Jan 18, 2018
Parana has 52% of all the Confirmed Cases of Soybean Rust in Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The state of Parana in southern Brazil has the dubious distinction of have a little more than half of all the confirmed cases of soybean rust in Brazil. According to the latest report from Embrapa, the state of Parana has 88 confirmed cases of soybean rust while Brazil as a whole has 168 cases (52%). Most of the confirmed cases of rust are in the western part of Parana where the number has quadrupled over the past month. The number of cases is expected to continue increasing due to the wet weather the state has experienced.
The weather over the last two months has been very conducive to the spread of rust. It has been very wet with high daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures, which are ideal for the spread of the disease.
Most producers in the state have already made two fungicide applications, one preventative application and one to combat the disease. They are now preparing to make a third application as soon as there are a few days of sunshine. The disease has developed resistance to many fungicides and as a result, Embrapa is recommending that farmers spray every two weeks and that they rotate their fungicides to slow down the development of even more resistance. The previous recommendation had been to spray every three weeks.
Soybean rust is not the only thing farmers in Parana are worried about. The conditions this growing season have led to an increase of white mold and anthracnose as well as various insect pests.