Academic research: innovation and the future of agriculture through research

Fodder palm is cultivated all over the world for a variety of purposes, among which the main utility is fodder production (Bayar et al., 2018; Volpe et al., 2018). For this reason, fodder palm plays an important role in the semi-arid regions of Brazil, due to its diversified uses, meeting the needs of producers during periods of prolonged drought. Its productivity is high, which contributes to its cultivation by small farmers and ranchers in regions with lower annual rainfall in rainfed systems. The adoption of management strategies to increase forage productivity in regions with a shortage of rainfall at any given time of year means that forage palm is of significant importance in this scenario. This forage has the role of supplementing the diet in times of prolonged drought, which has a high reduction in quality and forage accumulation in drought (Lira et al., 2017). Good forage palm management is of paramount importance for satisfactory development and high palm yields.