The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) published this Wednesday (29/09) in the Official Gazette of the Union the Ordinances that update the Agricultural Zoning of Climate Risk (Zarc) for apple cultivation in Brazil.
Prepared based on studies by Embrapa Uva e Vinho (RS) and Embrapa Informática Agropecuária (SP), and validated by technicians, specialists and representatives of the production sector, Zarc Maçã presents two new features: the unification of the technical criteria used in studies of zoning and the increase in the coverage area, with new regions with climatic potential for production.
According to Gilmar Nachtigall, researcher at Embrapa Uva e Vinho and one of those responsible for Zarc Maçã, these two innovations are of great importance for the sector, as with the unification of the methodology, risk assessments are facilitated by the various interested agents, such as producers , banks, insurance companies and the government, while with the inclusion of new regions in Zarc Maçã, there is the possibility of expanding national production of the fruit.
Nachtigall explains that at Zarc Maçã the methodology used in other crops was applied, in which the classification is made based on water availability and temperature indices in each region evaluated, for the different phases of the crop. Risk levels can vary from up to 20%, from 20% to 30%, from 30% to 40% and from more than 40%. “Within this methodology, areas with up to 20% risk are the most suitable and those with more than 40% risk are not recommended for apple tree cultivation”, highlights the researcher.
Nachtigall details that the methodology involved the selection of regions with accumulation of cold in the winter period, a condition required by the crop, based on temperature information from the meteorological database. From this survey, he explains that three types of regions were established regarding the accumulation of winter cold: high, medium and low. These definitions were crossed with the crop's phenological information, allowing us to define cultivation indications for different climatic regions, suitable for apple tree cultivation. “With this information, farmers and technicians can better plan the production system to be adopted, in order to prevent climatic adversities from coinciding with the most sensitive phases of the crop, thus minimizing the risks of production losses”, points out Gilmar.
Another aspect that the researcher highlights is that Zarc Maçã prioritizes the planting of apple cultivars that require high winter cold accumulation, such as the Gala and Fuji Group cultivars for regions with this condition. In regions that present low cold accumulation, varieties with lower cold accumulation requirements are recommended, such as the cultivars Eva, Julieta, Princesa and Condessa.
Zarc is a risk analysis tool derived from climate variability that takes into account crop and soil characteristics, indicating areas and periods of lower climate risk in the country, defining the most suitable regions for cultivation, in order to reduce losses. and guarantee higher incomes. Furthermore, it allows producers in these municipalities access to rural credit, Proagro and rural insurance.
The meteorological database used in the Zarc update is made up of historical series of approximately 30 years, obtained from the networks of terrestrial, meteorological and pluviometric stations, conventional and automatic, of the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet), of the HidroWeb system, operated by the National Water Agency, and those belonging to the Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies Center (CPTEC/INPE), in addition to state networks maintained by public institutions or companies.
Rural producers and other agribusiness agents can access, through tablets and smartphones, in a more practical way, official information from Zarc, facilitating guidance regarding the federal government's agricultural policy programs. The Zarc Plantio Certo mobile application, developed by Embrapa Informática Agropecuária (Campinas/SP), is available in application stores: iOS e Android.
Zarc results can also be consulted and downloaded through the platform “Risk Indication Panel” and the Zarc ordinances by state.
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