Thus,
lablab is drought-tolerant and can grow
under relatively low soil fertility conditions.
It is grown as a companion crop to maize or
as a cover crop. It will also improve soil fertili-
ty by fixing atmospheric nitrogen to the soil.
Forage use
In eastern Kenya, lablab is mainly used
during the dry season when animal feeds are
in short supply. The whole plant is utilized in
different ways. It can be grazed directly as a
pasture, cut and directly fed green to live-
stock, stored as hay or used to make silage.
As it stays green during the dry season after
grain harvest, the plant is highly palatable to
livestock.
Lablab hay is employed to supplement maize
or sorghum stover, which are of poor nutri-
tional quality. Lablab stems are more fibrous
than those of other legumes, e.g. beans and
cowpeas. As a result, livestock tend to eat
leaves, which are soft and tender, but leave
back the stems. Lablab fodder has high crude
protein content. It’s also rich in calcium,
phosphorous and vitamins A and D.
The Kenyan KALRO has released a few culti-
vars; but only KAT/DL-1 was found on a sig-
nificant scale in the region due to both high
grain and herbage yields. Biomass yields of
KAT/DL-1 under rain-fed conditions were up
to 3 t/ha in on-farm trials in Makueni County
in 2014. Grotelüschen (2014) tested and
identified other dual-purpose accessions with
potential for the region: Q6880B, CPI 81364
and CPI 52513 from the Australian tropical
forage germplasm collection.
CONTACT: Arnold Kerina, University of Eldoret,
Eldoret, Kenya
EMAIL: arnoldkerry@yahoo.com
Experimenting to intercrop maize with lablab:
Conservation Ag Officer Neil Miller at a trial site
near Moshi, northern Tanzania. PHOTO: BLMaass
Lablab purpureus:
A dry-season feed in eastern Kenya
Developing multi-purpose
Lablab in Tanzania
Over the past 4 years, staff from the Canadian
Foodgrains Bank and the Nelson Mandela
African Institution of Science and Technology,
in Arusha, have been experimenting with
inter-cropping and sole-cropping of both local
Tanzanian and introduced lablab accessions
with maize. From their work they anticipate
several multi-purpose varieties will be re-
leased as cultivars in Tanzania by early 2020.
CONTACT: Neil Miller, Arusha, Tanzania
(Email: nrmiller@foodgrainsbank.ca)

7. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 7
History & characteristics
Panicum coloratum (common names are
‘Kleingrass’ and ‘Makarikari grass’) is a cross-
pollinated, warm-season perennial grass,
native to the Center and South of Africa. It
has been introduced to Australia, Mexico, the
USA, Japan and Argentina. In addition, there
are some recent reports of its study as forage
in mixed stands with legumes in Ethiopia (1).
In Argentina, its use as forage for meat
production is highly promising. Primarily, the
grass has been developed for game bird
feeding in the USA. In parts of Africa,
Australia and also in the southern USA, it has
been used for improving pasturelands, hay-
and silage-making, revegetation of range-
lands, and erosion control.
Given its good nutritional quality, its use has
been extended to forage production; though
in Argentina, the relatively low adoption of
the species by ranchers is sometimes related
to difficulties in pasture establishment, but
also to low seed availability in the market,
probably related to shattering problems.
Plants of Panicum coloratum cv. Kapivera-INTA,
developed by the INTA breeders group
Herbage dry matter (DM) production varies
depending on the environment and the time
of the year. In general, forage production
begins in the middle of spring, achieving
higher herbage production in mid-summer
and declining towards autumn. On non-
limiting soils, well-developed pastures may
produce up to 9 t DM/ha, while DM yield may
go down to 2.3 t/ha on limiting (saline) soils.
Regarding nutritional quality, crude protein
content (CP) is relatively high in the begin-
ning of spring regrowth, achieving 12-16%
CP with in vitro digestibility of 60-65%; these
values decline along the growing season.
Adaptation & cultivars
Panicum coloratum is a quite polymorphic
species. Two of the most ubiquitous varieties
are var. coloratum and makarikariense. The
first was widely used in the USA and cv. Klein
was released there and is currently commer-
cialized in Argentina. It grows well on sandy
soils with annual precipitation of 450-800
mm. It is highly tolerant to drought, short
flooding periods, saline and saline-sodic soils,
cold temperatures, and high pH levels.
P. coloratum var. makarikariense on a typical
pasture site in northern central Argentina
Var. makarikariense was developed in
Australia; most popular is cv. Bambatsi. It
also grows on saline or saline-sodic soils,
tolerates poorly structured, heavy clay soils
and long periods of flood, as well as alterna-
tive periods of floods and drought.
References
1. Tischler CR, Ocumpaugh WR 2004 Kleingrass,
blue panic and vine mesquite. In: Warm-season
(C4) grasses. Americ. Soc. Agronomy. p. 623-650.
2. Giordano M, Berone G, Tomás M 2013 Selection
by seed weight improves traits related to seedling
establishment in Panicum coloratum L. var.
makarikariense. Plant Breeding 132:620–624.
3. Armando L, Carrera A, Tomás M 2013 Collection
and morphological characterization of Panicum
coloratum L. in Argentina. Genetic Resources and
Crop Evolution 60(5):1737-1747.
