Embrapa contributes to the development of wheat in Brazil

There are 124 cultivars of wheat, 21 of barley, 16 of triticale, 4 of oats and 3 of rye available for agriculture since the creation of Embrapa Trigo, a research center of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), which will complete on the 26th. and  April 50 years of existence. The genetic improvement program for winter cereals conducted by Embrapa has been decisive for the growth of winter crops in the most diverse environments in the country and demonstrates the company's contribution to Brazil achieving record yields in recent years.

In wheat, cultivars were developed for the most different uses, such as making bread, pasta, biscuits and biscuits, as well as wheat for animal feed in the form of grains or preserved forage. Currently, out of every ten wheat cultivars on the market, seven have Embrapa germplasm.

With the contribution of research, the average wheat productivity increased 5 times in Brazilian crops. In the 2022 harvest, yields ranged from 3 thousand kg/ha (rainfed cultivation) to 10 thousand kg/ha (irrigated), the result of the development of cultivars with broad adaptation, yield stability and resistance to diseases, thus enabling consolidation and expansion of winter cereal crops in the country, as well as a reduction in the use of pesticides and an increase in producer profitability. 

In the early 2000s, wheat production met 30% of national demand. In the 2022 harvest, production met 83% of demand. In a scenario of continuous area growth and maintenance of crop productivity rates, self-sufficiency in wheat could be achieved in the coming years.

From livestock to grains

Embrapa Trigo was created on October 28, 1974, in Passo Fundo, RS. In these five decades, research focused on the intensification of land use and the sustainability of winter cereal production made the history of Brazilian agriculture, advancing from the South Region to new agricultural frontiers in the country.

The creation of this research center revolutionized the rural landscape in the South Region in the 1970s, with the gradual replacement of extensive livestock fields, in acidic soils and covered with goat's beard grass, with grain crops and pasture cultivation to supply livestock. . “The creation of Embrapa Trigo was intended to reduce Brazil’s external dependence on wheat. The imports burdened public coffers and the scarcity of this cereal threatened the population's food security”, says researcher Gilberto Cunha. 

According to him, in the first attempts to produce wheat in the south of Brazil, whether by importing seeds or using those brought by European immigrants, especially when they were winter wheat, the crops ended up being decimated, whether due to disease, soil toxicity or lack of cold to complete the cycle.

With the mission of enabling technological solutions for the sustainable development of wheat and other winter cereals agribusiness in Brazil, Embrapa Trigo initially dedicated itself to the creation of a genetic improvement program, in addition to the introduction of wheat lines brought from the Center International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), based in Mexico, where the first researchers who arrived at Embrapa were also trained. 

Once genetic adaptation was overcome, Brazilian wheat cultivars began to be developed with a view to increasing productivity, evolving towards rationalization in the use of resources, competitiveness in technological quality and generation of income in the various links in the chain. Currently, research is aligned with new consumer trends, health promotion and environmental preservation.

Research milestones 

Embrapa Trigo is a reference company in the history of direct planting in Brazil. The first cultivations with direct planting in straw, adaptation of machines and training of farmers began in the north of Rio Grande do Sul, where the Unit is located. In recent years, new problems associated with soil management have required a review of practices in use, leading to the new concept of direct planting system, which has a more comprehensive vision involving, in addition to minimal soil disturbance and sowing in straw, also crop rotation and permanent soil cultivation, harvest-sow system, in association with other soil and water conservation practices that have been widely disseminated through technical assistance and rural extension.

The biological control program for aphids in wheat is still recognized as a success story in the global scientific community. Created in 1978, through a partnership between researchers from Embrapa Trigo and the University of California, the work was based on the introduction of natural enemies into Brazilian wheat fields, especially a species of wasp capable of parasitizing aphids, the main pest of wheat in the 1970s. XNUMX. 

