Brazil: Three new barley varieties for brewing were launched for the South of Brazil

On September 2, during the Expointer 2005 in Esteio, Wheat Embrapa in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, three new barley varieties were launched, Assessoria de Imprensa has recently posted. These varieties, BRS Marciana, BRS Lagoa and BRS Mariana, are of good quality, appropriate for brewing purposes and can be easily grown in the South of Brazil. The launching was held in the Embrapa House and the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Roberto Rodrigues, as well as the President of Embrapa, Mr. Silvio Crestania attended the presentation.

In Brazil, differently to other countries, the malting has been the main economic use of the barley, because the country has other more profitable options in order to feed animals. In this sense, approximately 85% of the barley is used for the malt production, 7% is kept as seeds and 8% for the production of feed products, when it does not reach the quality required for malting. The annual consumption of malt by the Brazilian brewing industry is estimated to be one million tonne, while 70% of this demand is supplied by importing malt from Argentina, Uruguay, Canada or Europe.

The barley production in Brazil is concentrated in the South, but there are also production areas in Goiás, Distrito Federal and Minas Gerais. Presently, about 140,000 hectares are sown and the production near to 380,000 tonnes, which are processed by three malt-houses in Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Sao Paulo.

Embrapa Trigo is launching the malting barley varieties BRS Marciana, BRS Lagoa and BRS Mariana, following the above mentioned market development. "These varieties are in the process of reaching the malt quality approval of the malt-houses. The production of seeds is being processes parallel to the validation process in the malt-houses and so these may be available to the grain growers in the crop 2007, informed Minella.

The new varieties have following characteristics:

BRS Marciana - early cycle, grows medium-high and very well adapted to the malting barley production areas of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana. It has a potential yield of above 4.000 kg/ha and a good natural grading of above 90% full barley. It is resistant to all kind of plagues. In terms of industrial quality, in micromalting tests this variety has proven to have the necessary malting quality.

BRS Lagoa - early cycle, grows medium-high, with a potential yield above 4.800 kg/ha and good natural grading also of above 90% full barley. Resistant to all kind of plagues..Can increase the yield of barley output in 20%.

BRS Mariana - early cycle, grows medium-high and is easily adapted to any production region. Yield above 4.500 kg/ha and good natural grading with above 90% full barley. Shows moderate resistance to most of the plagues present in Brazil.

Barley as a grain is said to be on the fifth place of economic and social importance in the world, after rice, corn, wheat and soybeans. It is used for the industrialization of beverages - beer and distilled beverages -, in the production of wheat and flakes for bakery, in the pharmaceutical industry, in the production of diet products as well as substitutes of coffee. Barley is even used as forages and in the production of feed products, which represents the main use worldwide: 68% of the production.

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