The genus Brachiaria comprises more than 100 species and is the single most important genus of forage grass in the tropics. Brachiaria brizantha, widely used in Brazilian pastures for beef and dairy production, is native to tropical Africa. As a subsidy to the breeding program underway in Brazil, cytological studies were employed to determine the chromosome number and to evaluate microspo...

Drought severely limits forage productivity of C4 grasses across the tropics. The avoidance of water deficit by increasing the capacity for water uptake or by controlling water loss are common responses in forage C4 grasses. Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and Brachiaria hybrid cv. Mulato II are tropical C4 grasses used for livestock production due to their reputed resistance to drought con...

Changes in climate and land use that interact synergistically to increase fire frequencies and intensities in tropical regions are predicted to drive forests to new grass-dominated stable states. To reveal the mechanisms for such a transition, we established 50 ha plots in a transitional forest in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon to different fire treatments (unburned, burned annually (B1yr) o...

An understanding of the interaction between spittlebugs and forage grasses is essential for establishing factors that favor productive pastures. In the present study, we evaluated the protein profiles of the spittle of Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant, 1909) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) fed various elephant grass genotypes. Each plant was infested with a single fifth-instar M. spectabilis. After 24 h,...

Larval behavioral diapause was shown to be the major factor controlling the 1-yr generation pattern of Amblyomma cajennense (F.) (Acari: Ixodidae) in Brazil. During fieldwork, this behavior was shown to coincide with long daylength (>12 h) and high mean ground temperature (approximately =25 degrees C), which prevail during spring-summer in Brazil. The current study evaluated biological paramete...

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rely on IPCC emission factors (EF) for GHG reporting. However, these were derived industrialized livestock farms and do not represent conditions of smallholder (small, low-producing breeds, poor feed quality, scarcity). Here, we present the first measurements CH4 N2O emissions from cattle-manure heaps representing feeding practices typical highlands East Af...

Com o desenvolvimento da agricultura tecnológica, solo passou a ser utilizado de maneira mais intensa e, desta forma, ficou propício à instalação processos erosivos, exigindo utilização práticas conservacionistas, como os consórcios e integração lavoura-pecuária. Diante disso, desenvolveu-se experimento para avaliar consórcio milho com diferentes populações Brachiaria ruziziensis, na umidade te...

Fecal masses recently excreted and/or almost dry were collected weekly in a pasture of Brachiaria decumbens Stapf, from May 1990 to April 1992. The feces were conditioned in 15-liter opaque plastic buckets, containing lateral and top openings, where flasks were fastened for capturing Histeridae beetles present in these masses. Three thousand two hundred ninety-nine specimens were collected belo...