Embrapa's tropical wheat cultivars are presented at Field Day in DF

Responsible for developing wheat varieties adapted to the Cerrado of Central Brazil and with high grain yield and industrial quality, Embrapa participated in the “Irrigated Wheat Field Day 2023”, promoted on September 12th by the Agricultural Cooperative of the Federal District Region (Coopa-DF) on a property in Núcleo Rural Jardim, in PAD-DF, Federal District. The event was attended by 170 producers, consultants and rural extension agents.

An expanding crop in the region, wheat has aroused the interest of producers due to the benefits provided to the production system, such as breaking the cycle of pests and diseases and improving soil quality, in addition to possible financial gains during the wheat off-season. of the South of the country.

“It is a culture that we have embraced for some time and with which we have some experience. Field Day is an opportunity to share some of this knowledge. We have companies like Embrapa, which has been our partner since the beginning, with the cultivars BRS 264, BRS 254, BRS 404 and BRS 394, materials that are differentiators in triticulture here in the Cerrado”, stated the president of Coopa-DF, José Guilherme Brenner.

The deputy head of Technology Transfer at Embrapa Cerrados (DF), Fábio Faleiro, highlighted that research and the strength of rural producers have transformed not only Brazilian agriculture in recent decades but also Brazil, and that the country today is experiencing the tropicalization of wheat. “It is a historical fact. In a few years, we will achieve self-sufficiency not only in production, but also in quality. And the Cerrado plays a very important role in this, both with irrigated and off-season wheat,” he commented.

Wheat developed in the Cerrado for the Cerrado

Researcher Julio Albrecht, from Embrapa Cerrados, highlighted the historic partnership between Embrapa and Coopa-DF and spoke about the main characteristics of the four tropical wheat cultivars currently offered for the Cerrado.

The most planted irrigated wheat cultivar in the region, BRS 264 stands out for its precocity and high productivity, having reached the world record for average daily productivity in 2021 – 80,92 kg/ha/day with a cycle of 119 days, totaling 9630 kg /ha or 160,5 sc/ha– on the property of producer Paulo Bonato, in Cristalina (GO).

It has industrial quality, with flour stability of 24 minutes and gluten strength (W) greater than 250 x 10-4 J. According to the researcher, the variety has excellent acceptance by mills, which allows for good liquidity in marketing. “It is one of the best materials in the region for the production of flour for baking, with high stability and good gluten strength. In terms of industrial quality, it is a very balanced wheat.”

Other important industrial quality factors highlighted are the high flour yield (66,5% on average, with 14% moisture) compared to other wheat in the region (between 58% and 60%); and the high hectoliter weight (PH) (84), a characteristic related to grain density and flour yield.

Albrecht added that BRS 264 is planted in a rainfed system in some regions, such as the south of Minas Gerais, a colder region where rainfall lasts a little longer throughout the rainy season, which favors cultivation. However, for Central Brazil, dryland planting is not recommended due to the risk of blast, the main disease that affects the crop in the region.

The average productivity with the cultivar has been around 130 sc/ha in the irrigated system, reaching 70 sc/ha in the rainfed system in regions such as the south of Minas Gerais. Furthermore, it is currently one of the oldest materials in the world (cycle around 107 days), allowing water and energy savings, as well as harvesting well before the start of the rainy season in the Cerrado.

The researcher also highlighted the agronomic performance of the cultivar by presenting data from a study carried out in Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA) that compared different materials in terms of productivity depending on the dose of nitrogen used in fertilization. The cultivar had the highest average productivity (6077 kg/ha) among its competitors. “BRS 264 is an exceptional cultivar in terms of production and quality, in addition to responding very well to technology”, he concluded.

The BRS 394 cultivar is recommended for irrigated and rainfed systems, also standing out for its high productivity – averages of 120 sc/ha (irrigated) and 70 sc/ha (dryland) – and its precocity. Like BRS 264, it is a bread wheat, with stability over 25 minutes, average flour yield of 62,5% and average gluten strength (W) of 320 x 10-4 J, which makes it, in certain situations, an improving wheat. “This is a great advantage for the mill, because it can use BRS 394 and BRS 264 flour to improve the quality of lower quality wheat flours, creating a blend”, explained Albrecht.

Recommended for the irrigated system, BRS 254 is the oldest material of the four presented, but still stands out for its high productivity – an average of 120 sc/ha, and in 2017 producer Paulo Bonato obtained 139,8 sc/ha – and because it is an improving wheat, a characteristic of industrial interest. It is a medium-cycle material and, as it is moderately susceptible to lodging, it requires more careful management, especially regarding irrigation and nitrogen fertilization – the total dose should not exceed 120 kg of N/ha. “But it is also a wheat that responds to technology”, pondered the researcher.

The cultivar has high gluten strength (W) (330 x 10-4 J). “The higher the gluten strength, the better for bakeries to produce frozen bread,” noted the researcher. The average flour yield is 62,2% and the PH (82) is high.

Finally, BRS 404 is a cultivar suitable for production in a rainfed system, but can also be used in an irrigated system, especially in warmer regions. The main characteristic is its tolerance to heat and drought, hence its indication for the off-season.

The cultivar has an early cycle and presents average productivity of 70 sc/ha in a rainfed system in years with rain well distributed throughout the crop cycle and, in the irrigated system, it reaches 100 sc/ha. In the off-season wheat trial carried out in 2021 by Coopa-DF, BRS 404 surpassed the other materials in both productivity (59,47 sc/ha) and PH (84), another important characteristic of the cultivar. In this year's trial, the cultivar once again outperformed the others (71,95 sc/ha), maintaining high PH (84).

