Ceará plants wheat for the first time and harvest surprises

A partnership between the private sector and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) resulted in the first wheat harvest in Ceará. The planting, still in the experimental phase, produced a harvest of approximately 9 tons of wheat, which represents a productivity of 1,6 tons per hectare in the first harvest. The initiative generated surprising results in record time for the state's agribusiness, as it was unlikely that the cereal would grow on Ceará soil.

“A historic milestone for the state’s economy and for our wheat and derivatives business. We had some challenges such as adapting the planter and harvester, we looked for fertilizers and medicines suitable for wheat, but we can say that it was a success, not only because of the productivity but also because of the short duration from planting to harvest”, commented producer Alexandre Salles .

Minister Tereza Cristina highlighted that Brazil is working to regain a significant wheat planted area and highlighted the importance of new technologies for Brazilian agriculture. "Brazil is producing wheat in Ceará and with high productivity, surpassing even crops in the South. This shows that we need to be increasingly in tune with the modernity of new technologies for various products that we can use internally and, at the same time, generate a surplus for our exports", he declared.

One of the advantages of Ceará production was the short time between planting and harvesting. The production cycle in Ceará lasted just 75 days, while in the main producing regions of Brazil the cycle between planting and harvesting takes between 140 and 180 days. The result obtained in this first experiment allows us to predict a larger harvest in the coming years, which signals that "we have a very large growth potential, because it is excellent quality wheat, developed by Embrapa", stated Salles. 

The producer also points out that the productivity obtained in Ceará was higher than that of the South region, which is around 2,4 tons per hectare, and slightly below that obtained in the Central-West region, of around 5,5 tons per hectare. . Salles says that now the plan is to make some adjustments, expand the area and type new products in the wheat chain. He also says that he should continue carrying out new experiments in other states such as Maranhão and Piaui. 

Support from Embrapa favors the advancement of wheat in Ceará 

Embrapa Trigo, Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical and the Federal Institute of Ceará carried out the first cultivation experiments in Ceará in 2019 to analyze the feasibility of cereal production in the State, considering soil and climate conditions. 

The research carried out the first experiments with four varieties of cultivars BRS264, BRS254, BRS404 and BR18 to analyze the most suitable time for sowing, behavior of the cultivars, the cycle and incidences of diseases and pests. 

Small exploratory trials were carried out in two municipalities in Ceará, in a low-altitude region and a high-altitude region to evaluate the cultivars. “The first result was excellent, the cycle closed in 75 days and the cultivars that performed best were BRS264 and BRS404, showing that wheat was widely adapted to be cultivated in the Northeast, mainly in Ceará”, highlighted Osvaldo Vasconcellos, head -general of Embrapa Trigo. 

The experimental phase will be expanded with the introduction of other materials that are still being researched by Embrapa. Once this stage is completed, these materials will be selected and tested in different markets to study their viability to serve the milling industry. With this, cultivated products can be generated that are adapted for biscuits, pasta, whitening wheat and bakery. 

“The result was very promising, which gave Embrapa great encouragement because we see that the states in the Northeast, which have altitudes above 600 meters such as Piauí, Ceará, Alagoas and other parts of this region, have good aptitude and are able to luminosity and temperature that meet the demands of wheat production”, commented Vasconcellos. 

Today, the Northeast imports almost 100% of the wheat it consumes, coming from Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Canada and Russia, in addition to importing from other regions of Brazil. With the positive results obtained in Ceará, Brazil can balance the trade balance in wheat, he adds. Embrapa is already carrying out experimental research in Alagoas and intends to expand studies to the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Maranhão.