Brazil approved for cultivation wheat Drought resistant HB4, developed by the Argentine company Bioceres.
After years of testing and debate, the technology achieved a key boost, since Brazil is the main buyer of Argentine wheat.
The company reported that the National Biosafety Commission of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation concluded the biosafety evaluation of the technology and granted approval for its commercialization and cultivation.
The HB4 technology is a unique development of its kind at a global level, carried out after more than 20 years of research together with a team of scientists from the Conicet led by Dr. Raquel Chan and the Universidad del Litoral.
This is a development that incorporates a sunflower gene into wheat that makes it tolerant to drought and salinity conditions, in addition to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium.
The same technology has already been applied to soybeans and is in the same approval process by different countries.
“This is the second country to authorize the planting of this type of grain, after Argentina,” says a statement from the company. And they point out that “Together, both countries plant 90% of the wheat area of South America.”
From 2019 until now, HB4 technology has rapidly advanced in its regulatory status worldwide and several of the main soybean and wheat producing and importing countries have already approved this type of grain.
“The HB4 gene is key in the adaptation of our agricultural systems to a more extreme climate, and has shown yield increases of more than 40% in environments with severe water stress, according to the results obtained in the last harvest in Argentina,” they highlighted. from Bioceres.
Brazil is the main buyer of Argentine wheat, with between 4 and 6.5 million tons per year, but it aspires to strongly increase its production to achieve self-sufficiency and even export.
Source: Ambito
