Indication
Recommended for soils with medium to low fertility and in areas with waterlogging or poor drainage (such as the Pantanal). The seeding of this forage should be done on dry soil. Suitable for breeding and rearing cattle. It can be consumed by horses and sheep, but supplementation with appropriate minerals is mandatory due to the presence of oxalates
Urochloa humidicola
Brachiaria humidicola
For low fertility soils, it tolerates acidity, sandy soils, and even waterlogged soils.
Direct grazing or haymaking
8 to 10 t/ha/year of dry matter (DM)
3 to 6%
Up to 1.00m
Medium to low
High
Tolerant
Medium
Perennial
Origin
It grows naturally in Equatorial Africa, was introduced to Australia under the accession number CPI 16707 in 1952, originating from the Rietondale Experimental Station in Pretoria, South Africa. It was then taken to New Guinea, Fiji, before reaching the American continent.
Agronomic Characteristics
This forage grass is a host to pasture spittlebugs (Notozulia entreliana and Deois flavopicta) but tolerates their attacks. It can be seeded in areas with drainage and flooding problems. It has low soil fertility requirements. Its seeds have a high percentage of dormancy; heating helps in their germination.
Use and Management
Humidicola is a variety recommended for soils with medium to low fertility and in areas with excess moisture, typical of the Pantanal region. Its seeds have a high level of dormancy. Therefore, its formation is slower, and it is quite common for some seeds to germinate after 6 months of sowing. The slow initial growth of this grass after germination requires careful management in the first grazing to ensure pasture establishment. The first grazing should be gentle to stimulate tillering and stolon rooting. Humidicola loses nutritional quality more quickly than other brachiarias when managed with longer utilization intervals (mature pasture, past). This pasture should be used with high animal loads or more frequently, thus allowing improvement in the quality of available food, but with lower forage productivity, since the pasture does not fully recover. In humidicola pastures, there is a low nitrogen mineralization rate. In soils deficient in organic matter and low fertility, the pasture has low protein content, especially in the dry season, which limits animal consumption and yields. Generally, humidicola supports high animal loads. The entry height into the pasture should be 20 to 30 cm and the exit height 10 cm. Recommended for breeding and rearing cattle, it can also be consumed by horses and sheep provided adequate species-specific supplementation is provided. The presence of oxalate in pastures, when not well mineralized, can cause Fibrous Osteodystrophy (swollen face) in horses.
Morphological Characteristics
Perennial grass, stoloniferous, with semi-erect to prostrate growth habit, the upper internodes measure 8 to 10 cm in length and the lower ones 2 to 3 cm, are glabrous and light green in color. The leaf veins lack hairiness. The stolons are strong, long, purple in color, and root easily. The leaves are linear, lanceolate, semi-coriaceous, with an acuminate apex. The stem leaves measure 10 to 30 cm in length and 0.5 to 1.0 cm in width. The stolon leaves are 2.5 to 12 cm long and 0.8 to 1.2 cm wide. The inflorescence is terminal, racemose, with 1 to 4 racemes of 3 to 5 cm in length. The spikelets are uniseriate, biflorous, alternated along the rachis with short pedicels and measure 5 to 6 mm in length. It has stoloniferous growth, with a large number of buds close to the ground, which explains its tolerance to low and intense management, supporting high animal loads, presenting dense coverage, being aggressive, and difficult to associate with legumes. Arachis pintoi, Java, and Pueraria are recommended in this case.
