Application provides guidance on planting soybeans in the mid-north

The Nutri Meio-Norte application, launched in May this year, is an important tool for soybean producers in Piauí and Maranhão to implement the planting of the 2020 harvest. Soybean sowing in these two states always takes place from October to February, depending on the volume of rain.

The first of its kind developed at Embrapa, the technology brings speed, economy and precision to the management of a soybean crop, as the crop requires inputs priced in dollars. Nutri Meio-Norte allows, based on leaf analysis, to know the appropriate fertilization for soybean cultivation, showing the nutritional data of the plants, such as excess nutrients and others with deficiency, generating nutritional imbalance.

Managing the technology is simple, as explained by researcher Henrique Antunes, who manages the platform. "First, the producer has to carry out a foliar analysis of the crop, carried out by a specialized laboratory. After opening the application, the farmer must enter data obtained in the laboratory analysis of samples from his crop, such as the quantities of macro and micronutrients found. Then, he must choose the DRIS or CND analysis method and click the send button”.

Soon after, the nutritional indexes will appear in bar and radar graph format. He must then click on “generate report” to open a form to be filled out about property data, in plot or crop, such as planted area, date of collection of the diagnostic sheet and any management carried out in the area. To finish, the producer must click on “download”. As a result, the results generated are stored on the device in the form of a report that can be shared via email or messaging programs, such as WhatsApp.

The application is available for free on the internet for Android (Play Store) and iOS (App Store), and is recommended for Maranhão and Piauí, as the database that gave rise to the tool has samples from these two states.  

Production in the Mid-North

In 2019, soybean production in Maranhão increased from 2,7 million tons to 2,8 million tons, from a harvest of 765.844 hectares, according to IBGE's Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production. Piauí, on the other hand, decreased production by 5,82%. This year the State achieved a production of 2,3 million tons, on 765.944 hectares. In 2018, in an area of ​​711.123 hectares, Piauí production was 2,4 million tons of soybeans.  

According to the IBGE Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production, released this Tuesday 10th, in Teresina, the participation of soybeans in grain production in Piauí this year was 52,62%. Corn came in second place with 41,53%. The other crops were in the following positions: beans – 1,78%, rice -177%, sorghum – 1,42% and herbaceous cotton – 0,87%.