Tropical Phytosanitary Network evaluates the efficiency of fungicides in corn crops

The Tropical Plant Health Network (RFT) is disseminating to technicians and producers the results of the evaluation of fungicides to control the complex of diseases that affect corn crops. The frequency of use of fungicides in commercial corn crops in Brazil has increased in recent years, making it today the second largest national market for products.

Corn is mainly used for animal feed, human consumption and ethanol generation. The United States, China and Brazil are responsible for approximately 65% ​​of world production. Only Brazil is capable of growing corn in three consecutive harvests in the same year: summer, off-season and northeastern Brazil.

The study involved the conduct of 30 experimental trials, distributed across 25 locations representing Brazilian producing regions, and its results were presented at the XVII National Seminar on Safrinha Corn. 

The evaluations were carried out in the second harvest of 2023 and covered the testing of 11 products (registered and in the registration phase), with the aim of verifying their control over leaf diseases and reducing damage in the field. The study involved white spot, turcicum spot, bipolaris spot, cercospore spot, macrospora spot, polyspore rust and common rust.

“In some cases, such as white spot, there were products that showed control efficiency greater than 70%”, explains researcher Adriano Custódio, from IDR-Paraná (Institute for Rural Development of Paraná — Iapar-Emater).

In another case, for corn cercospore spot, the fungicide with a triple mixture of fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin + mefentrifluconazole presented the highest control average (72,8%) and also the highest productivity maintenance value (43,5%) compared to control treatment. When comparing this fungicide mentioned with another double mixture treatment widely used by producers (epoxiconazole + pyraclostrobin), there was an increase in control efficiency by 17,4% and in productivity maintenance by 13%.

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Formalized in 2022, the RFT promotes partnerships between entities dedicated to research and technological development in the agricultural sector. “It is an arrangement that has made it possible to modernize the portfolio of fungicides registered for the Brazilian corn crop”, assesses Custódio.

Operating in the areas of phytopathology, entomology and herbology, the RFT brings together 52 public and private research centers.