CG PICAÇO: a new cultivar of sudangrass with high forage performance and seed yield 51 Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology 15: 51-55, 2015 CG PICAÇO: a new cultivar of sudangrass with high forage performance and seed yield Emilio Ghisleni Arenhardt 1* , José Antonio Gonzalez da Silva 2 , Ewerton Gewehr 3 , Lorenzo Ghisleni Arenhardt 2 , Celso Luis Arenhardt 1 and Gilmar Nonnenmacher 1 Received 24 May 2014 Accepted 17 August 2014 Abstract – A new cultivar of sudangrass [Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf.] was developed by the method of selection of individual plants with progeny testing. The most important traits are high forage performance, good leaf:stalk ratio, and high seed yield. Key words: Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf., plant breeding, forage traits. Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology 15: 51-55, 2015 Brazilian Society of Plant Breeding. Printed in Brazil CULTIVAR RELEASE http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1984-70332015v15n1c10 1 Celso L. Arenhardt & Cia Ltda (Cegil Agro Sementes), Rodovia RS 522, km 18, vila Ijuizinho, 98.740-000, Augusto Pestana, RS, Brazil. *E-mail: emilio.arenhardt@ yahoo.com.br 2 Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Departamento de Estudos Agrários, Rua do Comércio, 3000, Bairro Universitário, 98.700-000, Ijuí, RS, Brazil 3 Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Faculdade de Agronomia ‘Eliseu Maciel’ (FAEM), Ciência e Tecnologia de Sementes, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Campus Universitário Capão do Leão, 96.010-610, Pelotas, RS, Brazil INTRODUCTION Numerous studies have been carried out to select and genetically improve forage crops, always seeking to associ- ate high yields of dry matter with bromatological quality (Neumann et al. 2011). Therefore, the pressure of natural or artiicial selection in species facing animal production aim at obtaining genotypes with emphasis on forage traits, mainly on green and total dry matter and leaf dry matter (Assis et al. 2008). Thus, studies hardly ever aim at a com- bined selection regarding genetic gain in seed yield (Lopes and Franke 2011). In Brazil, few forage cultivars are currently commer- cially available, most derived from apomictic reproduction. Therefore, they are genetically homogeneous and do not generate new variation. This is a threat to national security due to the possible emergence of new pests and most serious diseases (Jank et al. 2011). On the other hand, most tropical forages of agronomic interest have large genetic variability, which can be exploited in the selection of new cultivars with desirable traits (Araújo et al. 2008). Sudangrass [Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf.] is a forage species which has been increasingly used in southern Brazil. It presents an- nual cycle, and grows in tropical and temperate climates, being tolerant to acidity and low fertility soils, with high biomass yield and optimal recovery after cutting and graz- ing (Bibi et al. 2010). The advancement of sudangrass in areas previously occupied by other annual species is a consequence of the high resistance of the species to water deicits, which no- toriously occurs during the summer (Pacheco et al. 2013). This culture is widely used for ground cover due to its large biomass, and therefore, it leaves great amount of sudangrass trash on soil. Moreover, its use as forage is relatively new; thus, there are few cultivars registered (MAPA 2014). Its great potential for biomass yield, its tolerance to drought, heat, acid and low fertility soils, its disease resistance, and its ability to compete with weeds (Silva et al. 2014) have been notorious to the production of interspeciic hybrids (Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudanense), combining the beneits of both species. Zamir et al. (2001) reinforce that the biomass yield of sudangrass is superior to that of pearl millet and maize, and so is the ability on roots and shoots growth. In addition, Tomich et al. (2004) did not ind dif- ferences between the forage potential of sorghum hybrids compared with sudangrass; therefore, they present forage yield similar to a hybrid and with a signiicantly reduced cost for obtaining seeds.