BRS Sertaneja

'BRS Sertaneja' came out of a joint breeding effort between Embrapa Semiarido, Embrapa Agroindustria Tropical and IPA, selected by mass selection from a clone collection at the Bebedouro Experimental Field in Petrolina, Pernambuco. It was developed specifically for the irrigated production zones of the Brazilian semi-arid northeast, the region that supplies most of the country's acerola. Its headline figure is productivity: Embrapa estimates annual production of around 100 kg per plant, with vitamin C above 1,000 mg per 100 g of pulp. The plant is naturally low growing and responds well to pruning, which keeps harvest costs down in a crop that is picked many times a year. Its branches carry a distinctive white pigmentation and the flowers open pinkish-white, making it fairly easy to identify in a mixed planting.