Resumen de Diversity of Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus): A review
Juliana Arango Gaviria, José Julián Echeverri Zuluaga, Albeiro López Herrera
Kikuyo is a perennial plant of rapid growth and high aggressiveness, which represents one of the most important resources for the development of the economy and for the support of specialized livestock in Colombia. It was introduced in the mid-30s, where it has spread thanks to its invasive nature; however, of the studies that have been carried out, few have focused on the genetic diversity and phenotypic variability within their populations, as well as the possible contributions that these can provide to sustainability in the agricultural sector. The objective of this revision is to explore previous information about some basic topics of this forage species and mainly about its diversity and genetic variability in different latitudes. A systematic search was made of scientific articles, indexed journals, books and documents that had as main axis information about basic grass topics and mainly about genetic variability and diversity. In other countries, several lines of Kikuyo grass have been registered, as well as some studies on genetic diversity that have been able to determine, in different populations, a large amount of genetic variation consistent with the wide morphological variability of pasture.
