Maintaining vigilance: the biggest advantage in tomato productivity

One of the crops of great importance within the Hortifruti segment is tomatoes, with approximately 4 million tons being produced in 2021, according to Markets (UK) Limited, and it can be even more productive by adopting some management methods . Therefore, FMC, as a science company focused on agriculture, has been developing more sustainable technologies, aiming to increase the productive potential and quality of the fruit, as well as assisting in technical support so that the producer can correctly use the technologies and be more successful on the field.

Tomato cultivation requires a lot of water and is normally carried out during the hottest periods, as they are ideal for preparing the soil and transplanting seedlings. Before transplanting, the seedlings must be treated, as Luis Grandeza, Crops Manager at FMC, says: "We need to take the already protected seedlings to the field, so that there is no severe attack from pests such as whiteflies, thrips and aphids. When it comes to tomato cultivation, we know that they will be largely responsible for transmitting viruses to the plants, reducing productivity. We may not even see it at first, but the whitefly is there", he explains.

In the tomato production cycle, which can be 90 or 120 days, depending on the variety planted, the most important thing is not to leave entry “windows” for the whitefly, so taking the vaccinated seedling will help with the residual effect on the tomato. post-transplant period.

Losses from an insect that causes viruses in plants can be high and, according to EMBRAPA data, can reach 100%, so the guideline is to maintain vigilance through monitoring, and also always have an organized application notebook on hand, to so that the producer can act preventively.

Monitoring + Traceability of agricultural pesticides are two very important points, as, according to Grandeza, this could be what will determine greater productive success, and can help the producer to save on their operational costs. Within monitoring, each one with their skills, can choose to use traps, beating cloth or other to observe the presence of pests and thus, according to the number of individuals, enter with correct technologies, at the most convenient moment. timely, so that the most effective control can be carried out.

Regarding traceability, the point is that in culture there are numerous applications of products in the field and therefore, the producer must be very attentive to waiting periods and also to the rotation of active ingredients to avoid resistance. "If we use products with the same active ingredient many times in a row, there is a risk of losing the efficiency of the products and we may, for example, reach the next harvest no longer being able to control that whitefly as before. The Verimark® program and Benevia® is an innovative solution, as it contains the active ingredient Cyaxypyr, and should be used at the beginning of cultivation to protect against the attack of the main pests and promote vigor in the crop", advises Grandeza.

FMC has solutions and technologies that support this, after all, Verimark® is a product that can be used in seedling trays or in the soil after transplanting and Benevia®, which must be used in foliar application with a focus on large borer control. , small borer, leafminer fly, whitefly and diamondback moth, which despite not causing viruses, has also been a cause of a lot of headaches for tomato cultivation, causing considerable losses.

To bring even more clarity, we list the 4 main managements below:

1) Treat the seedlings: get the seedlings vaccinated to prevent insect attacks;

2) Traceability of agricultural pesticides: making the field notebook with planning pesticide applications.

3) Monitoring: place traps systematically spread across each plot;

4) Apply products with different active ingredients to prevent pest resistance.