Development of new Brazilian hop cultivars with genetic traceability and phytochemical characterization

• Grant number: 22/00356-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Beolchi de Souza Lima
• Grantee: Ricardo Beolchi de Souza Lima
• CNAE: Cultivo de plantas de lavoura permanente não especificadas anteriormente ; Produção de mudas e outras formas de propagação vegetal, certificadas
• Associated researchers: Clarissa Hamaio Okino Delgado
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/14586-6 - Aromatic profile of essential oils and genetic sequencing of new hop cultivars, BP.TT; 22/14587-2 - Evaluation of the development of new hop cultivars, BP.TT

Abstract

Brazil is the third largest beer producer in the world, with an annual production of around 14 billion liters. Hops are one of the main components, which requires the importation of 3.2 million tons of dehydrated cones annually due to the low national production. This scenario has been modified; between 2019 and 2020 production grew by 110%, due to initiatives to tropicalize this crop, which demonstrate the viability of Brazilian hop production. Hops Brazil, founded in 2015, has helped in this expansion by offering seedlings with genetic and phytosanitary guarantees, always looking for materials that are more adapted to the country. Thus, the company's genetic improvement program has already carried out around 10,000 hop crosses, among which new hybrids adapted to the tropical climate, vigorous and productive, were selected. In this context, this project proposes to technically validate five new hop cultivars developed by Hops Brazil. For this, the agronomic performance (development and production) will be evaluated in DHE assays (distinguishability, homogeneity and stability), the experiment will be conducted in a commercial cultivation area, with evaluation of the five new materials in comparison with two commercial cultivars (Comet and Cascade), in plots composed of 5 plants, with 4 replications of each treatment, totaling 20 plants per treatment, in a completely randomized arrangement. In addition, the same genetic materials will be cultivated in the USA, with the objective of evaluating whether the environment (Brazil x USA) influences the profile of the aromatic compounds produced, for this, the content of ± and ² acids and the profile of essential oils will be measured; and an evaluation of genotyping (Genotyping by Sequencing - GBS) will be carried out by next generation sequencing (NGS). The results will integrate part of the documents necessary for the process of applying for protection of cultivars to MAPA, which could become the first legally recognized hop cultivars developed in the national territory. Phytochemical analyzes will make it possible to assess whether the new materials differ from those already used commercially in relation to the aromatic compounds produced, which will contribute to the deepening of the terroir of Brazilian hop. Thus, it is expected that the development of new cultivars adapted to the Brazilian climate with a differentiated aromatic profile will help in the expansion of the culture in the country. (AU)