Indication
Recommended for soils of medium fertility for breeding, rearing, and fattening of cattle, as well as for milk production. Can be used for direct grazing and haymaking. Good drought tolerance and adaptation to arid climates. Direct substitute for Brachiaria decumbens due to its higher forage production and tolerance to pasture spittlebugs. A good option for Crop-Livestock Integration.
Urochloa brizantha cv. MG 4
Brachiaria brizantha cv. MG 4
Medium fertility, sandy, and acidic soils
Direct grazing, hay and silage
10 to 12 tons/ha/year of dry matter (DM)
9 to 11%
From 1.00m to 1.50m
Good
Good
High
Medium tolerance
Medium
Perennial
Use and Management
MG 4 is recommended for medium fertility and more sandy soils, for direct grazing and haymaking for breeding, rearing, fattening, and dairy animals. It can also be used as a vegetative cover option in Crop-Livestock Integration. It has good drought tolerance and adaptation to arid climates, due to the deep root development of its plants. Management of MG 4 in rotational grazing areas should occur every 25 to 30 days or when plant height reaches 60 to 80 cm during the hot and rainy season, and 45 to 50 days in the cold and dry winter, in both cases with 1 to 5 days of grazing. In continuous grazing, the grazing height should not be less than 15 to 20 cm. This cultivar has been analyzed under various grazing conditions, different management types, and with different animal categories. In breeding and rearing animals, at different times of the year, no signs of intoxication were observed, even when the pasture was used for long periods with young animals and lactating/pregnant cows. There were also no observed symptoms related to photosensitization caused by the fungus Pithomyces chartarum. Under fattening conditions, the performance of MG 4 was considered quite adequate, providing weight gains and satisfactory stocking rates comparable to those of decumbens.
Origin
A cultivar released commercially by Matsuda in 1994 is used throughout Brazil and in various Latin American countries. It is the result of selection carried out by the company to obtain a brizantha for acidic, sandy soils, and lower fertility. This accession was introduced from Australia in 1975 and was initially established in the region of Presidente Prudente–SP in small pasture areas, where it stood out for its productivity, drought resistance, and ability to regrow after grazing. Systematic research with this genotype began in 1988, aiming for its commercial release.
Morphological Characteristics
A vigorous tussock grass, with a height of 1.0 to 1.5m, presents short, hard, and curved horizontal rhizomes, covered with smooth scales of yellow or purplish color. It produces a large quantity of deep roots with a yellowish-white color and soft consistency. The stems are vigorous, erect or semi-erect, with sparse branching and intense green color. The nodes are prominent, smooth, green or pale yellow, and sparsely rooted. The leaves are smooth, usually shorter than the internodes, with an intense green color and purplish coloration at the lower end. The ligule has a white ciliated edge, approximately 2 mm long. The leaves are linear-lanceolate, rounded at the base and keeled, 16 to 40 cm long and 10 to 20 mm wide, with an intense to light green color; they are smooth, with denticulated margins and purplish and white color. The veins are numerous and thin, with the central one light-colored. The internodes are flattened, intensely green, and purplish at the upper end. The inflorescence is a racemose panicle 10 to 20 cm long with 2 straight unilateral racemes, in spike form. The unilateral racemes are 4 to 10 cm long. The rachis is striated with purplish and green color, with lateral cilia 2 to 4 mm long. The spikelets are oblong or oblong-elliptic, approximately 6 mm long and 2.0 to 2.5 mm wide, with white hairs at the apex; the tips are usually purplish. The MG4 cultivar can be easily distinguished from the Marandu cultivar by the obligatory association of the following characteristics: a) Absence of hairs on the apical portion of the internodes; b) Glabrous sheaths with denticulate margins of purplish and green color; c) Striated rachis of purplish and green color.
Agronomic Characteristics
It has medium tolerance to pasture spittlebug attack. Its prostrate growth habit and susceptibility to the glyphosate herbicide make MG 4 an excellent option for soil cover in no-till soybean planting. Due to its better forage characteristics, it presents better results in Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration areas when compared to ruziziensis.
