A truck carrying 40 tons of basic SCS 127 CL rice seeds arrived in Turvo (SC) this month, after a three-day trip that began in Arari, Maranhão. They are the harvest from the seed field of the new cultivar developed by Epagri in partnership with BASF, which will be available to farmers next year. The objective of traveling this long route was to ensure an additional harvest in 2024 and obtain a larger volume of rice seeds, since, in the Brazilian Northeast, it is possible to plant the grain even in winter.
“One of the limitations when launching a new cultivar is the quantity of basic rice seeds to distribute to seed producers,” explains Alexander de Andrade, an Epagri researcher at the Itajaí Experimental Station. According to him, the strategy of multiplying the material in another region of Brazil has been used before. Although it is more laborious due to travel issues, the result is worth it. “This way, we can offer three to four times more seeds than if they were multiplied only here in Santa Catarina,” he adds.
The company Agrogiusti, from Turvo, responsible for producing basic rice seeds for Epagri, conducted the process in the Brazilian Northeast. Planting in Maranhão took place in June, and harvesting took place at the end of September. “On September 25, a technical team from Agrogiusti, Acapsa (Santa Catarina Association of Irrigated Rice Seed Producers) and Epagri inspected the area for approval and harvesting of the seed field,” says Edivani Coelho, agricultural engineer and technical manager at Agrogiusti.
The basic seeds that arrived in Santa Catarina were processed by Agrogiusti. After the drying, cleaning and grain selection processes, they resulted in 30 tons. Still in October, these seeds will be planted by Acapsa associates licensed by BASF to carry out the multiplication. The estimate is to plant 300 hectares and harvest 2,5 thousand tons of seeds. “Next year, certified SCS 127 CL rice seeds will be available for farmers to plant in the 2025/26 harvest”, says Alexander, from Epagri.
SCS 127 CL is an irrigated rice cultivar developed by Epagri in partnership with BASF. “The highlights of this launch include high productivity, disease resistance, production stability and excellent grain quality, both for white and parboiled rice,” explains Alexander. Average productivity is 10,8 t/ha – that is, it yields half a ton more per hectare than its predecessor, SCS 121 CL.
SCS 127 CL rice is also resistant to the herbicide Kifix and is recommended for controlling weedy rice in the Clearfield Production System. This system gives plants tolerance to herbicides that are effective in controlling red rice and other important weeds of the crop.
The launch of the new cultivar is scheduled for January 2025, during the 7th Official Opening of the Rice Harvest in the city of Turvo, in the South of Santa Catarina. In the Dagostin Sementes demonstration area, farmers will be able to monitor the harvest and verify the quality of this material.
According to Edivani Coelho, from Agrogiusti, the production chain has high expectations for the new material. “Producers’ acceptance of Epagri’s new products is always high and immediate, due to the trust that the production chain has in the company’s work. This new product has all the agronomic attributes that producers are looking for, in addition to quality for the industry and good culinary characteristics, which please consumers,” he summarizes.
SCS 127 CL rice adapts to the pre-germinated system, has medium-sized plants, long, thin and hairy grains, is resistant to lodging and has a late cycle of 145 days. The sowing season in Santa Catarina runs from September 1st to November 20th.
According to the classification of the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa), the genetic seed is the first to leave the research unit that developed the cultivar. In the case of SCS 127 CL rice, it is the seed produced by Epagri researchers at the Itajaí Experimental Station.
“The ‘daughter’ of the genetic seed is the basic seed,” explains agricultural engineer Edivani Coelho, from Agrogiusti. In the case of Epagri’s rice, the company that carried out this process with most of the seeds was Agrogiusti, in a field in Maranhão.
The next generations are certified seeds C1 (first generation) and then C2 (second generation). At this stage, seed multiplication companies carry out the process. In Santa Catarina, this task is carried out by Acapsa members. Finally, certified seeds are those that farmers purchase and plant.
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