Sustainable Cultivation of Urochloa Grasses and Associated Mycorrhizae

Perennial grasses have multiple important uses such as forage, cover crops, and intercrops, utilized in pest management and supporting scientific experiments. Among those grasses, Urochloa brizantha is a tropical forage, having vigorous deep roots, commonly used for arbuscular mycorrhizae (AMF) multiplication in glasshouse and nursery, developing infective propagules to be conserved in germplasm banks. Other grass species, such as Urochloa decumbens, is also used for arbuscular mycorrhizae multiplication in addition to its cultivation for guaranteeing the sustainability of livestock systems. In this study, the soil chemical characterization, microcharcoal content and AMF spore identification showed high amount of potassium (K), high microcharcoal content and the occurrence of AMF, most of Glomeraceae. Due to its economic importance for sustainable agricultural production and other uses besides its environmental services, more detailed research is needed on the biotic interactions and inoculant production in these studied grasses.