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PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION OF IMPROVED GRASSES AND FORAGE LEGUMES FOR SMALLHOLDER LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2018

EDWIN GARCIA ,
PABLO SILES ,
LISA EASH ,
REIN VAN DER HOEK ,
SEAN P. KEARNEY ,
SEAN M. SMUKLER  and
STEVEN J. FONTE Open the ORCID record for STEVEN J. FONTE [Opens in a new window]
EDWIN GARCIA
Affiliation:
International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Km 17 Recta Cali-Palmira, Apartado Aéreo 6713, Cali, Colombia
PABLO SILES
Affiliation:
International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Km 17 Recta Cali-Palmira, Apartado Aéreo 6713, Cali, Colombia
LISA EASH
Affiliation:
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, 1170 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
REIN VAN DER HOEK
Affiliation:
International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Km 17 Recta Cali-Palmira, Apartado Aéreo 6713, Cali, Colombia
SEAN P. KEARNEY
Affiliation:
Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
SEAN M. SMUKLER
Affiliation:
Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
STEVEN J. FONTE*
Affiliation:
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, 1170 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
*
Corresponding author. Email: Steven.Fonte@colostate.edu
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Summary

Smallholder livestock systems in Central America are typically based on pastures with traditional grasses and associated management practices, such as pasture burning and extensive grazing. With the rise of the global population and a corresponding increase in demand for meat and milk production, research efforts have focused on the development of improved grasses and the incorporation of legume species that can increase productivity and sustainability of Central American livestock systems. However, farmer adoption remains very limited, in part due to the lack of site-specific evaluation and recommendations by local institutions. Using a multi-site participatory approach, this study examined the potential of five improved grasses and five species of forage legumes as alternatives to the broadly disseminated grass Hyparrhenia rufa (cv. Jaragua) in pasture-based cattle systems in western Honduras and northern El Salvador. Improved grasses (four Brachiaria sp. and Megathyrsus maximus) produced significantly more biomass than H. rufa; also four of the five legume varieties evaluated (Canavalia ensiformis, Canavalia brasiliensis, Vigna unguiculata, and Vigna radiata) demonstrated high adaptability to diverse environmental conditions across sites. Farmer participatory evaluation offers a valuable means to assess performance of forages and will likely contribute to their improved utilization. Future research is needed on more refined management recommendations, pasture system design, costs and environmental benefits associated with the adoption of these forages in local livestock production systems.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 55 , Issue 5 , October 2019 , pp. 776 - 792
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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