Brachiaria humidicola (Poaceae), originally from Africa, is an economically important pasture plant in tropical South America. An accession of B. humidicola (H038) collected from the wild African savanna (Mbeya, Tanzania) showed irregular microsporogenesis. This meiotic behavior was consistent with an allopolyploid origin. Multivalent chromosome association at diakinesis gave tri- to octavalent...

The work was carried out to investigate the effects of different concentrations of NaCl on Brachiaria humidicola Rendle in the presence and absence of Glomus etunicatum Becker and Gerdemann, as well as to evaluate some growth parameters and the accumulation of free proline in the plant leaves. The soil used was a Neosoil Fluvic Eutrophic with pH of 6.5, organic matter, 12.8 g kg-1 and soil text...

Three accessions of Brachiaria brizantha, three of B. humidicola, and two interspecific hybrids between B. ruziziensis and B. brizantha were analyzed with regard to their mitotic behavior in root tips. All these genotypes revealed chromosome elimination or lack of chromosome affinity in previous analyses of microsporogenesis. Analyses of root tips showed a normal mitotic division in all accessi...

Waterlogging is one of the major factors limiting the productivity of pastures in the humid tropics. Brachiaria humidicola is a forage grass commonly used in zones prone to temporary waterlogging. Brachiaria humidicola accessions adapt to waterlogging by increasing aerenchyma in nodal roots above constitutive levels to improve oxygenation of root tissues. In some accessions, waterlogging reduce...

The presence of cyathostomin larvae is directly associated to climatic conditions of each region. This study aimed to evaluate the ecology of infective larvae on Brachiaria humidicola during the dry and rainy seasons from October 2007 to September 2008 in a tropical region, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil. Stools were collected from the rectum of horses naturally infected with cyathos...

Soil waterlogging reduces gas exchange between the soil and the atmosphere, leading to oxygen deprivation in the rhizosphere. Brachiaria spp. are the most widelysown forage grasses in tropical America. Among commercial Brachiaria grasses, B. humidicola shows superior tolerance to waterlogged soils based on maintenance of growth and reduced leaf chlorophyll loss and senescence. However, little i...

Brachiaria humidicola, a species adapted to poorly drained and infertile acid soils, is widely used throughout the tropics. Cytological characterization of 54 accessions of B. humidicola for breeding purposes revealed 2n = 36, 42, and 54 chromosomes. One accession (H030), with 2n = 42 chromosomes, showed a different meiotic behavior. In most accessions from the genus Brachiaria previously studi...

This study aims to identify special metabolites in polar extracts from Urochloa humidicola (synonym Brachiaria humidicola) that have allelopathic effects and induce secondary photosensitization in ruminants. The compounds were isolated and identified via chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The compounds 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzoic acid, trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, and p-hydroxy-benz...

The African species Urochloa humidicola (Rendle) Morrone & Zuloaga (syn. Brachiaria humidicola (Rendle) Schweick.) is an important perennial forage grass found throughout the tropics. This species is polyploid, ranging from tetra to nonaploid, and apomictic, which makes genetic studies challenging; therefore, the number of currently available genetic resources is limited. The genomic architectu...