Critical Analysis of Tropical Forage Breeding in Brazil

Forage grasses account for 90% of the Brazilian forage seed market while the genera Brachiaria, Panicum and others are responsible for 85, 10 and 5% of the traded grass seeds, respectively. Most of the forage grass and legume cultivars available for sowing in Brazil were selected in germplasm banks during the last 20 years, while few of them were derived from artificial crossings, followed by selection for desirable forage traits. The selection of new genetic materials in germplasm banks (exploitation of naturally-occurring genetic variability) is still feasible but the chances of success are decreasing through time. From now on, a clear trend is becoming quite evident: the exploitation of new genetic variation, to be accomplished through artificial crossings between selected parentals, in each forage species, aiming at the synthesis, selection and releasing of new hybrids showing high field performance