Genetic improvement brings technology to horticulture

The crossing of two plant species can give rise to a new variety, sometimes more resistant, earlier or better adapted to a certain climate. This can occur with the use of pollinating insects or through manual pollination, such as the hybridization technique, resulting in hybrid products.

The research department at Agristar do Brasil has been working towards the tropicalization of materials, increasingly seeking to incorporate genes that will allow producers to cultivate and develop varieties that have quality and productivity at any time of the year, which is a great challenge. To achieve this, Agristar has four experimental stations, strategically located in Ituporanga (SC), Mossoró (RN), Santo Antônio de Posse (SP) and Guimarânia (MG), which is also the research unit.

For the specialist in Genetics and Improvement and sector manager at Agristar, André Mattedi, the Minas Gerais unit represents the tropical conditions sought in research: high luminosity, high temperatures, high rainfall (rain) and high relative humidity during the period of summer. “At the unit, in addition to screening for crops adapted to the region, plant genetic improvement work is carried out, from the formation of new lineages, advancement of generations with selections for lineage stability, maintenance of stable lineages and crossings of plants with the objective of to form new hybrids to be tested”, he highlights.  

The unit directs research mainly towards new hybrid cultivars of carrots, okra and tomatoes from the Santa Cruz group. “The Unit allows us to develop high-tech, exclusive varieties aimed at the Brazilian market, thus meeting the specific needs of the producer. Crosses are carried out between the different strains existing in breeding programs, in order to develop hybrids that contain all the qualities that the market demands, such as productivity, resistance, among other characteristics. This is complex work that takes years before we arrive at a product with the desired specifications”, details Mattedi.

“It takes years of research, selections and field tests to arrive at a new material, generally a crop like tomatoes takes 8 to 12 years in the improvement process, and another 3 to 5 years in the validation process in experimental fields, to later be commercialized. Therefore, it takes around 15 years to develop a new cultivar. If we talk about a crop with longer selection cycles, like onions for example, sometimes it takes more than 20 years for the material to reach the producer”, concludes Mattedi.