Brazil: Genetic improvement program developed by Embrapa can make lentils an alternative for winter planting

Published 2021년 7월 9일

Tridge summary

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Hortaliças) is working on a genetic improvement program for lentils, aiming to provide a cultivation alternative for the Center-South and Cerrado regions during the dry winter season. Brazil currently imports about 13.5 thousand tons of lentils annually. The program also includes the development of new cultivars to cater to specific markets with differentiated products. Additionally, the research focuses on preventive genetic improvement to create resistant varieties to agricultural pests like Fusarium wilt, which is not yet present in Brazil but is common in many other countries. This initiative could not only establish Brazil as a domestic lentil supplier but also potentially make the country an exporter to Asia, a significant market currently dominated by Canada.

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Original content

São Paulo, 07/09/2021 - The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Hortaliças), headquartered in Brasília (DF), is developing a genetic improvement program for lentils adapted to the Center-South and Cerrado, to offer farmers an alternative for planting in the dry winter season. Currently, Brazil is an importer of the grain, with around 13.5 thousand tons per year. According to a statement from Embrapa Hortaliças, the program also contemplates the development of new cultivars to meet certain niches, which are looking for differentiated products, such as orange or darker lentils, generally smaller than those found in the Brazilian market. The novelty among the lines of research is preventive genetic improvement. The idea is to develop and offer producers resistant varieties to agricultural pests of quarantine importance before they enter Brazil, such as Fusarium wilt, caused by the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lentis, one of the main fungal diseases of the crop. ...

Source: Broadcast