page_title: Brachiaria
section_title: Cultivation
hierarchical_section_title: Brachiaria / Cultivation
caption_attribution_description: English: Brachiaria grass cultivation in Colombia
context_page_description: Brachiaria, or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands. There are over 100 species.
  Some species are cultivated as forage. Some species of Brachiaria were probably first introduced unintentionally to the Americas in the colonial period, from slave ships. B. decumbens was introduced to Brazil in 1952 and B. ruziziensis in the 1960s. Brachiaria is the most widely used tropical grass in Central and South America, with about 40 million hectares planted in Brazil alone.
context_section_description: Brachiaria is the single most important genus of forage grass for pastures in the tropics. Brachiaria cultivars can grow in infertile and acidic soils. Brazil is the leading user and producer of Brachiaria seeds in the Americas.
  Mexico has put effort into improving its trade in Brachiaria cultivars, and the grass is thought to have made a positive impact on its milk and beef industries. Central American countries have also increased seed sales and area planted in the grass.  The annual growth rate of seed sales in 2009 was 32% in Mexico, 62% in Honduras, 45% in Nicaragua, 39% in Costa Rica, and 54% in Panama. The area planted with Brachiaria during this period was about 6.5% of the total surface of permanent grasses in Mexico, 12.5% in Honduras, 1% in Nicaragua, 18.7% in Costa Rica, and 0.1% in Panama.
  Agricultural pests of Brachiaria include spittlebugs, leafcutter ants, and mound-building termites.
caption: Brachiaria cultivation in Colombia
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