Virus-free garlic seed has consolidated production in Bahia

Tabulation of data collected by the Department of Agriculture of the Bahian municipality of Cristópolis, and released last June, leaves no doubt: the technology of virus-free seed garlic (ALV) is fully consolidated in the region, and in a continuous process of evolution. According to the survey, of the 60 small producers, 58% cultivate first generation virus-free garlic, also called G1, a percentage that reflects confidence in the technology, based on the results that have been achieved.

Developed by Embrapa Hortaliças (Brasília, DF), the technology is based on a clonal cleaning process carried out in the laboratory with a view to eliminating viruses and other microorganisms harmful to the garlic plant. The seed garlic produced in this system was presented in 2002 to producers in Cristópolis, a municipality economically dependent in terms of gender, number and degree of garlic cultivation, which, year after year, had been recording losses due to the low quality of the material, infected by viruses.

Ten years later, another reality. With the adoption of ALV, the municipality's productivity recorded a substantial increase in 2012, going from 4,5 tons per hectare to 16 tons, simply an increase of 250% in ten years of using the technology. “Cristópolis was the pioneer municipality, where we implemented the multiplication units and, since then, the process has evolved, initially with individual screens of 18 square meters, for each producer to produce their commercial seed garlic - currently, we work with collective screens of 100 to 200 m2 maintained by farmers' associations and the rural union”, says researcher Francisco Vilela, who coordinates the virus-free garlic program at Embrapa Hortaliças.

In the special case of greenhouses, the researcher draws attention to their importance in obtaining healthy material for the multiplication of seed garlic. “The screen is the best tool to keep the garlic free from viruses and guarantee quality, which does not happen with the seed planted in the field”, says Vilela, who points out, even within this issue, a practice that should not be relativized by the producer – periodic replacement of the seed.

“There are cases in which the producer buys the seed produced in a greenhouse and plants it in his cultivation area in the open field, but this seed should not be multiplied for more than three years, because after this period the seed will be reinfected, losing vigor and productivity. ”, he warns.

Difficult start

Changes are not always easy to assimilate and, in the case of virus-free garlic seed technology, this was the keynote of the plot. In common agreement with the farmers, five small screens were installed in five producing areas of Cristópolis, supplied by Embrapa, on a lending basis. Of the five farmers, only one believed in the technology. The farmers' distrust was due to the size of the bulbs harvested in the screen, which, due to the density of planting, did not meet expectations – they were heads many times smaller than those produced in the region.

In view of these results, with the exception of producer José Borges de Brito, known as Valdez, four of the screens were abandoned. “In the first two years, even though he didn't see progress, he continued to believe, a vote of confidence that was rewarded in the third year, which represented a turning point in his life”, highlights the researcher, who credits this bet for the success of the technology in the region. “If he hadn't insisted, our work would probably have been lost”, he assesses.

According to Vilela, when the farmer's productivity doubled, from six to 12 tons, the others began to move to make up for lost time. “To present the technology, all resources were used: lectures and field days, but Valdez's successful experience was the most effective convincing tool”.

According to the researcher, even with technology already consolidated in the region, the work continues. “There is no reverse gear in this case and, from now on, activities will revolve around improving the technological standard of these farmers so that they can take even greater advantage of the potential of this seed and, thus, achieve an even greater production volume” .