North Coast of SC has record rice production in 2024/25

The municipalities of the North Coast of Santa Catarina harvested more than 291 thousand tons of rice, which represents an increase of 4,23% compared to the previous year and sets a record for the region. The numbers demonstrate the vitality of rice farming in Santa Catarina and the good performance of the cultivars developed by Epagri, but they also pose a series of challenges to the production sector, such as how to dispose of excess production. This and other topics were discussed on June 27, during the 25th Seminar for the Evaluation of the Rice Harvest in the North Coast, held at the Epagri Experimental Station in Itajaí.

Representatives from the entire production chain were present at the event. The results of 25 Technical Reference Units (URTs) were presented, which are rural properties selected by Epagri to demonstrate, validate and disseminate agricultural technologies. Seven rice cultivars developed by Epagri were planted on these properties to assess productivity. SCBRS126 Dueto achieved the highest yield (12.035 bags), followed by SCS122 Miura (10.631) and SCS127 CL (10.551).

Epagri/Cepa socioeconomic analyst Glaucia Padrão provided a broad overview of rice farming in Santa Catarina, revealing production performance by municipality, cultivars planted, incidence of pests and diseases, production costs and the relationship between these costs and the leasing of areas for planting. The North Coast is the region with the highest rate of leased areas (55,9%), compared to the South (53,1%) and Alto Vale do Itajaí (48,3%). And this could be a problem in a year of excess production and falling prices. 

“Productivity in the municipalities of the North Coast ranged from 160 to 180 bags, and the decision to lease should take into account not only this information, but also market prices. The higher the productivity and/or the prices charged, the greater the capacity to lease. However, in the current scenario, with prices close to R$60,00 per 50 kg bag, it is no longer feasible to bear the costs of leasing,” he warns. The good news is that, due to the fall in the dollar during the period, production costs fell by 7,56%, allowing some farmers to avoid going into the red. 

“One way to minimize the effects of surplus rice is to stagger sales throughout the year and not sell everything at harvest time, when prices are lower,” she recommends. However, the researcher knows that many farmers sell all of their production to have capital and be able to access credit for the next harvest. “Leasing is justifiable when the farmer has a lot of machinery and needs more land to produce, but it is always necessary to take into account the cost of production to make ends meet,” she reiterates.

Heavy herbicide use makes weeds more resistant

The second researcher to present her studies was Cristiane Mara Fiedler, based on an experiment carried out at Fazenda Limoeiro, in São João do Itaperiú, together with the recently retired Epagri researcher, José Alberto Noldin. The research analyzed the performance of herbicides for controlling Scirpus Mucronatus, a species of weed. The team tested seven herbicides and eight combinations of products. 

Cristiane listed the most common problems in the activity, such as the lack of crop rotation, the repetition of cultivation systems and 'ratooning', which is the use of regrown seeds. These cause damage to the soil and grain quality, in addition to favoring weeds. She also gave examples of other countries, where the abusive use of herbicides made invasive plants more resistant. "Intensive use selects plants, which become tolerant to the product," she added.

Epagri phytopathologist Klaus Konrad Scheuermann presented research on the chemical control of rice diseases and the appropriate time of application to avoid leaving residues on the grain (withdrawal period before harvest), which makes exporting to countries with stricter legislation, such as those in the European Union, unfeasible. He evaluated 10 types of fungicides for controlling the spot in SCBRS126 Dueto rice crops and compared the cost of applying the fungicide between tractors and drones, which demonstrated the best cost-benefit ratio. 

Klaus drew the attention of farmers who were interested in purchasing a drone for agricultural purposes to comply with Mapa Ordinance No. 298/2021, which establishes rules for remotely piloted aircraft. The drone must be registered with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa), National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) and Department of Airspace Control (Decea). In addition, the operator must take a course on remote agricultural aviation application and submit monthly reports to Sipeagro, a system linked to Mapa.