Bernardo Ueno

'BRS F21Braschips' is a potato chipping cultivar, with short oval tubers, shallow eyes, yellow and smooth skin, and light yellow flesh. It has high yield potential, while dry matter content averaged 0.2% less than ‘Atlantic’.The vine maturity and tuber dormancy are medium. Tubers are susceptible to greening. It has high resistance to PVY, partial resistance to early blight, and moderate susceptibility to late blight. It shows good resistance to common scab, and low susceptibility to tuber deformation by high temperature. 'BRS F21Braschips' was protected in 2025 by the Embrapa’s potato breeding program, developed by Embrapa Clima Temperado, in Pelotas-RS and Canoinhas-SC, and Embrapa Hortaliças, in Brasilia-DF, Brazil.

‘BRS Gaia’ is a red-skinned potato cultivar with high dry matter and attractive tuber appearance. Its tubers are oval, with shallow eyes, slightly rough skin, yellow flesh and low susceptibility to post-harvest greening. The vine maturity and tuber dormancy are medium. It is moderately susceptible to late and early blight. ‘BRS Gaia’ has an intermediate level of resistance (tolerance) to bacterial wilt, which gives it a significant comparative advantage over traditional cultivars for disease management in areas infested by the bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum. It has low susceptibility to tuber deformation due to high temperature. Although the main destination is for the fresh market, ‘BRS Gaia’ can also be used by restaurants for fresh cut fries and for processing into shoestrings. 'BRS Gaia' was released in 2023 through Embrapa’s potato breeding program, developed by Embrapa Clima Temperado, in Pelotas-RS and Canoinhas-SC, and Embrapa Hortaliças, in Brasilia-DF, Brazil

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of 22 clonal rootstocks and own-rooted scion trees (without rootstock) on leaf nutrient contents (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu and B) of the ‘Jade’ scion peach growing in a no-irrigated area with Peach Tree Short Life (PTSL) history, as well as their effects on nutrient agronomic interpretation. Macronutrient (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) and micronutrient contents (B, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) were determined in the first and second years after tree planting, in Pelotas-RS, Brazil. We conclude that leaf contents of P, K, Ca, Mg, B, Cu, Mn and Zn are influenced by the scion/rootstock combinations and own-rooted trees tested. Treatments changed agronomic interpretation classes of all macro and micronutrients. For macronutrients, ‘Flordaguard’, De Guia, Tardio-01 rootstocks and the own-rooted trees stood out, with leaf nutrient contents similar or even higher than trees grafted on ‘Capdeboscq’ and ‘Aldrighi’. For micronutrients, trees on GxN.9, ‘Ishtara’ and ‘Santa Rosa’ plum stood out. From a nutritional point of view, own-rooted ‘Jade’ peach trees did not present any limitations.

Brown rot and blossom blight caused by fungi of the genus Monilinia are the most important peach diseases. The increased concern with the environment and the health of workers and consumers, as well as the emergence of fungus isolates resistant to the main fungicide molecules favor control strategies such as genetic resistance. The objective of this study was to adjust a phenotyping protocol for evaluation of resistance/susceptibility to blossom blight in peach, as well as to quantify the antioxidant compounds present in the petals of these flowers and their correlation with the disease incidence and severity. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block split-split plot design, the plot being four concentrations of Monilinia fructicola conidia; the subplot two phenological flower stage; and the sub-subplot four peach genotypes. The quantification of antioxidant compounds and their correlation with susceptibility to blossom blight was performed in the four genotypes analyzed. Phenotyping was more efficient when concentrations between 400 and 4,000 conidia mL^-1 were used, regardless of phenological flower stage. The phenolic compounds, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity are positively correlated among them, and negatively correlated with the blossom blight incidence and severity. In order to estimate the blossom blight susceptibility, it is recommended to use flowers at the pink or bloom stage, inoculum equivalent to 20-200 conidia per flower, and perform the evaluation at 96 hours after inoculation. This study suggests that more intense pink flowers have a higher content of antioxidant compounds and less blossom blight susceptibility.

‘BRS F50’ (Cecilia) is a yellow skin potato cultivar for the fresh market, with good tuber appearance and versatile culinary use. The tuber has oval shape, shallow eyes, and light yellow flesh. It has a relatively high dry matter and medium-low glucose content, giving possibility even to use for processing into shoestring fries. The vegetative cycle and dormancy are medium. The maturity and tuber dormancy are medium. ‘BRS F50’ (Cecilia) shows a very low external and internal tuber disorder incidence, except growing cracks under varying soil humidity. It is moderately resistant to late and early blight, which make it also suitable for organic production. ‘BRS F50’ (Cecilia) was released by Embrapa in 2022, and is a product of its potato breeding program, developed by Embrapa Clima Temperado, in Pelotas-RS and Canoinhas-SC, and Embrapa Hortaliças, in Brasília-DF, Brazil.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the use of rootstocks from clonal and seed production systems on the morphology of nursery peach trees of cultivar Granada. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with five treatments ('Granada' scion grafted onto five rootstocks) and five replicates. The rootstocks from clonal production were the 'Okinawa' peach plant and the GKM-ELD-10-70, EF-SAU-10-78, and EF-SAU-10-87 peach genotypes kept in pots. The rootstocks from the seed production system came from peach seed of some scion varieties (mixed pits) used for canning production and propagated in a nursery field system. Shoot and root morphological variables were evaluated. The rootstock production system did not affect root volume. However, the nursery trees of the clonal rootstocks system kept in pots showed a higher percentage of water in the roots. The clonal rootstocks in the potted system do not affect most of the morphological traits of 'Granada' peach nursery trees; however, they induce a homogeneous root system and delay leaf abscission, besides not requiring root pruning.

