Research drives rice and beans beyond productivity

One story about rice and beans that involves increasing crop productivity crops, expands to incorporate higher quality grains for the consumer; and that grows towards sustainability environmental impact of production and in the search for an attractive financial return to the farmer. This is the trajectory of research with cereals and legumes in celebrations of Embrapa's 50th anniversary.

O Company's research center dedicated to both grains (Embrapa Rice and Feijão) was implemented in the central region of Brazil, with headquarters in Santo Antônio from Goiás/GO. Rice was the initial focus of work on 1974, as the cerrado region was the main producer in the country. In the year Next, the beans came next to the cereal, whose motivation was the reference to Brazilian culinary tradition itself. O researcher Luís Fernando Stone is one of the veterans who participated in this history.

"At 1970s, the accelerated growth of population and per capita income, and the opening to the foreign market showed that, without investments in science agricultural activities, especially in the generation of scientific knowledge to support agricultural development, the country would not be able to reduce the difference between growth in demand and supply of food. In this context, Embrapa Arroz and Feijão was created on October 4, 1974 with the initial responsibility of carry out research into rice cultivation, starting to also dedicate himself to rice cultivation common bean, from 1975, and cowpea, between 1977 and 1991,” he said. Stone.

O researcher says that, at that time, the objective was to increase productivity of crops, with emphasis on genetic improvement programs and launch of varieties increasingly adapted to growing environments. O support from other areas of knowledge was also essential with studies aimed at managing crops and pests, diseases and weeds. That initial focus of the work, in partnership with other research institutions scientific and rural extension, brought relevant results. Rice increased average productivity more than four times: 1,5 thousand kilos per hectare in 1980 to 6,4 thousand kilos per hectare in 2020. Productivity Bean average more than doubled during this period, going from 422 kilos per hectare to 1 thousand kilos per hectare. 

In According to Stone, a second element began to gain prominence within the research since the 1980s. In the case of rice, the consumer began to interest in the long, fine grain, with little needles, with soft and loose cooking; It is, for beans, for example, carioca, the most valued grain, should have late browning, with faster cooking and thicker broth. From From this point on, in addition to productivity, grain quality became one of the work targets and received greater research attention. As a result, precursor cultivars of the grain quality movement in the 1990s, such as BRS Primavera, first for cultivation in highlands to have needle grain; and BRS Pérola, a bean that has become a commercial quality standard for the grain From Rio.          

Sustainability

The environmental sustainability of production was another component that emerged in the mid-1980s. The general head of Embrapa Arroz and Feijão, researcher Elcio Guimarães, highlighted that agroclimatic zoning, study of the most suitable locations and growing seasons to avoid risks of climatic adversities, started with rice. “The zoning that exists today for different cultures started here with rice, because the cereal has a period in January of 15 days of drought and it was necessary to delimit the period of minimal risk, because a lot of money was put into Proagro, a program that it financed rice insurance, and there were crop losses,” said Elcio.

Other technologies that helped increase rice and Brazilian beans were the implementation of irrigated winter beans, or third harvest; and reducing the water footprint in tropical rice cultivation. O researcher Luís Fernando Stone says that all irrigation and conduction management of the crop was developed to allow the introduction of beans into cultivation under central pivot in the region of Central Brazil, in the states of Goiás, Minas Gerais and Federal District.

This innovation added an extra harvest of grain and the possibility of better absorb impacts from product price fluctuations on the market. In case of reducing the water footprint of tropical rice, management, through irrigation intermittent, without the need for water to be constantly on the ground, allows savings and better use of natural resources.

New challenges for the coming years

To the general head of Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, Elcio Guimarães, the new technological challenges for the two chains are distributed across four priority areas: systems management agricultural, plant protection and multifunctional microorganisms, genetics of rice and bean genetics.

In the management of agricultural systems, Elcio mentions that the objective will be to develop technologies for the sustainability of production systems involving rice and bean crops. The challenges will be in establishing adequate management of irrigation, soil fertility and cultures and generate knowledge about integrated systems and agroecological production.

Another challenge, according to Guimarães, will be to improve agricultural zoning and monitor and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, seeking productivity with efficiency in the use of inputs for the greatest food security and producer profitability, with lower environmental impact for the preservation of ecosystem services.

In the case of protecting plants and multifunctional microorganisms, the idea will be to generate, develop and validate sustainable technologies that provide the increase in productivity and plant health, especially in agricultural crops rice and beans, with a consequent reduction in the use of agricultural inputs synthetics, increased farmer profitability, increases in crop productivity and reduction of environmental contamination.

Regarding the genetic aspect of rice, Elcio considers that the target will be the development of technological innovations in genetics and breeding that are capable of solving important problems for rice cultivation, and which contribute to the supply of healthy foods and the sustainability of agri-food systems.

“The main challenges of research will be in the development of rice cultivars with fine long grains and special types for different production systems and markets; prospect, characterize, develop and apply biological assets in production systems where culture is inserted of rice; and generate knowledge and technologies that promote added value to rice by-products, exploring new consumption trends”, said Elcio.

In the genetic aspect of beans, Embrapa hopes to impact the chain production of common beans through the development of innovation assets and of technological solutions in the field of genetics and plant breeding. You The main challenges, according to Elcio, will be to develop grain cultivars carioca with slow browning of grains, with resistance to fusarium wilt and adapted to mechanical harvesting; black grain cultivars with resistance simultaneous for fusarium wilt, anthracnose and common bacterial blight, white grain cultivars with high productivity and adaptation to conditions tropical; provide management information on new cultivars launched on the market and increase the availability of seeds of these cultivars.

Elcio considered that Embrapa Arroz e Feijão has strategic importance for the future of Brazilian agriculture, as its purpose is to ensure the sustainability of rice and bean production and food supply healthy. “We are focused on developing rice cultivars and beans and sustainable management practices, aimed at different profiles and sizes of agricultural properties. The technologies generated aim to increase the profitability of the food producer, preserve the productive environment, expand the stability of the supply of rice and beans to the consumer; and incorporate functional and market differences to rice and beans, generating benefits for the whole of society”, he concluded.