This study aimed to characterize the wheat crop in north region of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. It was used data set from official wheat cropping area, grain production and yield, from 2000 to 2008, to the shires that compose the regions of Caxias do Sul, Erechim, Passo Fundo, Ijuí and Santa Rosa. The data set was obtained from Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Considering winter cereals cropping areas, wheat are the main crop established in the regions during the autumn-winter-spring season. Cropping area estimations indicated that the analyzed regions concentrate the wheat production. The regions produced more than 80% of state wheat grain production. Since the technological trends weren't registered, the variations in the regional wheat yield were associated with the meteorological conditions during crop cycle. In Rio Grande do Sul State, there was a wheat yield variation in east-west direction: higher yields and low variation coefficients were obtained in the eastern portion (Caxias do Sul and Erechim). The cluster analysis identified tree groups of shires with similar wheat yield: low yield (average 1.444kg ha-1), medium yield (1.746kg ha-1) and high yield (2.283kg ha-1).
Triticum aestivum; technological trends; cluster analysis
