IAC launches cassava cultivar for industrial use that is 25% more productive.

The Agronomic Institute (IAC) is launching a new cassava cultivar for industrial use with an average productivity 25% higher than currently available varieties. IAC 139 also stands out for its 41% dry matter content in the roots, composed of 80% to 85% starch and 1% to 2% fiber. These characteristics guarantee higher industrial yield, increasing efficiency in the production of flour, starch, and tapioca starch. Its name is a tribute to the 139th anniversary of the IAC, celebrated in June of this year.

“This cultivar has a high dry matter content and roots with light-colored peel and pulp, which are a great attraction for industries. To meet the sector's needs, our research considered these characteristics, in addition to yield and resistance to bacterial blight, the main disease affecting cassava crops,” says José Carlos Feltran, a researcher at IAC, linked to Apta (Directorate of Agribusiness Research) and the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo.

With a cycle of 10 to 13 months between planting and harvesting, another positive aspect of IAC 139 is its early harvest.

The new cultivar is adapted to the cassava-producing regions of the states of São Paulo, Paraná, and Mato Grosso do Sul. It will be another option for the fields of São Paulo, where IAC industrial cassava cultivars predominate. São Paulo has approximately 70 hectares of cassava for industrial use, concentrated mainly in the Médio Paranapanema region, near the border with Paraná. The other states that produce this root for industrial use are Pará, the national leader, Bahia, Ceará, Paraná, and Mato Grosso do Sul. Annually, approximately 20 million tons are produced in an area of ​​about one million hectares.

According to Feltran, in Brazil, several cassava cultivars are planted, and each region has its traditional cultivars. In the Center-South, the predominant cultivars are IAC 14, IAC 90, IAC 118-95, IPR Paraguainha, IPR B36, and BRS CS01. "Brazil is self-sufficient in the production of cassava for industry, flour, and starch," he says.

The development of the new cultivar

The research that resulted in IAC 139 began in 2012. It was obtained through field crossing between the IAC 14 and Fécula Branca cultivars. Among the thousands of clones generated, IAC 19-12 was selected because it combined all the positive characteristics evaluated over many years of planting in various locations. Named IAC 139, the new material was registered in the National Register of Cultivars of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (RNC/Mapa).