RIDESA: Melhoramento

RIDESA SUGARCANE GERMOPLASM BANKS AND CROSSING STATIONS

RIDESA currently has two Germplasm Banks: the one at the Serra do Ouro Flowering and Crossing Station, in Murici, Alagoas (lat 09º 13' S, long 35º 50' W and alt 515m) and the one at the Devaneio Flowering and Crossing Station, in Amaraji, Pernambuco (lat 08° 19.8' S, long 35° 24.89' W and alt 514m).

Quarantine is required for the annual exchange of clones to be introduced into the breeding stations and originating from RIDESA member universities, as well as imported genotypes. Therefore, the genotypes introduced into the breeding stations have been previously evaluated at the Quarantine Station coordinated by UFAL, which is located in Bebedouro (lat 9° 39' S, long 35° 44' W, and alt 4 m), Maceió, Alagoas. It covers an area of 4 hectares of forest and 1 hectare of sugarcane cultivation. Its infrastructure consists of a 250 m² greenhouse, three rooms with capacity to evaluate approximately 240 genotypes, a room for phytosanitary treatment, compartments for soil sterilization, and incineration of plant remains and packaging.

RIDESA: GERMOPLASM BANKS AND CROSSING STATIONS

RIDESA currently has two Germplasm Banks: the one at the Serra do Ouro Flowering and Crossing Station, in Murici, Alagoas (lat 09º 13' S, long 35º 50' W and alt 515m) and the one at the Devaneio Flowering and Crossing Station, in Amaraji, Pernambuco (lat 08° 19.8' S, long 35° 24.89' W and alt 514m).

Quarantine is required for the annual exchange of clones to be introduced into the breeding stations and originating from RIDESA member universities, as well as imported genotypes. Therefore, the genotypes introduced into the breeding stations have been previously evaluated at the Quarantine Station coordinated by UFAL, which is located in Bebedouro (lat 9° 39' S, long 35° 44' W, alt 4 m), Maceió, Alagoas. It covers an area of 4 hectares of forest and 1 hectare of sugarcane cultivation. Its infrastructure consists of a 250 m² greenhouse, three rooms with capacity to evaluate approximately 240 genotypes, a room for phytosanitary treatment, compartments for soil sterilization, and incineration of plant remains and packaging.

SERRA DO OURO - ALAGOAS

The Serra do Ouro Station, established in 1967, has an average annual rainfall of 2,363 mm, an average minimum temperature of 18.2°C, and an average maximum temperature of 27.9°C. It is located 34 km from the coast and has a total area of 32 hectares. Its privileged location and climate allow for the natural and profuse flowering of sugarcane, necessary for the hybridizations previously planned by RIDESA researchers (Figure 15). From 1971 to 1989, these activities were carried out by PLANALSUCAR, which during this period obtained and released 19 RB varieties to the national production sector. From 1990 onwards, Serra do Ouro was transferred to UFAL to serve RIDESA's RB cultivar breeding programs, under the management of the PMGCA of the UFAL Center for Agricultural Sciences. From the seeds produced in Serra do Ouro, 94 cultivars were generated, 75 of which were released by RIDESA. In 2015, the Serra do Ouro Germplasm Bank contained 3,090 accessions, including species of the genus Saccharum and related species, and sugarcane hybrids from national and international genetic improvement programs (Table 01).

Table 1. Number of accessions in the Germplasm Bank of the Serra do Ouro Flowering and Crossing Station, Murici-AL in 2015.

DEVANEIO - PERNAMBUCO

The Devaneio Station aims to complement RIDESA's hybridization research to obtain new RB varieties. Located in the city of Amaraji, Pernambuco, it occupies a total area of 15 hectares, 25 km from the coast and 110 km from Recife. Its geographic coordinates are 08°19.8'S and 35°24.893'W, at an altitude of 514 m. It enjoys a privileged climate, with an average annual rainfall of 2,600 mm, and an average minimum temperature of 18.92°C and a maximum temperature of 28.15°C. This allows for the natural and abundant flowering of sugarcane, necessary for the hybridizations previously planned by researchers at RIDESA universities.
This research base originated in 2007, when researchers from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) and RIDESA (Ridesa) conducting experiments in the region observed exceptional conditions for hybridization. In the same year, genotypes were introduced to form another germplasm bank for RIDESA, complementing the one in Serra do Ouro. The Devaneio Flowering and Crossing Station is managed by the Carpina Sugarcane Experimental Station (EECAC) of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE). This station has been producing and sending caryopses to RIDESA universities for the past five years.
The germplasm bank of the Devaneio Flowering and Crossing Station is composed of 994 genotypes, originating from national and international programs (Table 02).