Fertiláqua guides producers on Integrated Pest and Disease Management

Integrated Pest and Disease Management consists of adopting measures that aim to keep pests and pathogens below the level of economic damage, through technologies that will not eliminate pests completely, but rather reduce the population of these pathogens to below the level of control; With these measures to combat phytosanitary threats, there are gains in the sustainability of agricultural production.

“It is a reality that is already happening. We can see this management with soil conditioners, which improve the soil environment, the soil-plant relationship and leaf nutrition itself, helping the plant to be more resistant to pest attacks. It is a practice that is increasingly adopted, as many benefits are observed on a daily basis, which will consequently lead to greater productivity”, comments Josué Fogaça, market development coordinator at Fertiláqua.

With each harvest, the producer realizes that more management tools are important, not just the use of fungicides. It is important to have a more nourished plant, in a better environmental condition, to stay alive in relation to soil diseases; the operational issue of some products, in relation to the condition of the syrup in mixtures with other active ingredients; and the resistance of the main pathogens to the main molecules on the market; All of this impacts plant health and final productivity.

The efficiency of pest and disease management largely depends on the technical level of the producer, or the consultant who assists him in managing the crop, whether or not to adopt market management options. “Managing diseases is not just about fighting pathogens after they settle in or with preventive applications of fungicides, it is about providing favorable conditions for the plant, whether through cultural management, soil management or the supply of important nutrients that act in plant defense or greater resistance” , explains Fogaça.

The application of pesticides with greater assertiveness must be done using good equipment and respecting important factors of Application Technology (nozzles, schedule, climatic conditions, adjuvants), in addition to the rotation of molecules, protectors, resistance inducers, among others, in order to obtain more efficiency of chemical products and, consequently, combat pests and diseases.

“The producer's vision must be sustainable, managing the entire system (soil-root-aerial part) adopting the different tools, providing conditions for greater resistance to the plant. This must be the way; and some more technical producers have already noticed and started adopting these methods and this type of management”, concludes the coordinator.

More information about products and management solutions on the website www.fertilaqua.com.