Tropical forage science
Morphogenesis, tiller demography and herbage accumulation in Urochloa and Panicum. Deferred grazing through the dry season, canopy height and sward structure.
Seven fronts, one shared question.
Research lines
AI and technology
Systematic field data collection with the GNAFOR Field Collector, validation of pasture assessment from mobile photography using vegetation indices — currently running —, predictive growth modelling from climate drivers, and precision nutrition for grazing ruminants.
Animal nutrition
Forage nutritive value, ruminal fermentation and its modifiers, microbial protein synthesis, and animal performance on pasture.
Applied plant physiology
Forage plant response to nitrogen, planting density, water and radiation. Light interception through the canopy and cell-wall composition.
Microbiotechnology and terpenes
Prospecting terpenes in tropical forage grasses for antimethanogenic potential, and the microbiota of production systems.
Crop–livestock–forest integration
Integrated production arrangements: forage response under shading from the tree component, animal thermal comfort, and the carbon balance of the system.
Extension and territory
Diagnosis of production systems in west-central Minas Gerais, and university–government–civil society articulation around the 2030 Agenda.