Brown rot, caused by Monilinia spp., is the main stone fruit disease. Major efforts to detect sources of resistance are being applied by several breeding programs worldwide. The main objective of this study was to seek sources of brown rot resistance, as well as to study the segregation, estimate the heritability, verify the possible existence of the maternal effect, and estimate the genetic advances. For this purpose, 20 parents and 303 seedlings, representing 16 breeding families, and ‘Bolinha’ (control) have been phenotyped for fruit reaction to brown rot using wounded and non-wounded inoculation procedures in 2015–2016, 2016–2017, and 2017–2018 growing seasons. Wounded fruits were very susceptible to brown rot incidence, however, the incidence and severity of non-wounded fruits showed high variability among the evaluated genotypes. Conserva 947 and Conserva 1600 and their progeny, had lower disease incidence and severity than most of the evaluated genotypes. Genetic gain estimation was −5.2 to −30.2% (wounded fruits) and between −15.0 to −25.0% (non-wounded fruits) for brown rot resistance. Selected genotypes were equal to or better than ‘Bolinha’ in relation to brown rot resistance, with several of them far superior in fruit quality than ‘Bolinha’, demonstrating the progress of the Embrapa Peach Breeding Program.

The fungus Monilinia fructicola, which causes brown rot in fruits, is one of the main peach pathogens. The emergence of fungicide-resistant fungus isolates, as well as the attempt to reduce sprays, favors adoption of other control strategies. Among them, one of the most important is genetic resistance. This study was carried out aiming to evaluate the susceptibility of 16 peach and 4 nectarine genotypes to brown rot, as well as to evaluate how well the sporulation area and diameter correlate with number of spores in the lesions. Both wounded and non-wounded fruits were inoculated with 10 μL of M. fructicola suspension. Wounded fruits from all genotypes (nectarines and peaches) showed susceptibility to M. fructicola, from 92 to 100% of incidence. The disease incidence was between 18 and 100% when non-wounded fruits were inoculated. High variability was detected for the fungus sporulation, in both wounded and non-wounded fruits, with ranges between 16 to 96% and 0 to 94%, respectively. The fungus sporulation was variable among the genotypes (between 0.1 to 96.0 conidia per mm2) and it is positively correlated with the diameter and area of sporulation. The genotypes Conserva 947, Conserva 1662, Conserva 672, Conserva 1600, and 'Bolinha', are the ones with less susceptible to brown rot.

‘BRS F183’ (Potira) is a late-maturing and red skin potato cultivar, suitable for French fry processing, due to tuber high dry matter content of long oval shape, large size, light yellow flesh, and light fry color. It is also suitable for the fresh market due to its attractive tubers of intense red color, smooth skin and shallow eyes. In six trials, ‘BRS F183’ showed average tuber yields that did not differ from ‘Asterix’. The marketable yield was relatively high, reaching 98.5% in the tropical ecosystem. Larger tubers of ‘BRS F183’ than ‘Asterix’ were also observed in the autumn crop of the subtropical ecosystem. In most of the trials, the dry matter content was higher than that of ‘Asterix’, varying from 20.5 to 23.0%. A very low incidence of tuber disorders was observed in ‘BRS F183’, with the secondary growth lower than ‘Asterix’. ‘BRS F183’ presented medium tuber dormancy. Tuber glucose content suitable for French fry processing (≤1.2 mg g-1 of fresh mass) was shown by ‘BRS F183’ after harvest and storage at 7.5°C, 8.9°C and 20°C for up to 180 days, while ‘Asterix’ was suitable up to 120 days after storage at 8.9ºC. ‘BRS F183’ is moderately resistant to early blight and moderately susceptible to late blight. It is susceptible to PVY, PLRV, and root-knot nematode. Field observations indicate that resistance/susceptibility to soft rot, black scurf, and bacterial wilt of ‘BRS F183’ is not different from the main cultivars grown in the country. However, higher susceptibility to common scab was shown in some validation tests. ‘BRS F183’ was released in 2020 by Embrapa, as a product of the breeding program developed by Embrapa Temperate Agriculture and Embrapa Vegetables.