By Ana Mano
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -The Brazilian government’s agriculture research agency plans to expand testing of a variety of drought-resistant, genetically modified wheat as Brazil aims to become self-sufficient in the staple crop and later a relevant exporter.
In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Embrapa Chief of Wheat Research Jorge Lemainski said that in addition to testing the transgenic materials in the Cerrado region of Brazil, the agency also aims to plant them in Minas Gerais state as part of efforts to observe the adaptability to tropical conditions of the GMO wheat seeds developed by Argentina’s Bioceres.
Last week’s landmark approval for the planting and sale of GMO wheat in Brazil means Embrapa can now test the wheat designed to resist water stress in more corners of the country, Lemainski said.
This will allow Brazilian researchers to see how the plants behave under different conditions, putting the country’s farmers closer to planting GMO wheat on a commercial scale, he said.
“If the tests prove positive, which is what is expected, we will move on to the seed multiplication phase so that this technological solution can reach the farmer,” Lemainski said.
According to Embrapa data cited by Lemainski, drought-resistant wheat could potentially be planted on up to 3 million hectares (7.413 million acres) with an altitude of over 800 meters.
In those areas, wheat could be cultivated as a rotation crop in the Brazilian Cerrado biome where soybeans and corn are already large crops.
The ideal time to sow the drought-resistant seeds is between March 1 and April 10, Lemainski said. However, he noted that Brazil still has not enough GMO wheat seeds for large scale testing.
Some four years of research would be necessary to evaluate adaptability of GMO wheat to Brazilian tropical conditions, Lemainski added.
Embrapa’s first trials began around this time last year in Brazil, which is increasing local output using conventional wheat but remains a heavy importer of the product from Argentina.
(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Paul Simao and Sandra Maler)
