VALIDATION
The BRS Sena hybrid was conceived
from the project known as Introduction
of Industry Tomato National Hybrid in
the Supply Chain, starting in September
2010 at Embrapa Vegetables, in Brasília
(DF). The works involved countless tests
in greenhouses and in trial fields. Accord-
ing to the specialist in Phytopathogy, the
corroboration of its main characteristics
wasconductedinruralfarmsinGoiásand
Minas Gerais, and the references were all
major hybrid tomatoes for industrial pro-
cessing,grownintheCountryatthattime.
“The conception of this new tomato
implied in an intense evaluation process
of the hybrid combinations of several ad-
vanced breeds, developed in the realmof
the genetic enhancement projects at Em-
brapaVegetables”,shesays.Shehighlights
the relevant role performed by agrono-
mist Ossami Furumoto, researcher at the
unit at that time, by assistant researchers
Arnaud Moura Araújo and João Honório.
Alice understands that the selected va-
riety bears all the characteristics desired
by the sector and fulfills relevant bottle-
necks pointed out by the farmers. Eagle
Flores, Frutas &Hortaliças is the company
licensed for seedproductionandsales.
With a
capital T
FirstBrazilianhybridtomatofor industrial
processing, BRSSenacombinescharacteristics
muchdesiredbythesupplychain
Cultivar BRS Sena is the first nation-
al hybrid tomato for industrial processing.
The characteristics of the variety, launched
in 2012, are considered to be very impor-
tant for the supply chain: its performance
at mechanized harvesting is excellent and
is resistant to geminivirus, a major prob-
lem with industrial tomato farming. Devel-
oped by Embrapa Vegetables and validated
in the State of Goiás, jointly with processing
industries, technicians, producers and the
Federal Institute of Goiás, the recommend-
ed growing period of the cultivar is from
February to halfway through April.
Its major characteristics include erect ar-
chitecture and lush leaf canopy, which pro-
tects the fruit against solar exposure. Accord-
ing to researcher Alice Quezado, involved in
research on the new tomato variety, oth-
er differentials include elongated fruits, ab-
sence of peduncle protuberance (jointless)
and minor peduncle insertion, which reduc-
es field losses during harvesting procedures.
Ever since it was launched, the agrono-
mist maintains that the segment has treat-
ed the new variety with distinction in the
early season plantings when more serious
pressure was ascertained from the joint
occurrence of begomoviruses and bacteri-
al spot, harmful diseases that affect toma-
to fields. Besides joining efforts in the fight
against these problems, the BRS Sena culti-
var has shown steady behavior and appro-
priate mix as far as transport and process-
ing go, respectively. In the Manga region,
in Minas Gerais, it reached a 6.7 degree of
brix in validation areas.
This hybrid is also resistant to a bacteri-
um known as Pseudomonas syringae pv. to-
mato zero breed; resistant to Meloidogyne
incognita and M. javanica root-knot nem-
atodes, and to fungi Fusarium oxysporum
f.sp. lycopersici breed 1 and 2 and Verticil-
lium dahlie strain 1. Alice reinforces that
all expectations were confirmed, equally in
productivity, as its productive potential is
111 to 119 tons per hectare. “As there are
no cultivars with these combined character-
istics available in Brazil, the BRS Sena gives
its contribution towards making the supply
chain more dynamic”, he concludes.
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