Introduction; Tropical pastures target environments; Regional germplasm evaluation: A portfolio of germplasm options for the major ecosystems of tropical amarica; Methodological challenges in pasture research; Germplasme case study: Brachiaria species; Germplasm case study: Arachis pintoi; Integrating the native savanna resource with improved pastures; Experiences at the interface of research and development with tropical pastures; The role of pastures in production systems; Soil-plant factors and prodesses affscting productivity in ley farming; tropical pastures program: bibliobraphy of publictions, 1985-1991; Acronyms; abbreviations.