The parasitoids were bred on a large scale in the Embrapa Trigo entomology laboratory and released into crops. The reduction in the use of insecticides reached 855 thousand liters per year. Even today, the damage caused by aphids has not been significant, showing that biological control of aphids in wheat continues to be active in the environment. Now research is focused on monitoring aphids and developing cultivars with genetic resistance to viruses transmitted by insects.

To meet the growing animal protein market, the first dual-purpose wheat cultivars were developed, made available in an unprecedented way by Embrapa Trigo in 2002, with the aim of expanding the supply of forage for a herd of 25 million heads existing in the Region. South. With a longer cycle, dual-purpose wheat allows animals to be fed in times of forage scarcity, enabling grazing during autumn and winter, with subsequent harvesting of grains or silage. 

The technology resulted in an increase in the average milk production of several family farming properties, going from 10 kg of milk/cow/day to more than 20 kg of milk/cow/day. The technology initiated new lines of research focused on animal foraging with the launch of cultivars of wheat, triticale, rye, oats and barley.

Quality to consumer taste

With the end of state intervention in the purchase of wheat in the early 1990s, the sector began to come under pressure for quality attributes in accordance with the parameters used in the international market. Thus, following the increase in the yield of Brazilian crops, which created new scenarios for the crop, it was necessary to adapt the production system to consumer demands. 

The development of cultivars, until then dominated by soft wheat, was quickly replaced by bread and improving wheat, with technological quality equivalent to grains imported from Argentina or Canada. To date, the growing demand for industrialized products with specific characteristics in human nutrition (yellow dough, white bread, crunchy biscuits, baby foods and thickeners) and for animal feed (higher protein, fiber and amino acid content) has guided the selection of cultivars that will be used on crops.

New frontiers

The advance of soybeans to the Center-West of Brazil took wheat with it. The wheat genetic improvement program for the Cerrado was intensified at Embrapa in the 1980s, with the first cultivars being offered a few years later. The focus of research at the time was on the production system, how it fits into the region's crop rotation, climate zoning, identification of possible pests and diseases in the tropical region, availability of machines and inputs. 

In 2012, Embrapa installed the Advanced Tropical Wheat Center in Uberaba, MG, where a team of researchers and assistants develop actions in genetic improvement, management and technology transfer for tropical wheat. 

Another important support is at Embrapa Cerrados, in Planaltina, DF. With research support and a better organized production sector, wheat quickly expanded and is now suitable for cultivation in the states of SP, MG, MS, MT, BA, GO, DF. New frontiers in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil are being explored by research in partnership with producers, the milling industry and federal research institutes. A survey by Embrapa Territorial mapped 2,7 million hectares in the Cerrado region that can be cultivated with wheat, without the need to open new areas.

In Rio Grande do Sul, currently the largest wheat producer in the country, new frontiers are also being opened for the cereal. The advance of soybeans in the Southern Half of the State opened up space for triticulture, whether for grain production or as fodder for cattle fattening in the winter. Drainage systems in floodplain areas, in rotation with rice and corn, are being developed in partnership with Embrapa Clima Temperado, as well as ILPF models with winter cereals are evaluated together with Embrapa Pecuária Sul.

food safety

Genetic improvement has sought to alleviate the problem of wheat's nutritional quality by increasing the concentration of proteins and a more adequate balance of amino acids in the grain. The main advances are associated with a lower concentration of Phytic Acid, which implies that wheat flours have a higher concentration of Phosphorus, Magnesium and Manganese, thus reducing the use of additives during food industrialization. “Quality food with an offer capable of serving both Brazilians and the international market is what moves Embrapa Trigo towards the future”, concludes the General Manager of Embrapa Trigo, Jorge Lemainski.

Numbers

Today, Embrapa Trigo has a team of 178 employees, working at its headquarters in Passo Fundo, RS; at the Coxilha unit, RS; at Embrapa Cerrados and at the Advanced Tropical Wheat Center, in Uberaba, MG.