Embrapa Soja promotes Summer Field Day

Embrapa Soja and Fundação Meridional are hosting the Summer Field Day on March 6th, from 8 am to 12 pm, at the Technology Showcase in Londrina. Registration is free and now open. The program includes six technical stations focusing on crop management, crop diversification, soil health, and cultivar demonstrations.

Among the highlights, the session on stink bug management presents the use of *Telenomus podisi*, a parasitoid of the eggs of the brown stink bug and the green stink bug, pests of the soybean and corn systems. Researcher Adeney de Freitas Bueno reports that the biological agent is already commercially available. The proposal aims to guide producers on positioning and integration into integrated pest management. According to him, its adoption reduces insecticide pressure, preserves natural enemies, and increases the efficiency of control throughout the growing season.

In the "low-carbon soybean" exhibit, researcher Henrique Debiasi highlights the importance of species diversification in the production system. The proposal includes the installation of a trench for visualizing root systems. Grasses such as brachiaria contribute with fine and dense roots, which favor water retention and soil structuring. Legumes form larger biopores, increase macroporosity, and promote drainage and aeration.

In "Good Practices and Soil Health," researcher Marco Antonio Nogueira presents results from an experiment conducted nine years ago. In a crop with water restriction, soybeans after single-crop corn produced 3.000 kg/ha. In the corn-brachiaria intercropping system, the yield reached 3.400 kg/ha. With inoculation using Azospirillum, it reached 3.800 kg/ha. The gain compared to the traditional system reached approximately 800 kg/ha. The data indicate greater enzymatic activity and greater colonization by mycorrhizal fungi in the intercropping system, with repercussions on water and nutrient absorption.

The program also includes a station on weeds in the 2025/2026 crop season and demonstrations of soybean and bean cultivars. Among the soybeans, the varieties include BRS 546, BRS 539, BRS 559RR, BRS 1064 IPRO, BRS 1056 IPRO, BRS 2361 I2X, and BRS 2058 I2X. For beans, cultivars from the carioca and black bean groups will be presented, such as BRS ELO FC424, BRS FC429, BRS FC415, BRS FP426, BRS FP417, and BRS FP327.