According to Albrecht, BRS 404 is a material that, in hotter or drier years, can respond well in terms of productivity. And as for PH, it is currently one of the best materials for triticulture in the Cerrado. “Normally, when there is some climatic adversity during the grain filling phase or during the maturation phase, the materials tend to reduce their PH. Some have a pH below 78 (minimum requirement for mills), which provides a very low yield of flour. In this condition, the mills pay a lower price for production. Sometimes, they don’t even buy the wheat”, commented the researcher, recommending care when choosing the variety depending on the PH.

BRS 404 has excellent industrial quality for baking, is classified as bread wheat, has flour stability of over 14 minutes and an average pH of 83, and is also well accepted by mills.

Cultivar management in the Cerrado

Jorge Chagas, researcher at Embrapa Trigo (RS), presented recommendations for the management of Embrapa cultivars. He addressed the necessary measures during crop planning, sowing, tillering and plant stretching, and commented on the free Cerrado Irrigation Monitoring software.

In the planning phase, the producer must have knowledge about crop rotation and succession so that the irrigation pivot is released for the appropriate wheat sowing time. “Planning previous harvests so that the producer can sow the wheat at the right time is important, as this way he will not have the pivot stopped or plant the wheat late”, he explained.

He highlighted the importance of purchasing inputs such as herbicides and growth regulators in advance, as well as choosing the cultivar, which must consider the yield, the cycle (which influences the cost of energy and water in the irrigated system), lodging, disease resistance, grain quality and acceptance by the mill, among others. “Each cultivar will generate management on the property, depending on its characteristics”, recalled the researcher.

Another important factor is the acquisition of seeds. “After choosing the cultivar, the producer must check with the breeder where to purchase seeds, always from reputable producers”, he recommended.

Wheat sowing can be done by broadcast or, preferably, in a row, as the technique positions the seeds at the ideal depth, allows the efficient use of fertilizers and guarantees a uniform arrangement of plants, which will favor the efficiency of the use of the seed reducer. growth. “Broadcast planting is an alternative for those who want to test the crop and do not yet want to invest in a seeder”, he observed.

For the Cerrado region of Central Brazil, researchers have indicated the sowing time for irrigated wheat between the 5th and 20th of May to better exploit the productive potential and, mainly, to avoid the occurrence of blast. For late sowing, BRS 394 or BRS 254 are recommended, as they are more tolerant to rain at harvest.

Regarding sowing density, Chagas highlighted the importance of observing the weight of a thousand seeds (PMS) of the cultivar, which can vary greatly depending on the system in which the seed was produced (rainfed or irrigated); the required amount of seeds; batch germination and plantability, that is, the number of plants that actually grow in the field. “It is important for the producer to see how much he plants and how much actually germinates in the field so that he can determine the ideal plant populations for each material,” he explained.

The researcher showed data from trials carried out in Cristalina and Unaí (MG) with sowing densities of Embrapa cultivars, following management recommendations for the region. With 400 to 450 viable seeds/m2 of BRS 264, 68 to 77 viable plants/meter of row were obtained, with a spacing of 17 cm; with 350 to 400 viable seeds/m2 of BRS 394, 60 to 68 viable plants/meter of row were obtained, with a spacing of 17 cm. The cultivars BRS 254 (330 to 380 viable seeds/m2 and 56 to 65 plants/meter of row with 17 cm spacing) and BRS 404 in an irrigated system (300 to 350 viable seeds/m2 and 51 to 60 plants/meter of row with a spacing of 17 cm), as they are more tillers, they showed lower responses to sowing density.

He pointed out that when the plant population is above that indicated, there is a propensity for lodging. “If you start with a high seeding density, you will have to reduce the nitrogen dose or, at the end of the cycle, you will have to reduce the amount of water. You can't solve this by just relying on the growth regulator, wanting it to work a miracle. Both excess plants and excess nitrogen reduce the efficiency of the growth regulator in reducing lodging”, he warned.

Regarding planting fertilization, Chagas recalled the importance of a balanced soil, with nutrients at adequate levels and aluminum neutralized with limestone and agricultural gypsum, a condition that can be verified in laboratory soil analysis. With nutrients at adequate levels in the soil, maintenance fertilization with phosphorus (80 to 100 kg/ha), potassium (40 to 60 kg/ha) is recommended, giving preference to fertilizers with boron and zinc in the composition, in addition to calcium and sulfur. Nitrogen must be applied (20 to 40 kg/ha) at sowing.

In top dressing, nitrogen must be applied from planting to 15 days after germination. “This is because within 30 to 35 days after germination, the potential of the wheat will be practically defined, the plant will already have its spikelet practically formed”, explained the researcher. Late application of nitrogen, on the other hand, is not recommended unless the crop presents problems with loss of leaf area or nitrogen deficiency.

“If more nitrogen is applied than indicated, the crop will be subject to lodging. If the density is high or there is an excess of nutrients, you will have to reduce the amount of nitrogen”, he said, presenting the recommended average doses of nitrogen for top dressing of each Embrapa cultivar.

At the end of the presentation, he presented the Cerrado Irrigation Monitoring software, available free of charge on the Embrapa Cerrados website. The program provides information for the irrigation of annual crops (wheat, barley, beans, rice and corn) and coffee.

In the case of wheat, the “Embrapa 42” option corresponds to the cultivars BRS 394 and BRS 264, while “Embrapa 22” corresponds to BRS 254 and BRS 404, depending on the cycle. It is also possible to select the type of soil and inform the plant emergence date. Based on this information, the program provides the number of days of irrigation shifts and the liquid depth to be applied.

“All these recommendations are basic management so that each producer can apply them according to their reality. They are a guide to be followed to obtain satisfactory productivity and start thinking about increasing the level of wheat yield here in the region”, concluded Chagas.