Sucking insects and boll weevils are the biggest challenges to agricultural productivity in 2022

Brazilian farmers are producing 272 million tons of grains in 2022, once again contributing to putting food on the tables of 800 million people around the world. This work, however, is complex and its success depends on some uncontrollable factors. In 2021 and in the first months of this year, the drought in the South region and part of the Central-West caused losses of around 15 million tons, in addition to considerably increasing the challenge of insects – especially sucking insects – in crops.

According to the National Union of the Plant Defense Products Industry (Sindiveg), sucking insects in soybeans, corn and sugarcane (whiteflies, leafhoppers and stink bugs) and the cotton boll weevil are the main enemies of agricultural productivity in the current harvest.

“On the one hand, the dry climate reduced the use of fungicides, but was responsible for the considerable increase in the use of insecticides on crops. There are reports of the need for twenty applications against the boll weevil in Bahia”, explains Julio Borges, president of Sindiveg.

According to the survey carried out by Spark exclusively for Sindiveg, spraying against leafhoppers (corn, sugarcane and pastures), for example, increased by 98%. Applications against whiteflies and bedbugs rose by 29% and 25%, respectively.

“Farmers use agricultural pesticides to protect production. Inputs are included in the list of expenses, but they need to be used under penalty of a high incidence of phytosanitary problems and a consequent sudden drop in productivity. It cannot be forgotten that insects, pests and weeds have the potential to reduce the total production of grains, energy and fibers in the country by up to 40%, which would be a disaster of major proportions”, highlights the president of Sindiveg.

The plant defense products industry fulfills its role and invests in research and develops modern and effective solutions to control the most challenging phytosanitary problems. The products go through a rigorous testing and approval process by technical and governmental bodies before being sold, which guarantees control of production enemies, as well as the safety of these inputs for human health and the environment. “It is important to highlight that attention is constant, as we are now seeing with sucking insects and the boll weevil, which due to weather conditions have become even more resistant in the current harvest”, highlights Julio Borges.

Main enemies of agriculture in 2022

• Cotton boll weevil: insect with the highest incidence and with the greatest potential for damage to cotton. If not controlled correctly, it can cause losses of up to 70% of production.

• Soybean whitefly: attacks soybeans and several other crops. It can lead to plant death by reducing the photosynthetic rate of leaves and causing leaf burn by solar radiation.

• Stink bugs (corn and soybeans): generate losses at the beginning of development, reflected in deformed plants, with tillers and/or stained leaves.

• Corn leafhopper: feeds on the plant's sap and lays eggs on the leaf. This infection occurs in early stages of development.

• Sugarcane leafhopper: can cause a reduction of up to 60% in productivity in ratoon sugarcane and 11% in plant sugarcane. The pest also causes a reduction in industrial yields and a loss in the quality of the final product, sugar.

• Pasture leafhoppers: can drastically reduce the availability and quality of forage grasses, reducing the support capacity of pastures, with consequent loss of nutritional value for cattle.