Status, similarities and differences on forage breeding in USA and China

Forage breeding is an important basis for the sustainable development of grass and animal husbandry. The status and differences of forage germplasm resources, the technology and system of forage breeding in USA and China were reviewed in this paper. Forage germplasm resources saved less and lack of utilization although a great deal of evaluation work accomplished between China than USA; conventional breeding method is still the main mode for cultivating new varieties, but there is a large gap in the investment and research degree between China and USA; the research subjects in USA are more diverse. They attach importance to the protection of intellectual property of new varieties, the effective combination of industry, learning, research and promotion, which are important to make the rapid development of forage industry in USA. The understanding about the similarities and differences between the two countries is helpful to provide some ideas for the forage breeding development of China.