BRS Integra is the only cultivar of the forage species Urochloa ruziziensis (syn. Brachiaria ruziziensis) developed for Brazilian climate and soil conditions. It stems from the breeding and genetic improvement program led by Embrapa, which aims at providing farmers with a forage cultivar whose main use will be for the production of mulch in integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems (ICLFS). UNIPASTO (Association for the Promotion of Forage Breeding Research) is the main partner in the launch of this new forage cultivar.

The cultivar is recommended for the Atlantic Rainforest biome in the following regions/Brazilian states: Northeast (Alagoas, Bahia, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Sergipe); Southeast (Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo); South (Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina); and is recommended for use in integrated systems (ICLFS) with the aim of producing stubble. It is adapted to medium to high fertility soils, and can be cultivated from sea level to 1,800 meters of altitude.

In comparison with the traditional cultivar currently available in the market, it offers higher production of forage dry mass and of leaves in the fall/winter. That is, it produces more forage in the period between harvests (dry season), precisely when the forage plant is not intercropped with anything else in the area. Such higher production in the dry season makes it more suitable for integrated crop, livestock and forestry systems, and it can contribute to increased productivity in such systems.

This technological solution was developed by Embrapa in a partnership with other institutions.