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The Rio Grande do Sul (RS) Rust Monitoring Program began its activities for the 2024-2025 harvest last week. With the installation of 74 collectors in soybean crops throughout the state, the program aims to prevent and control Asian rust, the main disease affecting crops in Brazil.
According to Elder dal Prá, an agricultural engineer, rural extension agent at Emater/RS and coordinator of Plant Health Protection, Asian rust can cause productivity losses of 10 to 90%, especially in years with favorable weather conditions for its development. "It is important that farmers adopt correct management practices and participate in programs like this one, which provide the necessary information for the correct application of phytosanitary products," says Elder.
The RS Rust Monitor provides weekly information on the occurrence of spores of the fungus that causes Asian rust, allowing farmers to access updated data on areas with the highest risk of infection. Through the program's website – hosted on the Emater/RS page (https://www.emater.tche.br/site/monitora-ferrugem-rs) – it is possible to identify, based on data from the previous week, the locations most prone to the disease. In addition, a risk map, updated daily, provides information on the weather conditions that favor the incidence of the disease.
In its fifth year of operation, the program has the collaboration of several institutions, including partners from the private sector, universities and research centers. "The benefits are significant for farmers, who can choose the right product and the right time for application, reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of rust control. As a result, farmers can expect higher productivity and better income on their properties," Elder highlights.
The RS Rust Monitor is a program that encompasses several institutions, coordinated by Emater/RS and the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation (Seapi). “It is important to emphasize that this is a multi-agency effort. We have the support of UFSM, Ufrgs, Unipampa, federal institutes and even some cooperatives that participate in this program,” emphasizes Andreia Mara Rotta de Oliveira, a doctor in phytopathology at Seapi.
The program is a tool to guarantee the sustainability and profitability of soybean crops in Rio Grande do Sul, contributing to the strengthening of agriculture in the state.
Management of Asian soybean rust should include strategies such as the use of early-cycle cultivars and sowing at the beginning of the recommended season; reducing the sowing window, choosing cultivars with resistance genes, adopting a sanitary gap, monitoring the crop and the region from the beginning of crop development, and using fungicides when symptoms appear or as a preventive measure. Chemical control does not eradicate the disease, since fungicides are not 100% effective and their application does not provide 100% coverage of the plants.
“Monitora Ferrugem RS has been providing the necessary qualification for the management of Asian rust, combining early detection with support for decision-making in control, thus reducing the possibilities of resistance to the fungus. Phakopsora pachyrhizi and allowing less losses to the producer”, concludes the agronomist and state agricultural inspector at Seapi, Ricardo Augusto Feliceti.
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