Agronomic feasibility of wheat and triticale cultivars in the semiarid of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Abstract

The production of winter cereals is becoming increasingly important in Brazil, largely due to advanced techniques that enable considerable qualitative and quantitative gains. This is due to plant breeding under different soil and climate conditions combined with proper management. The present study aims to assess the agronomic feasibility of growing wheat and triticale cultivars with two sowing times in the semiarid region of northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in 2018 at the Instituto de Ciências Agrárias (Institute of Agricultural Sciences) of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Montes Claros campus.  A randomized block design was used, with four replications and an 8 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of eight genotypes (six wheat and two triticale cultivars) and two sowing times (April 21 and May 12, 2018). The irrigated production of wheat and triticale was agronomically feasible in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais state and sowing time affected the main agronomic traits of interest of winter cereals. However, it is essential to study the economic feasibility of the crop. Sowing in April was the most indicated for wheat and triticale, with IPR Potyporã, IPR 144 and IPR 111 as the recommended cultivars.