Planting soybeans in February reduces the use of pesticides by half

The reduction in the number of pesticide applications on crops was one of the results of research into the use of biological and multi-site fungicides in the fight against Asian Rust. The study was carried out last year by Fundação Rio Verde and Instituto Agris and demonstrates the technical and economic viability of growing soybeans in February. According to agronomist, researcher and professor Erlei Mello Reis, responsible for the research, the difference drops from eight applications in December to four in February. The data was presented at an event held by the Association of Soy and Corn Producers of Mato Grosso (Aprosoja-MT) on Wednesday (26.02), at the entity's headquarters.

The research makes it clear that soybean planting in February respects the sanitary void. In addition, the cultivation will be from seeds for personal use, which, grown during this period, have higher quality. Professor Erlei explains that 28 experimental areas were selected within the State to carry out the research. “We came to the conclusion that the intensity of rust in the February cultivation was much lower, consequently there was less use of the pesticide, which is better for the environment. In addition to these advantages, the quality of soybean seed grown in February is much better. These data are irrefutable and can only be challenged with another survey, which is why February soybeans should be released,” he argued.

For the president of Aprosoja, Antonio Galvan, the research demonstrates the viability of growing soybeans in February. The proposal is to bring experiences that have been practiced for years in the field and have been successful. “This is more than proven with this research and what we want here is to look for other alternatives to remove this soy product without the use of chemical fungicides, bringing our own experiences, as presented here by Rogério Vian, from Goiás, as happens in Paraguay”, highlighted . 

According to Galvan, the entity raises awareness of the reality that is happening in the field, especially regarding the lack of innovations on the part of research companies related to the inefficiency of fungicides.

In addition to technicians from Aprosoja Mato Grosso and producers who planted soybeans in February, specialists on the topic participated in the meeting, such as producer Cassiano Seraguci from the State of Bahia. “We carried out work to stabilize the crop with increased plant resistance, which led to a reduction in the use of chemicals, resulting in greater productivity. This represents more savings for the producer and the environment”, he pointed out.

For Cassiano, Aprosoja-MT is on the right path. “We carried out the experiment in February, in fact in the busy period from October to March, it is a set of attitudes for better development of the soil and the plant, because the plant is well, it catches less disease and consequently we use less fungicides to combat rust. ”, he stated.

Producer Rogério Vian, who came from Goiás especially for the event, believes that planting in February demonstrates more advantages, given that in December the cases of Asian Rust detected, also in his region, are higher. “I think this initiative by Aprosoja-MT is valid, in our region we have also seen this precisely because of the microclimate which is much more favorable, so the pressure from Rust is much lower in February”, he said.

He highlights the importance of multisites since the use of the same fungicides is resulting in a loss of efficiency. “I have been changing my management for 14 years and for seven years I have been applying multisites, interspersing the use with biologicals. Today I am an organic producer of soy, corn and beans, using multisítios, which is the Bordeaux mixture used for over 180 years in farming. It’s simple and any producer can do it on their property,” he explained. 

Rogério Vian also points out that this practice managed to ensure that the harvest had zero chemical applications in both the organic and conventional areas. “In addition to better disease control, which is ideal, we managed to reduce production costs by 50%,” he concluded.

Also invited to the meeting were the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), Public Ministry of the State of Mato Grosso (MPMT), Mato Grosso Agricultural Defense Institute (Indea), Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa), Casa Civil, State Secretariat for Development (Sedec), and State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema). Only Indea sent a representative.