Soy void begins today in Bahia

The Bahia Agricultural Defense Agency (Adab) established, through Ordinance No. 56 of May 31, 2024, the soybean fallow period, which will extend from June 26 to September 24. The measure follows the guidelines of Ordinance No. 1.111 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) and its main objective is to combat Asian rust, a disease caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi.

During these 90 days, producers are prohibited from planting or maintaining soybean plants at any stage of development. “This is one of the most important phytosanitary measures for controlling Asian soybean rust, the main pest that affects these crops. Therefore, our objective is to reduce the disease inoculum as much as possible, minimizing negative impacts during the following harvest”, explains Vinícios Videira, director of Plant Defense at Adab.

The implementation of this measure is a fundamental strategy within the National Program for the Control of Asian Soybean Rust (PNCFS). The program also aims to reduce the number of fungicide applications, reducing the pest's resistance to the chemicals used to control it.

In Bahia, the definition of the sanitary void and soybean sowing dates was the result of a partnership between several entities and institutions. The Regional Soy Technical Committee (CTR) was the forum where these decisions were agreed and, subsequently, submitted to Mapa. This cooperation included support from the Association of Irrigating Farmers of Bahia (Aiba), Association of Cotton Producers (Abapa), Foundation for Support to Research and Development of Western Bahia (Fundação Ba), Association of Seed Producers of the States of Matopiba ( Aprosem), Association of Soybean and Corn Producers of the State of Bahia (Aprosoja) and Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of Bahia (Faeb).

“Unity is fundamental to the success of our work. The entire production sector and government institutions came together within the scope of the Soy CTR to evaluate, in a joint and collaborative way, the information and technical data on the impact on soybean crops”, comments Videira, highlighting the severity of Asian Rust, which can cause losses of 10% to 90% of production.

Sanitation vacuuming is an essential practice to break the life cycle of the fungus that causes Asian Rust. Without host plants available during this period, the amount of inoculum present in the environment is drastically reduced, thus reducing disease pressure in the subsequent harvest. Furthermore, the measure contributes to the sustainability of agriculture, by reducing the need for agricultural pesticides, promoting more responsible and effective management.