Global agenda expands space for pre-germinated rice

Coming from Santa Catarina, like the other introducers of pre-germinated rice in Rio Grande do Sul, farmer João Carlos Fontana Hanus is an enthusiast of this form of cultivation. In more than two decades on Rio Grande do Sul's lands, this complex, more sustainable management has been improved, and for years, at Granja Nenê, in Nova Santa Rita, in the Metropolitan Region, it has achieved productivity a third above the state average. Even with all the potential advantages, this system still occupies only around 10% of the cultivated area in the State, the main producer of the essential food on the Brazilian table. This reality tends to change, due to the imposition of a global agenda.

It is not a short-term process, but the world will demand more pre-germinated rice. Researcher Ibanor Anghinoni, consultant at the Rio Grandense do Arroz Institute (Irga), explains why. “Pre-germinated is the only way for you not to use pesticides to control blight in the crop”, says Anghinoni, who taught for 50 years (1970-2020) in Agronomy at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), having soil fertility as the main theme. In addition to reducing the use of agricultural pesticides, pre-germination contributes to a more rational use of water, in a country that has just faced its biggest water crisis in 91 years.

The Irga consultant observes that the most mature markets on the planet, with more conscious consumers, are increasing the demand for products with a lower environmental impact, and pre-germinated is currently the only form of cultivation capable of offering this. So much so that all organic rice produced is planted in the pre-germination system. “Humanity will demand more and more healthy food”, highlights the Irga consultant. “It’s an evolving process.”

Hanus arrived at Granja Nenê in 2008. “In the second year I started to systematize the entire planted area, aware that this type of planting requires a lot more work than conventional planting, because you level the land, leaving the frames with less water consumption” , remember. “It’s a very expensive project, but it pays for itself in the long term.” The farmer had already structured crops in other municipalities, before settling in Nova Santa Rita. Among these areas, there are even some that today display an organic production seal, based on the work structured by Hanus.

Water consumption

He calculates that water consumption is around 40% less, because, as the frames are leveled, rainwater stays inside and keeps the crops always full of water. “Here at Granja Nenê, I start preparing the entire crop using only rainwater,” he says. “I always start preparing the soil in July and August, which are the rainiest months. With this, I can reduce irrigation costs and also the use of river water and make the most of spring, when it normally rains a lot.”

Leveling the frames also plays an important role in sustainability, as it allows water levels to be controlled, reducing the use of pesticides by approximately 45% and the use of chemical fertilizers by 30%. An additional good practice that Hanus adopts is, after harvesting and using the rice straw, the use of knife mowing and rotary hoes to incorporate it into the soil. "The material, within 60 days, begins to decompose, transforming the remains into organic fertilizer, which improves the quality of the soil", he says.

The improvement of techniques like this will be increasingly demanded by society, warns researcher Anghinoni. “It may take a while, but there is no doubt that pre-germinated plants will gain more space, as required by the new times.”

Read more

This system is called pre-germinated because it has a seed pre-germination stage, using moisture. Then, the seed is placed in water slides with predefined heights on flat soil organized in frames, where the cereal will develop bathed in water, instead of the more traditional method, sowing in dry soil. “The leveling of the ground has to be redone periodically”, observes the regional coordinator of the central Irga region, Pedro Trevisan Hamann. “Good leveling of the area will help reduce water use.” “Irga has research that shows that, 15 days after full flowering, water can be removed from the crop,” adds Hamann.

Irga consultant, Anghinoni sees one of the main advantages of growing rice in the pre-germinated system being the use of water depth to control invasive plants, the incos. “Water is the best herbicide for rice farming,” adds Hamann. “Reduce the use of herbicides for red rice and barnyard grass, for example.”

Traditionally, Rio Grande do Sul, responsible for 70% of the country's rice production, cultivates the cereal on 1 million hectares. Of these, around 100 thousand hectares are in the pre-germinated system, and the remaining 90% are sown in dry soil - the tendency, however, is for this predominance to decrease.

10 years ago, the average rice productivity in the State, including both systems, was 5,4 tons per hectare and now, with the improvement of techniques, it reaches 9 tons, making Rio Grande do Sul a global case. On the Hanus farm, in Nova Santa Rita, performance is even better, reaching a productivity of 12 tons per hectare.