Researchers from the RS Agriculture Department launch new bean cultivar

Researchers from the State Center for Diagnosis and Research on Family Farming (Ceafa) of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr), located in Maquiné, recently launched a new bean cultivar: RS Centenário. This is an opportunity for diversification for producers, especially small and medium-sized ones. 

“It was a tribute to 100 years of state agricultural research, especially the work of the extinct State Foundation for Agricultural Research (Fepagro)”, says Ceafa breeder, Juliano Garcia Bertoldo. The new bean cultivar belongs to the rajado commercial group, which has high added value, with a higher price on the market.

According to Bertoldo, it took 11 years of research. “It started in 2007, when the first selection was made and ended in 2018 with the Cultivation and Use Value (VCUs) tests. Two more breeders participated in the study: Juarez Fernandes de Souza and Guido Renato Sander (in memoriam)”, he highlights.

According to the researcher, RS Centenário is an improvement in relation to the cultivar, also gusty, Iraí. “Within the brindle group, to which it belongs, the average productivity presented by RS Centenário, of 1.685 kilos per hectare, can be considered high”, he points out.

“Its cultivation is recommended for the various systems recommended by official research for bean cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul, in the harvest and off-season periods, in rainfed or irrigated crops, in direct or conventional planting, single or intercropped, conventional or organic”, explains Bertoldo.

The RS Centenário cultivar has a streaky grain color as a distinguishing feature. “There is a need to diversify the consumption of beans, and this cultivar, as it presents a good yield even compared to traditional controls and a more upright posture, can be an excellent option for farmers”, explains the researcher.

The expectation at Seapdr is that this year another cultivar from the black commercial group and another from the Rio commercial group will be registered.