Biotrigo Field Day promotes immersion in genetic improvement program

The Biotrigo Genética field day for this harvest, held last Tuesday (22/10), deviated from the traditional event scenario at the company's headquarters, in Passo Fundo (RS), where around 320 people participated in an immersion in breeding genetic wheat direct from the field of genetic and basic seed production. The event took place at Sementes Butiá, in Coxilha, in one of more than 50 Biotrigo experimental fields and where the production of seeds with superior categories of wheat also takes place. The event, which marked the 30-year research partnership between Biotrigo and Sementes Butiá, brought together the entire wheat chain from the North and Northwest of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, with the presence of seed multipliers and producers of wheat, agronomists, recommenders and professionals from the milling industry.

According to the Director and Breeder of Biotrigo, Ottoni Rosa Filho, this year the field day provided the opportunity to learn in practice and in the field, the investments and technology used in the development of new cultivars and seed production. “Our guests were able to learn about our program from the perspective of genetic improvement processes, experimentation and seed production and gain an understanding of the breadth of work and technology used by both companies – Biotrigo and Sementes Butiá – over the last three decades and also check out what will arrive in the very near future”, he said. 

Commercial Manager for Latin America (Latam) at Biotrigo Genética, Fernando Michel Wagner, highlighted that the interaction between the production sector and research is fundamental for the development of technological solutions. “Wheat cultivation has received a lot of investment in technology and innovation and the results can be seen here in Butiá, which has been cultivating wheat for no less than 70 years, and in these years of partnership and mutual learning, it has ensured the availability of seeds with high quality, accelerating the access of our cultivars to seed multipliers and these to Brazilian wheat farmers”, he highlighted. Butiá is responsible for multiplying the basic seeds in Biotrigo's portfolio and launches in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and the Cerrado.

The Commercial Manager of Sementes Butiá, Verônica Bertagnolli, highlighted the relationship of trust between the companies and the contribution to the creation of wheat cultivars. “We are witnesses of what Biotrigo did for national wheat production. We remember all the challenges and especially the achievements with the immensity of varieties that were created as a result of this genetic improvement partnership over these thirty years, totaling more than 50 cultivars that made Brazilian wheat farming evolve in a sustainable way and, above all, with great quality. We are very proud of this partnership that drives the growth of national agriculture and produces our daily bread”, she concluded.

Investment in research and development

One of the examples of high investment made to strengthen and speed up the improvement program is the set of technologies used in the experimentation stage. Sector Manager, Giovani Facco, commented that all materials are sown in a way that can demonstrate their genetic value, subsequently evaluated by the breeding team. “We use a high-performance seeder and plot harvester in our experimental areas, specifically for crop and variety trials. The seeder applies a different genotype to each line and the harvester performs the cutting, threshing, cleaning the grains, weighing, checking the hectoliter weight and grain moisture. This technology brings more precision and agility to the breeding program,” he explained. In Rio Grande do Sul alone in 2019, these processes were carried out in more than 88 thousand plots of strains (future releases) distributed in 10 locations in the wheat region. “This detailed work subsequently allows the breeding sector to evaluate the potential of each material, according to the reality of the region under study, fertility, homogeneity of the area and ensures that the cultivars are adapted for each region, before being available to the producer”, explained. In Butiá alone, this year, more than 110 hectares are destined for the experimentation sector and small-scale multiplications. 

Another important process is the production of pre-genetic and genetic seeds. Seed Production Manager, Bruno Moncks da Silva, explained the importance of care and technology used in the stage that occurs before registering, launching and marketing a cultivar to guarantee the purity of the material. “The generation of genetic seed volume involves the separation of these strains, industrial seed treatment, sowing, phytosanitary management, roguing, harvesting, drying, processing and storage in a cold room. Care during sowing and harvesting is very important to avoid seed contamination between strains,” he commented.

