TMG Phytopathology Laboratory opens in Cambé (PR)

TMG - Tropical Melhoramento & Genética, a Brazilian company providing genetic solutions for cotton, soybeans and corn, opens the Phytopathology Laboratory at its headquarters, in the city of Cambé (PR). With an investment of R＄400 thousand in structure and equipment, the new Laboratory was built according to the Lean Methodology, where the production flow prioritizes the essential. This way, processes are optimized and time and resources are saved when discarding excess materials. The result is a product developed faster, more efficiently and with greater added value. “To meet an increasingly demanding, growing and dynamic market, the new laboratory is equipped with the best to guarantee the quality of health analyzes and phenotyping of soybeans, cotton and corn. The new space adds even more to the company's R&D area”, reinforces Heitor Dias, Research Coordinator at TMG.

In an area of ​​113 m² and with a team of almost ten professionals, the laboratory works with fungal pathogens, oomycetes, bacteria and viruses and is intended for the production of these inoculums to carry out phenotypic tests of the main foliar, stem/stem and root diseases for soybeans, cotton and, more recently, corn. With this, it is possible to characterize the materials in relation to the resistance reaction to diseases, information that is necessary for registration and protection of cultivars with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).

“This type of characterization is also the basis for the development and confirmation of molecular markers, a tool that contributes to the accelerated and assertive process in the development of new cultivars. In addition, we contribute as technical support to the research team and commercial area in diagnosing diseases found in the field”, explains Dias.

The increase in inoculum production capacity to expand phenotypic tests, the possibility of developing and adjusting new methodologies for characterizing strains and classifying cultivars in relation to diseases and process efficiency are some of the benefits that the new space has brought to the research team. “The increase in work space and organization of process steps in the physical structure will generate more efficient processes, less waste and we will be able to deliver even more assertive results for our clients”, says the coordinator.

Marcella Sousa, Plant Pathologist who works directly at the inaugurated facility, reinforces the importance of investments made in the laboratory in support aimed at producers. “Allied to the high production ceiling delivered by our cultivars, the attributes of resistance to the main diseases and nematodes are the focus of our work. The new phytopathology laboratory reinforces TMG’s commitment to Brazilian producers”, says Sousa.