In the last century, the wide use of Guzerá breed in crossbreeding led to the expressive reduction of their effective population size, to worrying numbers. Due to its adaptation to diverse environmental conditions, its potential for dual-purpose production (i.e. meat and milk), and its risk of extinction, in 1991, this breed was included by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) in the list of genetic resources to be preserved. In view of this, and due to the demand for br ...

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2008

Yuca is a highlighted culture for the state of Pará, not only for its importance in the state's cuisine, but also for representing a source of income for thousands of agriculture producers. The culture can also give support to the state's agro-industry, by means of supplying raw materials used in the fabrication of many products. In order to be incremented in the state of Pará, the yuca culture needs to go through a genetic improvement program, in the hopes of obtaining material which is more ad ...

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2010

Since Brazil has a strong prospect of becoming a major exporter of dairy products, the production chain of milk needs to prepare to overcome obstacles such as non-tariff barriers related to food safety and quality assurance. Thus, this project aimed to gather information and develop methodologies for addressing such a challenge. One of the goals was the physicochemical and microbiological characterization of four dairy products (Minas Standard cheese, curd cheese, condensed milk, and whey powder

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2011

In last the two decades, the melon agribusiness in Brazil has expanded nine times, reaching a production that is estimated at 500,000 tons per year and is concentrated in the Northeast. Since 2007, melons have become the main national fruit in volume of exports, and in 2008 Brazil was the second top world exporter. Nearly all melon cultivars planted in the Northeast are imported, and hence there is demand for more adapted ones, as the cultivars available were generally developed in soil and clim

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2012

Brazilian cattle farming has been constantly growing and it currently has extreme importance for agribusiness and the Brazilian economy. Brazil has the world's largest commercial cattle herd, with approximately 210 million head, and is the top beef exporter. To remain competitive in the foreign market and find better-paying niches, Brazil needs to improve the quality and security of the beef while maintaining competitive prices. Among the main causes of cattle production losses, there is the tic

Status: Completed     Start date: Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2010

Among the existing grass as alternatives to pasture-based production, the genus Cynodon (stargrass and bermudagrass) has advantages such as high productivity and forage quality, responsiveness to fertilization, resistance to cattle trampling, adaptability to a wide range of soil and climate conditions, and good tolerance to waterlogging and low temperatures. These factors distinguish Cynodon from other grasses predominant in tropical conditions and justify considering such specie

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2013

With 200 million head, Brazil is the largest world producer of cattle. However, national beef cattle farming is characterized by low productivity and a large variation in beef quality. This second aspect can be justified by the large Zebu fraction found in the genetic base of our herds. Zebu breeds normally present less soft beef with lower marbling when compared with taurine breeds, making the appraisal of this meat difficult in international markets. Therefore, the development of genotypes tha

Status: Completed     Start date: Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2010

Cereal such as wheat, rice, corn, maize, oats, sorghum, millets, triticale, and rye make up the base of human and animal foods and feeds, respectively. Many of these species contribute significantly to the sustainability of agricultural production systems in Brazil, generating jobs and boosting the country's economy. Collectively, these cultures add up to 19 millions of cultivated hectares and 47 million tons of produced grains, which is almost half of the country's total grain production. Howev

Status: Completed     Start date: Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2009

The banana tree is cultivated from north to south of the country and the main cultivars used are susceptible to pests, with low productivity and some are very tall. The project aims to continue the banana breeding program underway since 1983 and aims to create and agronomically evaluate banana genotypes; assess resistance / tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses; develop basic studies aimed at generating knowledge for pest control in support of the breeding program; use tissue culture techn

Status: Completed     Start date: Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2008

The limited knowledge concerning the diversity of species of fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae), on top of the reduced number of researchers working on this biological group in the Amazon region, has motivated the structuring of the Amazonian Network of Fruit Fly Research, a project financed by Embrapa (Call 05/2006 - "Agrofuturo"; SEG code 02.06.05.003), for the period of 36 months (August/2007 to July/2010). The Network has Embrapa Amapá as executing institution and gathers researcher

Status: Completed     Start date: Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2011