The doctoral thesis “Introgression of wild Arachis alleles to increase drought tolerance in cultivated peanuts", by student Wellison Dutra, received the award for best thesis in the area of Agronomy in the postgraduate program (PRPG) at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). The work was supervised by researcher Roseane Cavalcanti, from Embrapa Algodão, who works in the institution's peanut genetic improvement program, and co-supervised by professor Pedro Dantas, from the Federal University of Campina Grande. In total, 17 scientific works were selected.
The award aims to recognize the most relevant theses that have gained greater prominence among the academic and scientific community defended in postgraduate programs, as well as stimulating excellence in scientific and technological research. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards ceremony corresponding to the year 2020 was held this May, in the auditorium of the Rectory of UFPB - Campus I, in João Pessoa.
According to the Embrapa Algodão researcher, the work “is of great importance for expanding the genetic base of commercial cultivars, since the introgression of genes from wild species is a unique opportunity to value germplasm banks and give greater leverage to the ballast of the genetic variability of new populations”.
For Wellison Dutra, “the use of wild species is an excellent alternative to expand the genetic variability of cultivated peanuts and develop new cultivars adapted to the semi-arid climate”.
They received the certificate from vice-rector Liana Filgueira.
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Specifically, the parties will focus on enhancing the value chain in the agricultural sector to promote food security, increase agricultural efficiency and farmers' market access
