Technical meeting debates solutions for controlling sugarcane borer and quality of sugarcane fields

Around 100 professionals from the sugar-energy sector, linked to mills and companies supplying sugar cane, participated last Thursday, 24th, in the DuPont Altacor event, held in the city of Ribeirão Preto, SP. The technological meeting discussed new solutions aimed at controlling the sugarcane borer and agricultural practices recommended to increase the quality of the raw material in sugarcane fields. DuPont's guest, journalist William Waack, gave a talk on the national political-economic panorama.

According to DuPont's marketing manager for sugarcane, agronomist Christian Menegatti, the main technical highlights of the meeting were new technologies for crop management, developed by company researchers, which allow efficient control of sugarcane borer. -sugarcane, a pest that has caused the most damage to the production chain.

One of the works, explains the agronomist, includes the application of the latest generation insecticide Altacor on sugarcane ratoons, using high pressure equipment. According to Menegatti, the method has already been tested in several sugar and ethanol producing units in the Center-South of Brazil, with surprising results.

In the final phase of development by the company's researchers, is the application of Altacor in pre-sprouted seedling (MPB) nurseries. “The implementation of the sugarcane field is the phase of the culture that concentrates the biggest investments on the part of the farmer - soil preparation, nematicides, fertilizers, herbicides, in addition to the seedling itself. In the case of pre-sprouted seedlings, the cost to the producer is even higher compared to traditional seedlings. The Altacor insecticide offers protection to MPBs against the main pests in the initial phase of nursery implementation, providing a better stand for the crop, free from borers. The product results in more healthy seedlings per hectare”, highlights Menegatti.

Menegatti points out that the Altacor insecticide is a cutting-edge technology, applied annually to more than two million hectares of sugarcane cultivation. According to him, the product is selective to natural enemies of the sugarcane borer, has high insecticidal potency and provides a prolonged period of pest control.

The meeting's agenda also included lectures given by renowned consultants Leila Dinardo, Luiz Carlos Almeida and Jose Francisco Garcia, who discussed borer control and the importance of selectivity of insecticides to the natural enemies of pests. DuPont's technical team also gave presentations on the application of the Curavial ripening machine, a technology that according to the company improves the quality of the raw material in sugarcane fields to be harvested at the beginning and end of the harvest.

According to DuPont, this product, present on the Brazilian market for around 20 years, is described as a plant growth maturator or harvest manager. Its application, says the company, allows the harvesting of sugar cane to be brought forward and the sucrose content of the crop increased.