STATUS OF STYLOSANTHES DEVELOPMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES - I - STYLOSANTHES DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION IN SOUTH-AMERICA

Research aimed at developing various Stylosanthes species as forage cr ops in South America began with the collection of Brazilian germplasm in the 1960s. These efforts have intensified greatly in the past 25 ye ars with the participation of a number of local, national and internat ional institutions. Eight cultivars have been released through the eva luation and selection of the resulting collections. However, the comme rcial success of these cultivars has ranged from limited to non-existe nt. Absence of commercial adoption is attributed to lack of interest i n forage legume technology and to deficiencies in released cultivars, Poor persistence, commonly attributed to susceptibility to anthracnose , and problems with commercial seed production are perceived as major limitations of existing cultivars, Recent cultivar development project s in Brazil are based upon lessons learned from previous experience an d may lead to expanded use of this valuable tropical legume genus.