Bayer will launch Curbix insecticide to control soybean pests

At this moment, rural producers are preparing for the start of the 2020/2021 soybean harvest, in most parts of Brazil, with excellent expectations of another prosperous cycle and surpassing results. According to estimates by the National Supply Company (Conab), crop production is expected to break a new record, predicted at 133,5 million tons. The projected increase in harvest results from better productivity, which could reach 3,5 kilos per hectare. Another favorable point is that the commercialization of the grain is already well advanced, driven by international demand. In August, 40% of the harvest had already been sold, compared to 20% in the same previous period.

Faced with a promising scenario for the cycle, farmers must pay attention to the management of pests and oilseed diseases to avoid losses in productivity and crop quality. Among soybean farmers' main concerns, bedbugs are considered one of the biggest threats. "The critical period for attack by these insects is during the reproductive stage, extending from pod formation (R3) to the grain filling phase (in R7). However, the producer must consider monitoring the pest from the beginning of the harvest, evaluating the need to anticipate insecticide applications to prevent the growth of the bedbug population and reduce attack pressure", comments the Marketing Manager for Insecticides at Bayer, Renato Carvalho.

This assertive positioning is essential to prevent damage at this most sensitive moment in culture. Furthermore, it is very important to correctly identify the species, including the nymph stage. In soybeans, the brown stink bug (Euschistus heros) is the most worrying: "It is estimated that the presence of the stink bug per square meter in the crop can result in losses of almost one bag per hectare", comments the manager.

Among the worst losses for soybeans are the abortion of pods and the reduction in the weight and quality of the grains, in addition to favoring disease-causing fungi. "In Mato Grosso, for example, the main producer of oilseeds, the pest infestation is already well known, requiring three or more applications to manage stink bugs in soybeans, in addition to subsequent infestations in off-season corn crops", concludes the expert .

Another control option in the 2020/2021 harvest

With this challenge in mind, for the next harvest, Bayer will launch the Curbix insecticide for soybeans. The product will provide a high shock and prolonged residual effect in bed bug control. In addition to its high performance in bed bug management, its use is highly recommended for insecticide resistance management programs, as it is a completely new mechanism of action for managing this pest in Brazil. In this way, it is possible to reduce the selection pressure of stink bugs to the classes of insecticides currently used, providing high levels of control of these pests in the crop.

For Professor Geraldo Papa, from Universidade Estadual Paulista, among the strategies to reduce the incidence of these insects in soybeans, the application of insecticides is the main one. "It is very important that the producer uses a rotation of products with different mechanisms of action to manage pest resistance. This context reinforces the importance of launches, such as Curbix, on the market - with a new active ingredient for insect control, Phenylpyrazole. Without a doubt, having another option to rotate with mixtures of neonicotinoid + pyrethroid will be very good for mitigating losses caused by the brown stink bug, the insect that most worries soybean farmers today", he reinforces.