App helps producers in Bahia reduce pesticide use

By keeping an eye on their smartphones, cotton and soybean farmers in Western Bahia can reduce their use of pesticides, reducing production costs and the risk of environmental damage. On their cell phone or computer screen, a tool shows when it's actually necessary to apply products to their crops, combining weather data and statistics on the occurrence of two crop threats: cotton leaf spot and Asian soybean rust.

Developed by Embrapa in partnership with the Bahian Cotton Producers Association (ABAPA), the tool operates through an app and an online platform. Called MonitoraOeste, the technology initially only included information on two fungal diseases, which can cause crop losses of over 75%. Later, it also began to gather information on the main cotton pest, the boll weevil, which can reduce harvests by up to 87%.

Abapa monitors the presence of the three diseases in the field, including through traps. All data from these surveys is entered into MonitoraOeste, which allows producers to quickly view the disease and boll weevil occurrence levels in their area on their cell phones. The system also generates notifications for each new occurrence and gathers data from weather stations installed in the region. With this information, the technology uses a mathematical model to analyze it and generate favorability maps. These maps indicate, in real time, the likelihood of the diseases emerging and developing in each period.

The data allows producers to decide when to apply pesticides based on local conditions. Embrapa Territorial (SP) researcher Julio Cesar Bogiani explains that three factors are necessary for the proliferation of diseases in crops: the presence of the causative agent, the presence of hosts (the plants), and favorable weather conditions. MonitoraOeste gathers data and transforms it into information about these conditions to show when the environment is most conducive to disease development. This helps producers make informed decisions.

Without this information, farmers end up adopting a fixed schedule defined by product manufacturers. With the app's favorableness indexes, they can apply more rationally. In years with a low probability of disease occurrence, they can reduce one, two, or more applications while maintaining the effectiveness of phytosanitary control, explains the researcher. Bogiani also highlights the real-time data availability, a key feature of MonitoraOeste for assertive producer decision-making.

Lower environmental impact with reduced emissions

MonitoraOeste is available for free use by farmers in the region. "We're bringing this app functionality to everyone in the production chain, showing them that they should download it for consultation at any time," announces Antônio Carlos Araújo, manager of Abapa's phytosanitary program. He highlights the usefulness of having maps, such as the one showing the occurrence of the cotton boll weevil, in the palm of their hand, to know when to act and avoid losses, whether from crop infestation due to a lack of action when necessary or from wasted products applied at the wrong time.

There are other benefits, such as increased productivity and reduced resistance to fungicides in disease-causing fungi. Abapa technicians, interviewed by Embrapa during the technology's impact assessment process, emphasized its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving habitats and genetic resources. Reducing the number of pesticide applications reduces the use of fossil-fuel-powered machinery and reduces the risk of contamination of environments and people.

Embrapa researcher Celina Maki Takemura highlights the network of people involved as the product's strength. "Producers, technicians, researchers, and institutions exchanging information, helping each other, and keeping the system running. This constant collaboration is what keeps the tool alive and relevant. It's not just an app—it's a collective effort," she observes. "The project was born from a real demand in the field and continues to be developed alongside those who use it. This makes a difference," adds the scientist.

"The importance the technicians interviewed attach to the system was clear," says researcher Juan Diego Ferelli de Souza, from Embrapa Territorial's Technology Transfer department. "The Monitora Oeste impact assessment report demonstrates the importance of practical and reliable solutions to assist rural producers, supporting the decision-making process and contributing to increased productivity and reduced production costs and risks."

How MonitoraOeste works

The system has two versions: a mobile app, available for Android and iOS operating systems, and a platform for viewing data in a geographic information system (WebGIS), accessible on computers and tablets. Users can search online by municipality, crop type, and phytosanitary center, obtaining downloadable maps and graphs. WebGIS provides higher-resolution images.

By registering with the system, farmers receive real-time alerts on their cell phones about disease occurrences that pose risks to their crops. Furthermore, notifications include weather conditions favorable to the presence and spread of pathogens, facilitating quick and assertive decisions. Agrometeorological information, such as maps of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), albedo, evapotranspiration, and biomass, are available for consultation, aiding agricultural planning. Data collection is performed by a network that integrates local weather stations and spore-hunting traps installed at 13 strategic locations.

The system uses disease-specific mathematical models: the Asian rust model was adapted from studies by the Anti-Rust Consortium, coordinated by Embrapa Soybeans (PR), while the Ramularia leaf spot model was adjusted with regional data by Embrapa Cotton (PB). The models generate climate-favorable maps that indicate the ideal time for pesticide application, avoiding waste or delays in control.

In addition to being a source of information for farmers, MonitoraOeste also constitutes a database for future studies on diseases and pests, whose occurrences it records.

Partnerships

MonitoraOeste is the result of a Technical and Financial Cooperation Agreement between Embrapa, Abapa, and the Foundation for Research and Development Support (Faped), with funding from the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA). The Bahia Association of Farmers and Irrigators (Aiba), the Bahia Foundation, the Bahia Agricultural Defense Agency (Adab), and consulting firms also contribute to the user network.

Led by Embrapa Territorial, the development of the tool integrated two other initiatives of the company and partners to combat these two threats: the Anti-Rust Consortium, coordinated by Embrapa Soybeans (PR), and the Ramularia Research Network, led by Embrapa Cotton (PB). It also involved partnerships with Embrapa Digital Agriculture (SP) and Embrapa Coastal Tablelands (SE).