A technological showcase already thinking about the next harvests

In addition to the unprecedented itinerary for the field improvement program, participants visited four technological stations and attended lectures that dealt with the rescue of the current harvest, integrated weed management, the behavior of TBIO cultivars already released and the releases for the 2020 harvest. and Biotrigo Breeder, André Cunha Rosa, detailed the characteristics, productive potential and management of the most recent cultivar, TBIO Astro, directly from the cultivar's basic seed multiplication field. “Here it is possible to see one of its main differences: its resistance to bedding. It is always a great challenge to bring high potential to the breeding program, combined with a type of plant that brings security to the farmer, without lodging and the result was fully achieved. This crop is intact after more than 100 mm of rain and strong winds recently. TBIO Astro has the best agronomic strain ever released in our portfolio,” he reported. 

André highlighted its characteristics that make the cultivar the current record holder in the breeding program. “Agronomically, it is the most resistant cultivar to germination on the cob and to lodging and, considering our industrial quality ranking, it is the one that achieved the highest Gluten Strength (W), with average values ​​of 550 10ˉ⁴J”, he said. TBIO Astro is an Improver wheat, with a super early cycle and will be available to seed multipliers from December this year to be sown in winter 2020.

For combating weeds

At the Integrated Weed Management (MIED) station, topics covered the importance of wheat in the system; how the occurrence of weeds interferes with its cultivation; the problem of resistance to herbicides and a new technology that will contribute to the control, especially of ryegrass (Lolium spp.) and oats (Avena spp.). According to Biotrigo Breeder, Francisco Gnocato, the technology is the first Brazilian wheat cultivar developed in conjunction with the German Basf, which owns the Clearfield technology, which delivers tolerance to herbicides from the imidazolinone group, more precisely to the active ingredient imazamoxi ( Raptor 70DG). “This wheat qualifies Biotrigo’s portfolio by offering a resource to eliminate important weeds, offering greater profitability to the wheat crop and stability to the production system”, he commented.
The professor at the State University of Londrina (UEL), Giliardi Dalazen, highlighted the importance of controlling invasives. “Weeds compete with wheat crops for essential elements to achieve high productivity, such as water, light, nutrients, CO2 and physical space,” he commented. The specialist's recommendation to extend the useful life of the technology is to introduce the cultivar into a rotation schedule. “The technology must be used in 33% of the area cultivated with wheat each year, without repeating it in the same area in subsequent years. This will make it difficult to select weed biotypes resistant to the herbicide used,” he highlighted. The cultivar will be available for multiplication in the 2020 harvest.

Portfolio and special wheats

During the field day, cultivars from the portfolio were displayed and which will be trends in the market in the next harvests. The Commercial Supervisor, Tiago de Pauli, detailed the management of the TBIO Ponteiro cultivar, which arrives commercially on the market in the next harvest, whose biggest difference is the medium-late seeding cycle, important for opening sowing. “The cultivar has similar yield potential to TBIO Sinuelo and also highlights its superior health profile, being R/MR for Powdery Mildew, for example. Furthermore, it has tolerance to toxic Aluminum, which in drier years will be an asset for farmers and certainly an important tool to combine with earlier wheats”, he explained. 

At the New Business station, Biotrigo's Commercial Supervisor, Everton Garcia, presented the line of special wheats aimed at nutrition for dairy and beef cattle - Energix Line (for silage - Energix 201 and Energix 202) and Lenox (wheat for grazing) . For the bakery market, the cultivars TBIO Noble and TBIO Aton were presented and, for biscuits, TBIO Alpaca.

2019 Harvest

The 2019 wheat harvest is progressing with good results in Rio Grande do Sul. The state is the second largest producer of the grain in Brazil, with 739,4 thousand hectares sown this year - 37% of the total planting area -. Some crops are already in the harvest phase, but the majority are at the end of flowering and grain filling. 

The decrease in area compared to last year should be compensated by the high productive potential of the areas, with the prospect of greater quality and grain yield. In addition to the favorable climate, investment in cultivars with greater potential and appropriate management are essential for creating the potential seen so far.