Herbage accumulation of bahiagrass hybrids in two different environments in southern Brazil

The native grasslands of southern Brazil have sustained livestock farming for many years; however, decline in pasture areas has led to the loss of genetic diversity of forage species. The development of forage grass cultivars adapted to different environments, will contribute to forming new cultivated pastures or recovering degraded areas. The aim of this study was to assess the herbage accumulation of selected intraspecific hybrid progenies of bahiagrass (P. notatum Flugge) in two different environments (Depressao Central and Campanha region) to estimate their agronomic value. The results indicated variability for the main forage traits studied (leaf dry mass, stem dry mass, inflorescence dry mass, total dry mass, leaf: stem ratio, plant height and population density of tillers). All the hybrids producing more forage mass than the ‘Pensacola’ cultivar in the municipality of Eldorado do Sul and the majority also superior in the municipality of Sao Gabriel. The production of leaves in the forage was correlated with total dry mass (84%), suggesting that genotype selection for forage mass also selected for production of leaves. The selected hybrids should be indicated for new steps of assessment within the P. notatum breeding program.