Research progress of forage plant breeding in Qinghai

There are 36,449,400 hm2 rangeland in Qinghai Province, China. These rangeland is not only the major source of local economy, but also the source of three famous rivers－Yangze river, Yellow river and Lanchangjiang river. Nowadays, the rangeland is encountering immense environmental problems and the productivity decreased due to long term effects of climate and human being. In order to solve the shortage of forage, or improve natural rangeland and to establish sown grassland, the local researchers have been collecting and breeding of forage species. Up to now, 14 forage species have been registered after the approval of the National Forage Examination and Approval Committee. This paper reviewed the history and achievements of researchers in the area of the utilization and breeding of forage germplasm resource in Qinghai province. Meanwhile, the situation of forage breeding was introduced. Finally, some suggestions were put forward that is helpful to present work.