Soybean planting is advancing in many areas of the country, but Paraná is still a concern

Soybean planting advanced in most parts of the country, mainly due to the rains in Mato Grosso, and reached 22,8% of the planned area, according to consultancy ARC Mercosul announced this Friday (18/10). The percentage increased by 13,3 percentage points in one week and slightly exceeded the average for this time of year, which is 22,7%, according to company data. Planting was delayed in several regions due to dry weather.

In Paraná, where the rains have not yet started, Márcio Bonesi, president of Aprosoja Paraná (Association of Soy Producers), said that many farmers are replanting because they have already lost the seeds planted since September 20th, due to the water situation.

“I passed through the west of the state and saw that there is already a lot of replanting. Some cooperatives are even missing seeds. Many people planted because rain was forecast two weeks ago and lost everything because it didn't rain. The worst thing is that insurance does not cover planting if the soybeans do not reach the minimum size of 15 centimeters,” he said. According to Bonesi, some producers who invested their own resources in planting, without commitments to financing soybeans, are already talking about waiting and planting corn instead of oilseeds to take less risk.

The president of Aprosoja Paraná says, however, that forecasts of rain in the coming weeks have encouraged producers more. “If there is a normal rainfall now, there is still time for us to have a good harvest. Last year was really bad and I think this year could be better. But it’s not common for us to go so many days without rain here in Paraná at this time of year”, he added.

According to the latest survey by the State Department of Agriculture of Paraná, released on Tuesday (15/10), farmers in Paraná had already planted 33% of the planned area. According to the forecast from Instituto ClimaTempo, between the next 20th and 25th there will be rainy conditions in most soybean producing areas, but not in Paraná.

In a Webinar, an event organized by Embrapa Soja, this Friday (18/10), the institution's researcher José Salvador Foloni explained that the problem that has been occurring in Paraná and other producing states is not a generalized drought, but rather the poor distribution of rains.

“We have to think that the problems in soybean farming in tropical and subtropical regions are summer conditions. These are periods of poor rainfall distribution associated with high temperatures. This is what we are experiencing now, with very strong water loss through evapotranspiration (loss of soil water through evaporation and plant transpiration). We have very high water stress. Depending on the phase in which this summer occurs, the level of economic damage varies greatly. There are two moments, at the establishment of the crop and at flowering, and more strongly in the reproductive period of grain filling, in which, depending on the intensity of the summer and the number of days without rain and with high temperatures, the level of damage to the crop is very strong,” he said.

Another researcher who participated in the online event, Sérgio Gonçalves, assessed, however, that the water situation for soybeans in Paraná should improve. “This year, we are short of water to establish the crop. What I think will happen is that, when it starts to rain, it will rain well, and perhaps there will be no problem during the flowering (period), said Gonçalves, who highlighted that, in the last harvest, 9 thousand rural producers in the Paraná had to request guarantee insurance due to crop losses caused by poor rainfall distribution.