Village-based tropical pasture seed production in Thailand and Laos - a success story

Abstract

Seed of 6 forage species, Mulato II hybrid brachiaria (Brachiaria ruziziensis x B. decumbens x B. brizantha), Cayman hybrid brachiaria (B. ruziziensis x B. decumbens x B. brizantha), Mombasa guinea (Panicum maximum), Tanzania guinea (P. maximum), Ubon stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis var. vulgaris x var. pauciflora) and Ubon paspalum (Paspalum atratum), is currently being produced by more than 1,000 smallholder farmers in villages in northeast Thailand and northern Laos, under contract to Ubon Forage Seeds, Faculty of Agriculture, Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand. The seed is mainly exported (95%), with the remainder sold within Thailand. Tropical Seeds LLC, a subsidiary of a Mexican seed company, Grupo Papalotla, employs Ubon Forage Seeds to manage seed production, seed sales and export, and to conduct research on new forage species. This paper details how the development of a smallholderfarmer seed-production program in Thailand and Laos produced positive social and economic outcomes for the village seed-growers. In addition, the strong emphasis on seed quality, high purity, high vigor and high germination enabled pasture growers in more than 20 tropical countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific and Central and South America, to establish more than 20,000 ha of pastures over the past 3 years. ResumenEn aldeas de Tailandia y norte de Laos existen más de 1,000 pequeños agricultores dedicados a la producción de semillas de los híbridos de braquiaria (Brachiaria ruziziensis x B. decumbens x B. brizantha) cvs. Mulato II y Cayman; guinea (Panicum maximum) cvs. Mombasa y Tanzania; Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Ubon stylo y Paspalum atratum cv. Ubon paspalum, en contrato con Ubon Forage Seeds, Faculty of Agriculture, Ubon Ratchathani University, Tailandia. El 95% de las semillas producidas es exportado y el restante 5% vendido localmente. La Tropical Seeds LLC, una subsidiaria de la compañía mexicana de semillas del Grupo Papalotla, contrata a Ubon Forage Seeds para manejar la producción, venta y exportación de semilla y para conducir investigaciones en búsqueda de nuevos cultivares forrajeros. En este documento se presenta la forma cómo un programa de producción de semilla por productores aldeanos en Tailandia y Laos ha resultado en impactos positivos para los pequeños productores, desde el punto de vista social y económico. Adicionalmente, productores de forrajes en más de 20 países tropicales de Asia, Africa, la región del Pacífico y de Centro y Suramérica se han beneficiado de semilla de alta calidad, en términos de pureza, vigor y germinación, para el establecimiento de más de 20,000 ha en los últimos 3 años.

Tropical Grasslands-Forrajes Tropicales Vol.6 No.1 [October 2017 - January 2018]

“…Germination results for the first 2 years (January 2011-January 2013) were reported in a previous paper (Hare et al 2014). After 1 year of storage under ambient conditions, seeds of all grasses tested were almost dead.…”

“…We determined viability using the TZ assay test as it is the quickest test for evaluating seed viability. Embryo dormancy in seeds of Mombasa and Tanzania guinea grasses was overcome within 6 months in cool-room storage (Hare et al 2014). On the other hand, acid scarification at the beginning of seed storage in 2011 was required to quickly overcome embryo dormancy of Mulato II seeds, but with time in cool-room storage, dormancy persisted and acid-scarified seeds had to be retreated with acid each year at the time of testing to get good germination.…”

“…Seeds were harvested by village farmers from a number of villages in Northeast Thailand and Laos (Hare 2014) in October 2010 (Ubon paspalum 5,000 kg, Mombasa guinea 36,000 kg and Tanzania guinea 7,000 kg), November 2010 [Mulato II 12,000 kg: seed hand-knocked from seed heads (Hare et al 2007a)] and January 2011 [Mulato II 16,000 kg and Ubon stylo 6,000 kg: seed swept from the ground (Hare et al 2007a;2007b)] and bulked within species, harvesting method and season. All harvested seeds were sun-dried to moisture levels in Table 1, cleaned and processed and entered storage in late January 2011.…”

“…ambient conditions and a cool-room (Hare et al 2014). The ambient seed room was a storage shed at Ubon Ratchathani, Northeast Thailand (15º N, 104º E), where mean monthly temperatures were minimum 23 ºC, maximum 34 ºC and mean monthly RH was minimum 40%, maximum 92%.…”

“…We also found that apparent embryo dormancy and also physical dormancy in Mulato II and hardseededness in Ubon stylo persisted under storage. However, embryo dormancy in Mombasa and Tanzania guinea grasses was overcome within 6 months in cool-room storage (Hare et al 2014). …”