Climate reduces pest pressure on soybeans in Mato Grosso in the 2024/25 Harvest

The 2024/25 soybean harvest in Mato Grosso recorded fewer pest problems compared to the previous year, but with some specific challenges. A more regular climate year contributed to reducing infestations, according to Paulo Degrande, a retired professor at the Federal University of Grande Dourados (UFGD), who annually monitors the pest situation throughout Brazil.

"It was a relatively less problematic year in terms of pest control for this legume," he said during the 25th Soybean Technical Meeting, promoted by the MT Foundation, in Cuiabá.

In 2023/24, the climate favored White fly and intensified the presence of bedbugs at the end of the cycle.

On the other hand, in the 2024/25 harvest “we had the presence of caterpillars at the beginning, adult bugs later and, in some locations, problems with soybean mealybugs”, said the professor. He also pointed out the occurrence of Spodoptera frugiperda close to flowering and an increase in the green-bellied stink bug in relation to the brown stink bug, which could increase the risk in areas with second-season corn cultivation.

These two pests are a cause for concern due to their persistence at the end of the cycle and the risk of spreading to subsequent crops, such as corn and cotton. “At the end of the cycle, control of these bugs may be abandoned, which could have a direct impact on the subsequent harvest,” warned Degrande.

Integrated pest management has been advancing in the state. According to the expert, awareness of the right time to apply chemical or biological pesticides is growing thanks to more careful monitoring, in addition to the search for greater precision and quality in applications. “Teams have become more qualified. Products, processes and services (people) of the highest quality make a big difference,” he emphasized.

Among the most common errors in the field, Degrande points out unintentional failures, such as insufficient control at the end of the cycle of some pests and the presence of ratoons, regrowth and tigueras, which affect subsequent crops, such as corn and cotton, which favor the survival of pests such as the green-bellied stink bug and the cotton boll weevil.

The arrival of biological pesticides in management has been positive. “Biological products are important for achieving higher levels of sustainability. As long as they are functional and accompanied by quality control, this is very welcome,” the professor highlighted. He sees a trend towards strengthening the most reliable brands of biological products with high quality standards, which contributes to eliminating low-efficacy products from the market, as if separating the “wheat from the chaff.”

For the next harvest, attention turns to expanding a second generation of soybeans Bt and new insecticides. “We will have new tools in use. But it is important to remember that good technology is that which is well used within good agricultural practices, for which trained people are essential”, he concluded.