Embrapa launches transgenic beans to combat golden mosaic

In the second half of the year, Brazilian farmers will have the option of a production system based on transgenic beans resistant to the golden mosaic virus (RMD Beans), the main pest of Brazilian crops. The launch takes place during the 46th anniversary ceremony of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Wednesday, April 24, at the Company's headquarters, in Brasília-DF.

Embrapa is the first institution in the world to obtain a transgenic event for common beans with disease resistance. RMD technology and innovation will be available for carioca bean cultivars planted and consumed in Brazil. Bean producers can lose between 40% and 100% of their production because of golden mosaic. It is a disease whose vector is the whitefly that “sucks” the leaf in search of food. The leaves turn yellow and do not develop.

It is common to find bean fields abandoned because of the disease, which occurs with greater intensity in Goiás, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso do Sul, part of the Triângulo Mineiro, southern part of São Paulo, northern Paraná and western Bahia. 

Estimates indicate that, annually, due to the damage caused by the virus, there will be a reduction of 90 to 280 thousand tons in bean production. In addition to the economic damage, the virus makes bean production unfeasible in family farming systems in several regions.

More bean yield, more profit, fewer insecticide applications

The adoption of RMD technology and Integrated Pest Management in bean cultivation, in areas with medium and high incidence of the golden mosaic virus, is estimated to provide, compared to the use of conventional cultivars, an increase of 38% at 78% profitability.

Unlike other bean diseases, a natural source of resistance to golden mosaic virus has never been found. To combat it, it is common for producers to make up to 20 applications of chemical insecticides. There are more than 20 active ingredients registered in Brazil for controlling whitefly on beans. Despite this, few have proven to be efficient. The continued application of chemicals leads to an increase in production costs and induces the selection of genotypes resistant to whitefly.

Embrapa's RMD bean cultivars are from the Carioca commercial group, which has around 70% of the Brazilian market and is little exported. There were eight successive generations of tests, always with stability of the transgenic event. “During the RMD bean development process, more than 80 researchers from Embrapa research centers and Brazilian universities participated,” says researcher Josias Faria, from Embrapa Arroz e Feijão.

Public offering

Embrapa will make a public offer to select partners that meet quality requirements, responsible management and experience in the bean market. Companies will integrate the commercial monitoring strategy, allowing technology to be monitored in the market. Embrapa will multiply seeds with these partners in order to serve the market in the end-of-year harvest.