Crop diversification is a way to increase productivity, says researcher

The technical challenges and opportunities to improve the already consolidated soybean/second-crop corn production system in Brazil were presented by researcher Henrique Debiasi, from Embrapa Soja (Londrina-PR), during the XXXIII National Corn and Sorghum Congress. The expansion of the system in the country enabled high productivity for soybeans. According to data from the Mato Grosso Foundation, of 29 bags per hectare in the 2014/2015 harvest, when only the legume was cultivated, without a successor crop, the second harvest corn made it possible to increase soybean productivity by 100%, with 58 bags per hectare .

“The technological advances associated with the expansion of the system are the result of investment in research, both public and private”, reinforces Debiasi. In this aspect, according to him, are the direct planting system, the development of short-cycle soybean cultivars adapted to early sowing, corn hybrids that are earlier and more adapted to sowing in the second harvest, the adaptation of cereal cultivation practices for that time, the synergism between crops (legumes and grasses) and agricultural mechanization.

However, the continuous use of the same production system has already presented challenges to the producer. “Physical soil degradation, difficult-to-control weeds and increased damage associated with diseases, such as nematodes, are some of the consequences of adopting and repeating a system over the years”, he ponders. One of the solutions, according to the researcher, is the diversification of cultures. “The second harvest soybean/corn system revolutionized Brazilian agriculture. Today, the big challenge is to increase biological diversity and the supply of straw and roots, with special attention to nutrient balance”, he reinforces.

Among the possible solutions highlighted by the researcher are the selection, for the second harvest, of crops such as sorghum, wheat, millet, oats, rye, brachiaria and forage crops of the genus Panicum, among others. “These crops can be introduced in parts of the area in successive agricultural years, in the second harvest periods, improving soil health and bringing even more profitability to the producer”, he states. According to him, crop diversification, with different successions, and crop rotation are practices that allow consistent and proven gains for the producer.