4. Cardamone L, Cuatrín A, Grunberg K, Tomás
MA 2018 Variability for salt tolerance in a collec-
tion of Panicum coloratum var. makarikariense
during early growth stages. Tropical Grasslands-
Forrajes Tropicales 6(3), 134-147.
Environments with annual precipitation
regimes of 600-1000 mm are the more
appropriate for this variety. One cultivar
recently released in Argentina with higher
seed weight is cv. Kapivera INTA (2).
A P. coloratum var. coloratum pasture during
flowering. ALL PHOTOS: GONZALO GUERRERO/INTA
Genetic resources in Argentina
The genetic relationship between botanical
varieties is unclear: while some authors
report that varieties are partially fertile and
may hybridize, others demonstrate that
hybrids are quite rare, and that varieties are
clearly morphologically distinct.
INTA (National Institute of Technology) in
Argentina keeps a germplasm collection
consisting of a total of 15 populations from
the two P. coloratum varieties. Populations
were collected mainly in central Argentina
from old pastures that had been established
with materials introduced to the country in
the last decade of the 20th century and were
preserved given the longevity of the plants
and their facility to propagate agamically via
stolons; also considering the species’ ability
for natural re-sowing. The collection consti-
tutes a reservoir of genetic variation for
potential use of new cultivar development
and for genetic resources conservation (3).
Several studies have been undertaken and
recently, both morphological and genetic
variability for salinity tolerance has been
determined in var. makarikariense (4).
Contrasting genotypes could be used as
parent materials to conduct breeding.
BY: Maria Andrea Tomas & Mabel C.
Giordano, INTA-Rafaela,
Argentina
EMAILS: tomas.maria@inta.gob.ar;
giordano.mabel@inta.gob.ar
Panicum coloratum:
An alternative for less productive soils in Argentina

8. FORAGES FOR THE FUTURE | Issue 8 8
FAST FACTS
95%In Desmodium intercropping systems in western Kenya,
such as ‘push-pull’ (see NL#7, p. 7), counts of the
parasitic weed, Striga, were reduced by up to 95% with
higher reductions when Desmodium was cut at 18 weeks
after planting instead of at 3 to 15 weeks (Kifuko-Koech
et al. 2012).
10%About 10% of the legume accessions conserved in the
CIAT and ILRI forage germplasm collections belong to
the genus Desmodium; they comprise c. 75 species of
this large and diverse genus.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read the report on “A Global Strategy for the
Conservation and Utilisation of Tropical and Sub-
Tropical Forage Genetic Resources”.
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Your opinions matter!
Announcements
International Forage and Turfgrass Breeding
Conference, 24-27 March of 2019 in Orlando,
FL, USA. This is the first joint meeting of the
10th Molecular Breeding of Forages and Turf
Conference (MBFT) and the 6th International
Symposium of Forage Breeding (ISFB).
More details here. CONTACT: bmt@ufl.edu
Joint XXIV International Grassland (IGC) and
XI International Rangeland (IRC) congresses
to be held in Nairobi, Kenya,
25 – 30 October 2020. The theme is ‘Sustai-
nable Use of Grassland/Rangeland Resour-
ces for Improved Livelihoods’. Read more.
PhD OPPORTUNITIES
at University of Kiel, Germany
The Grass and Forage Science/Organic
Farming group of the Plant Breeding
Institute, offers investigation on:
1. Influence of polyphenols on methane
emissions – application by 4 Jan. 2019.
CONTACT: Dr. Carsten Malisch
(EMAIL: cmalisch@gfo.uni-kiel.de)
2. Relations between food security and eco-
system services of grassland-based forage
production systems & 3. Eco-efficiency of
milk production – application by 1 Jan. 2019.
SCHOLARSHIP Contact: Dr. Almut Hattenbach
(EMAIL: a.hattenbach@evstudienwerk.de)
NEW PUBLICATION
ISPC (Independent Science and Partnership
Council). 2018. Tropical forages and the
diffusion of Brachiaria cultivars in Latin
America. Brief no. 70. ISPC, Rome, Italy.
FROM THE JOURNAL:
Vol. 6 No. 3 (September 2018)
Research papers
Got forages? Understanding potential returns
on investment in Brachiaria spp. for dairy
producers in Eastern Africa
by B Schiek, C González, S Mwendia, SD
Prager
Variability for salt tolerance in a collection of
Panicum coloratum var. makarikariense during
early growth stages [Argentina]
by L Cardamone, A Cuatrín, K Grunberg, MA
Tomás
How does seed size of Arachis pintoi affect
establishment, top-growth and seed
production? [Brazil]
by GML de Assis, DP Miqueloni, HSFS
Azêvedo, JF Valentim
Efectos de la fertilización en la productividad
de una pastura de Brachiaria humidicola cv.
Llanero en el Piedemonte de los Llanos
Orientales de Colombia
by A Rincón, H Flórez, H Ballesteros, LM León
Ecological implications of bush encroachment
on foraging behavior of dairy cows and goats
at SUA farm, Morogoro, Tanzania
by IS Selemani
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DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the CGIAR or the Global Crop Diversity Trust.
Photos from the title page: top by Monica van Wensveen; right top by Luis Villalobos; right bottom by Monica van Wensveen
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CONTACT:
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Brigitte.Maass@yahoo.com
Dr Bruce Pengelly
Bruce.Pengelly@gmail.com
Global Crop Diversity Trust
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