New strategies for cotton management in the transgenic plant environment

Despite investments, insects and pests continue to be one of the main problems for cotton cultivation and cause major economic losses every year. The use of systemic and other protective products influences production costs. To produce one hectare of cotton, in Brazil, it currently costs US$2.200,00, with the cost for weed control being 9% to 10% of this total, that is, around US$200,00. XNUMX per hectare.

Weed control in cotton cultivation is complex as it causes very high damage to the productivity and quality of the harvested product. The cotton plant is highly sensitive to the use of herbicides and, with current labor rules in the country, it is uneconomical to use the practice of mechanical and manual control that was adopted in the recent past.

With the aim of contributing to greater protection and safety in cotton farming, some private companies also bring together specialists who can develop solutions to adapt the management of cotton crops within an environment of transgenic plants, in addition to combating the main pests of this crop.

The challenges are great. For each hectare of cotton, there are around four million floral structures between the 35 and 120 days of the cotton cycle – that is, a garden ripe for pest attack. Diseases from this type of planting can cause losses of up to 50% in production and a decrease in fiber quality.

Herbicide management solutions include dicamba technology, Glufosinate, Roundup Ready, crop rotation in different periods and post-harvest desiccation. In the fight against insects, whiteflies, weevils, mites and aphids remain the main targets. To this end, the destruction of cultural remains and volunteer plants, monitoring, innovation in application techniques, as well as new products and the use of transgenic technologies are proposed. For fungicides, the lack of monitoring, the loss of effectiveness of current products on the market and the excessive use of a single control modality are the main risks. As a possible solution, research is being studied to develop new products and search for new plant varieties with greater resistance to diseases.

The main care that the producer has to take is in relation to the cultivation of the refuge area. This area must be a maximum of 800 meters away from the area cultivated with Bt transgenics and be an area of ​​at least 20% of the size in relation to the transgenic area. This observance is due to the protection of the Bt protein, avoiding its resistance, as the objective is to produce moths sensitive to this protein in this refuge area.

If our producer adopts all the most recommended good management practices, such as eliminating chemical, physical and biological soil limitations; Applying all the knowledge he has about the cotton plant (such as light and humidity) in addition to his knowledge of photosynthesis, he has a lot to gain. The increase in productivity could exceed 50% of current Brazilian productivity (which is 250 arrobas per hectare of seed cotton). This productivity could reach up to 375 arrobas per hectare of seed cotton.