Nov 18, 2019
Aprosoja Objects to Extended Deadline for Soy Planting in Parana
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Soybean and Corn Producers Association of Parana, Brazil (Aprosoja-PR) has questioned the recent decision by the Agriculture and Livestock Protection Bureau of Parana (Adapar) to allow farmers in the state to plant soybeans past the earlier established deadline of December 31st. In an interview published by Noticias Agricolas, the director of Aprosoja expressed concerns that the new planting guidelines for later planting of soybeans could open the door for further problems controlling soybean rust.
The new rules, which were established by Adapar on November 5, 2019, allows farmers in Parana to plant their soybeans as late as they wish as long as the soybeans are harvested by May 15th and that there are no live soybean plants after June 9th of the same growing season. The new rule was in response to farmers from southern Parana that augured that the deadline restricted their crop rotation options and that farmers right across the state line in the state of Santa Catarina, are allowed to plant soybeans until February 10th.
Aprosoja indicated that the new rule is contrary to the recommendations from Embrapa Soja, which is the principal scientific institution in Brazil responsible for soybean research. Embrapa has indicated that the later soybeans are planted in the growing season, the harder it is to control soybean rust and that more fungicide applications will be necessary.
It is the increased number of fungicide applications that worry researchers. They argue that increasing the number of application increases the speed that the disease develops resistance to the fungicides. The researchers felt that no new scientific evidence was presented to justify the revised planting rules. They contend that the extension should only have been granted if there had been new soybean varieties available that are resistant to rust or if new fungicides were available with new modes of control.
The state of Parana is usually the second largest soybean producing state in Brazil and soybeans are the principal crop grown in the state. Soybean rust is the most important soybean disease in Brazil and controlling soybean rust is a major concern for farmers in Parana and all across Brazil.