Apply Fruit Circuit Program arrives in Jundiaí and Louveira

After a meeting held at Jundiaí (SP) city hall, between the local Department of Agriculture and scientific researcher Hamilton Ramos, the Aplique Bem Program begins to be implemented in the Circuito das Frutas region. The initiative, a partnership between the company Arysta LifeScience and the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agronomic Institute (CEA-IAC), brings a training and participatory research platform to rural properties, with an emphasis on the safe and sustainable use of agrochemicals.

According to the researcher, coordinator of Aplique Bem, this month the program team is carrying out the first evaluations of sprayers in crop areas in Jundiaí and Louveira. From January next year, Aplique Bem should reach 8 more cities in the Fruit Circuit: Atibaia, Indaiatuba, Itatiba, Itupeva, Jarinu, Morungaba, Valinhos and Vinhedo, in the Southeast of the State of São Paulo.

“It is a region made up mainly of small properties, which accounts for around 40% of national fruit production”, highlights Ramos. According to the researcher, Aplique Bem will provide producers with technical conditions and support materials so that the applications of products against fruit pests, diseases and weeds are more effective from an agroeconomic point of view.

“Applied appropriately, agrochemicals have a beneficial effect on the quality of crops and the profitability of producers. The incorrect use of these products exposes rural workers to substances that can be harmful to their health”, explains Hamilton Ramos. “Properties with a tradition in table fruit growing will benefit, including grapes, persimmons, figs, guava, strawberries, acerola, plums and peaches.”

Ramos also points out that Aplique Bem training will have the structural support of two state-of-the-art mobile laboratories, mounted on pickup trucks, called 'TechMóveis'.

Participatory research 

According to Hamilton Ramos, the implementation of training in the Circuito das Frutas involves the participation of groups of rural producers appointed by the city council of Jundiaí (SP), the city where the IAC Engineering and Automation Center is located. “These partners will also help us share knowledge, providing their properties for 'field days' bringing together producers in the region.”

Aimed at small, medium and large rural producers, Aplique Bem completes 12 years of activities in 2019. By the end of this month, more than 300 events of this kind will have been held, for almost 5 thousand participants. Free and not linked to commercial products or brands, Aplique Bem has already covered 22 Brazilian states, as well as countries such as Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Colombia, Ghana, Mali, Mexico and Vietnam.