BRS 374 – Wheat cultivar

BRS 374 is a wheat cultivar developed by Embrapa. It resulted from a cross between the F1 generation of PF 88618/ Coker80.33 and Frontana/Karl. BRS 374 belongs to the soft wheat class, has a low plant height, a high potential grain yield, and white flour.


INTRODUCTION
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an autogamous species, widely adapted at the global level and significant for Brazilian agriculture.Currently, around 11 million tons of wheat are consumed per year in Brazil, far exceeding the national cereal production of a little over 5 million tons in 2011 (CONAB 2012).
The national agricultural research has contributed significantly to increase growth and enhance the quality of Brazilian wheat.This effort began in 1919 with the establishment of experimental stations in Alfredo Chaves (nowadays Veranópolis) and Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil, by the Ministry of Agriculture.The first steps of breeding consisted of the selection of plant progenies derived from seed collections of genotypes used by settlers in Brazil, and the first artificial crosses were performed in 1925.The 70's were fruitful for the development of wheat breeding in Brazil, when private and public research centers were founded, directly influencing the expansion of wheat production in the country (Sousa 2004).Since then, more than 100 new cultivars were developed, contributing to increase the mean grain yield on fields and consequently the sustainability of rural properties.
The wheat breeding program of Embrapa aims to provide the production chain of this cereal with agronomically competitive cultivars suited for different segments of the milling industry in terms of quality and scope of use.Some of the main challenges are: a higher grain yield potential associated with a plant architecture that supports such an increase; tolerance/resistance to biotic (leaf rust, powdery mildew, leaf spots and scab) and abiotic stress (pre-harvest sprouting, soil acidity and grain shattering).BRS 374 is a new cultivar, released in partnership with the Fundação Pró-Sementes de Apoio a Pesquisa, which participated in the trial process, marketing and distribution of the cultivar.

PEDIGREE AND BREEDING METHOD
The wheat cultivar BRS 374 was obtained from a double cross in 1998, of the F 1 generation of PF 88618/Coker80.33 and Frontana/Karl, in a greenhouse of Embrapa Wheat, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul.The agronomic characteristics of line PF 88618 are good, mainly in view of the short plant height and high tillering capacity.Frontana is an old cultivar, but one of the best genetic sources for preharvest sprouting, durable resistance to leaf rust tolerance and grain shattering.The wheat genotypes Coker and Karl were introduced, providing, respectively, high yield and quality traits.The F 1 seeds were advanced to F 5 by mass selection in plots of six 6-m rows, spaced 0.2 m apart, at a density of approximately 15 seeds per meter.Later, they were selected by the pedigree method from F 6 to F 8 .Both mass selection and selection by the pedigree method were based on the following traits: low plant height, resistance to leaf and ear diseases, high tillering capacity, lodging resistance and tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting.When the line was homogeneous, it was bulk-harvested, resulting in line PF 040 310, with the following pedigree: F47867-0F-100F-Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology 13: 212-214 2013 Brazilian Society of Plant Breeding.Printed in Brazil

CULTIVAR RELEASE
0F-0F-4F-9F-12F-0F (letter "F" stands for Passo Fundo as the location of the cross and selections).The numbers preceding "F" indicates the selection method (0F = mass selection and 4F, 9F or 12F = number of plants selected by the pedigree method.Line PF 040310 was evaluated in an observation plot in 2004, in an experimental area of Embrapa, where it was compared with controls and an outstanding performance for grain yield was noted.This first assessment was conducted in plots of three 3-m rows with commercial cultivation density (approximately 300 plants m -2 ).In 2005 and 2006, the line was tested again in preliminary tests of Embrapa.
The relative yield performance of BRS 374 was superior to the average of the two best controls in 2007, 2008 and 2010 (with 113%, 104% and 103%, respectively) (Table 1).In 25 experiments conducted in the three years of assessment, the average grain yield of BRS 374 was 4,733 kg ha -1 (106% of the average of the two best controls in each assessed environment).The average cultivar yield peaked in 2008, with 5,392 kg ha -1 .
BRS 374 was registered for cultivation in the regions 1 and 2 of the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, aside from the wheat cultivation region 1 of the state of Paraná.
BRS 374 belongs to the bioclimatic group of spring wheat and has an early cycle (on average 80 days of silking and 130 days of maturation, in the region of Passo Fundo).It is moderately resistant to lodging and pre-harvest grain loss and moderately susceptible to soil Al toxicity and preharvest sprouting.In studies on the optimal nitrogen rate to exploit the maximum yield potential of the cultivar, a rate of 80 kg ha -1 N was determined, considering the economic return and agronomic characteristics of BRS 374.
The cultivar response to major diseases that attack wheat varies.BRS 374 is moderately resistant to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis) and spot blotch (Bipolaris sorokiniana), moderately susceptible to soil-borne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV), the virus of Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and Helminthosporium leaf blight (Helmintosporium sp.).It is susceptible to scab (Fusarium graminearum).To leaf rust (Puccinia triticina), the following reactions were observed in the field in the test periods (S = susceptible, MS = moderately susceptible): 2007 (60S), 2008 (10S/MS) and 2010 (100S).In the greenhouse, the seedlings were susceptible (races B 34 , B 40 , B 43 , B 44 , B 48 , B 49 , B 50 , B 51 , B 52 , B 55 , B 56 , B 57 , B 58 , and B 59 ).BRS 374 has a low plant height (on average 75 cm in the years of experimentation).The auricles are heterogeneous, slightly colored to colorless.The ear is fusiform, awned and light-colored at maturation.The grain shape is predominantly oval and the color light red.
BRS 374 was preliminarily classified as basic wheat, in the wheat regions 1 and 2, mean gluten strength (W) of 123 x 10 -4 J in 19 samples from the experimental sites (Table 2).It has white flour (L = 94.3, a = -0.2,b = 9.7) and a balanced tenacity/extensibility ratio (P/L).In view of its qualitative traits, the cultivar is suggested for the manufacturing of cookies, cakes, pastries, pizzas, fresh pastas and homemade food, feed, and flour blends.

SEED PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
BRS 374 is registered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) under number 28232.Embrapa Wheat is responsible for the genetic seed, the Serviço de Produtos e Mercados (SPM) for the basic seed and Instituidores da Fundação Pró-Sementes de Apoio a Pesquisa, in partnership with Embrapa, is in charge of certified seed.

Table 2 .
Qualitative profile of BRS 374 for regions 1 and 2 and percentage of samples in the classes Other Uses (O), Basic (B) and Domestic (D)