Agronomic evaluation of 15 Centrosema sp. accessions in time 
of maximum and minimum rainfall in Colombia
Sotelo M; Peters M; Arango J; Cardoso JA.
Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, Tropical Forages Program
CONTACT: j.a.cardoso@cgiar.org
Introduction Methodology
•Worldwide, livestock is one of the most important economic •Data was collected for 14 months, between 2020 and 2021, 
activities for the economy of developing countries. including periods of maximum and minimum precipitation.
•In fact, it is the crop with the largest land use on the planet •The size of the plots was 9m² with three repetitions per 
(around 3,400 million hectares for livestock feed). treatment.
•Much of the livestock sector is managed in grazing systems. •Cuttings were carried out at different regrowth ages:
•Often native or naturalized pastures generate seasonal food ▪First cutting: 35 days
shortages at critical times. ▪Secund cutting: 42 days 
▪Third cutting: 49 days after cutting.
Objective •Evaluated variables: Agronomic parameters (coverage, 
vigor, height; Data on these parameters are not presented) 
Agronomic evaluation of 15 accessions of Centrosema sp. and Dry matter production (DM).
obtained from the Genetic Resources Bank of The Alliance 
Bioversity International and CIAT, in Palmira, Colombia.
Results and analysis
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
5172a 5452a 5674a 5733a 5735a 5744a 5911a 15121a 15150a 15154a 15160a 15470a 15474a 15551a 15561a
Accesions 
1st cutting 2nd cutting 3rd cutting
Figure 1. Biomass production under different recovery ages. Source: own elaboration.
Forage production
•The best accession when averaging biomass production Conclusions
based on DM in the two climatic seasons was CIAT 15474, 
surpassing control CIAT 15160 by 0.57 ton DM ha-1. » Diversification in the inclusion of forage materials for 
•The highest forage production based on DM occurred in the animal feed, through the development of forage 
second cutting with 7.12 ton DM ha-1 for the CIAT 15474 legumes, will provide multiple benefits at a productive 
accession, averaging the two climatic seasons. and environmental level, improving the availability of 
food in critical times, positively impacting parameters 
•Centrosema sp. It is a suitable material to be used as a forage such as weight gain of animals.
alternative for animal feed according to biomass production 
under the soil and environmental conditions of Valle del 
Cauca in Colombia. » The Forage Network project generated critical 
•Although the best age for harvest was the second cut, it is information to identify promising materials that can 
necessary to check the information obtained with an be used in future experiments to mitigate greenhouse 
analysis of the nutritional quality of the materials. gas emissions in the tropics.
Further reading Acknowledgements
Heinritz SN; Hoedtke S; Martens S; Peters M; Zeyner, A. 2012. Evaluation of ten tropical legume forages for their potential This work was undertaken as part of the AGROSAVIA Forages Network and the CGIAR Initiatives on Livestock, Climate and System Resilience (LCSR); 
as pig feed supplement. Livestock Research for Rural Development 24, #7. http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd24/1/hein24007.htm Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition and Gender Inclusion (SAPLING). We thank all donors that globally support through their 
Peters M; Franco LH; Schmidt A; Hincapie B. 2011. Especies forrajeras multipropósito: opciones para productores del contributions to the CGIAR system.
trópico Americano. Publicación CIAT no. 374. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT); Cali, CO. 
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/54681
PRINTED WITH This poster is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) 2022-08.
SOLVENT INKS Design: A Yedra/CIAT. Photo: M Sotelo/CIAT.
Ton DM/Ha/cut