The variety group 'Brasília' is still largely cultivated during the summer season in Brazil. These open pollinated cultivars are adapted to warm climates/regions and they present field resistance to the leaf blight disease complex and to root-knot nematodes (genus Meloidogyne), which are the two major biotic problems in tropical and subtropical regions. However, some cultivars of the 'Brasília' group have important genetic disorders with negative impacts on the visual, sensorial, and nutritional quality of the roots. 'BRS Planalto' is a new open pollinated cultivar released by the Embrapa Vegetable Crops breeding program, aiming to minimize much of these problems. 'BRS Planalto' was developed after 18 cycles of recurrent selection based upon the performance of half-sib progenies using the cultivar Brasília as the basic germplasm. Evaluations were carried out in each selection cycle for a set of phenotypic traits using two replications (1 m² plots) with about 100 roots per plot of each half-sib family. 'BRS Planalto' has a darker orange root color when compared to 'Brasília' due to the higher accumulation of the carotenoid pigments α-carotene and β-carotene (vitamin A precursors). In addition, 'BRS Planalto' displays uniform xylem and phloem color and low incidence of precocious bolting during the warm season. 'BRS Planalto' has lower green and purple root shoulder incidences as well as lower frequency of white halo in the root tissue when compared to 'Brasília'. 'BRS Planalto' has also a more uniform root pattern (shape and size) when compared to other cultivars of the 'Brasília' group. 'BRS Planalto' is adapted to both conventional and organic crop systems and presents a very high yield potential. Therefore, 'BRS Planalto' might occupy a strategic role in the Brazilian carrot agribusiness chain due to its improved visual and nutritional root qualities when compared to other cultivars of the 'Brasília' variety group.
Daucus carota; carotenoids; Alternaria dauci; Meloidogyne spp.; yield; breeding
