Fashion cotton

— by Edna Santos 

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1,618 Sustainable Luxury 
Embrapa Cotton

More productive canola

Research conducted by the Brazilian Network for Canola Pollination assessed the impact on bees in canola crops in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Studies were carried out during canola flowering in three cities of Rio Grande do Sul: Esmeralda, Estrela and Guarani das Missões. The methodology included three comparisons: open crops (natural pollination process), covered crops (free of bees), and manual pollination flower by flower. The assessments identified more than 38 species of pollinating insects. It was found that the honeybee Apis mellifera is the most abundant and important species, representing, on average, 76% of the crop pollinators. According to the researcher Betina Blochtein, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), the results were surprising: the free visitation of bees increased the productivity of canola from 17% (hybrid Hyola 420) to 30% (Hyola 61). The greater presence of bees increased the number of siliques (pods) and the weight of canola grains. Essentially, the study indicates that pollination not only enhances the grain yield of the crop but also contributes to uniformity and precocity of the formation of siliques.•

— by Joseani M. Antunes

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Brazilian Pollinators Project

Fruit without fungicides

Fresh fruit, free of residue from agrochemical contaminants and with greater shelf life and trade life, is what a new postharvest treatment technology developed by the team coordinated by researcher Daniel Terao, from Embrapa Environment, have promoted. It is a combination of processes that uses hot water sprayed at higher temperatures, followed by cooling with ozonated cold water jets to interrupt the thermal process. The fruit are also exposed to UV radiation (UV-C) in controlled doses for each species, considering fruit variety, contamination, and the use of specific yeasts and natural plant extracts with residual effect for protection against rottenness during extended storage. The combination of processes occurs on the conveyor belt and ensures the efficient control of fungi and pathogens that attack fruits and cause rottenness. The new model is considered economically viable and technologically safe to promote the transition from the control of rot and harmful microorganisms, a procedure currently based on fungicides and agrochemicals, to a system that leaves no residue in the treated fruits. It can ensure greater participation of Brazilian production in foreign markets, especially Europe – final destination of approximately 70% of the fruit exported by Brazil.•

— by Marcos Alexandre Vicente

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Embrapa Environment

World Congress

Feeding a growing world population, with increasingly limited resources and spaces, is one of the biggest challenges of the agricultural and livestock sector. Focusing on this problem, the world's foremost experts on the subject will meet in Brasília from July 12 to 17, 2015, to discuss solutions during the World Congress on Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems (WCCLF). The Congress will include 31 lectures by representatives of universities, research institutions, and international bodies from the five continents. Agricultural systems such as those that integrate crop production with livestock and forestry in the same space, in addition to increasing the volume and diversity of products, also provide important environmental services such as carbon sinks and the refilling of aquifers and groundwater. The event is organized into three topics – technology, environment and social economy – and will create a final document that will be submitted to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), scheduled for the end of 2015. The Congress will be held at the Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center, in Brasília, Brazil, and will include the third International Symposium on Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems. Check the special article about sustainable intensification here.•
— by Fabio Reynol 

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World Congress on Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems (WCCLF)

Morphine effect

A Embrapa Recursos Genéicos e Biotecnologia e a Universidade de Brasília (UnB) identificaram fragmentos de proteína (peptídeos) inéditos no café com efeito similar ao da
morfina, por apresentarem atividades analgésica e ansiolítica. A caracterização dessas moléculas faz parte da tese de doutorado do estudante Felipe Vinecky, desenvolvida no âmbito do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Molecular da Universidade de Brasília (UnB) e na Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, sob a coordenação do pesquisador Carlos Bloch Júnior. A identificação dos peptídeos se deu quando Felipe buscava genes de café associados à melhoria da qualidade do produto, como parte de um projeto desenvolvido, em conjunto, pela Embrapa e pelo Centro de Cooperação Internacional em Pesquisa Agronômica para o Desenvolvimento (Cirad, sigla em francês). •
— by Fernanda Diniz

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Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology
Institute of Biological Sciences (UnB)

Access to knowledge

Embrapa's website is the best one ranked among research institutions of Latin America, according to the World Web Ranking of Research Centers. The survey developed by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC – Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research) measured the quality and relevance of the knowledge production available to the public at 8,000 websites of research centers. The goal was to promote electronic access to content for the academic community. In the world ranking, Embrapa appears in the 28th position, the second among agricultural research centers, behind the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council. The ranking uses four indicators: visibility (number of external links pointing to the site); site size (number of pages); number of "text-rich files" (.pdf, .ps, .doc, .docx, .ppt) available; and relevance measured by the quantity of publications and number of citations in Google Scholar, a search service for scientific databases.•
— by Marcos Esteves

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Ranking web of research centers