“Green fertilization” guarantees increases in soil organic matter
Brazil
Anvisa approved the toxicological evaluation of a new technical pesticide product, based on cyclobutrifluram, from Syngenta. (Anvisa)
Average price for transporting fertilizers grew 21% in 12 years, according to the Logistics Research and Extension Group from Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture – EsalqLog. Fertilizer transport via rail increased by 23% between 2010 and 2022, reaching 6 million tonnes. This did not cause a reduction in the dependence on road transport, as Brazilian demand for fertilizers grew by more than 80% in the period. In 2010, 32% of imported fertilizers were transported by rail, compared to 16% in 2022. “The consumption of fertilizers increased more than the volume transported on the railroads, not causing a diversification of the transport matrix. On the contrary, fertilizer truck transport has increased overall…”, according to Thiago Guilherme Péra, coordinator of EsalqLog. (EsalqLog)
Marco Antônio Ferreira is the new operations director at the agricultural inputs company Grupo Valoriza Agro. (Grupo Valoriza Agro)
Fertilizer company Cibra Fertilizantes announces its first acquisition of Real Estate Receivables Certificate – CRI, of US$ 60.13 million, which will be used for the acquisition of new production and storage units and in the construction of factories in Sinop, State of Mato Grosso, and São Luís, State of Maranhão. (Cibra Fertilizantes)
Ministry of Agriculture published pesticide registration requests of 52 equivalent technical products: 15 herbicides, 14 fungicides, 17 insecticides, etc. (MAPA)
José Claudio Araújo is the new commercial and industrial director of the agricultural inputs company Latam Agrosciences. (Latam Agrosciences)
“Green fertilization” guarantees increases in soil organic matter and improvement of its quality, with the potential to store Carbon and Nitrogen in the soil, according to an article published by Maria de Sena Fernandes, professor at the Federal University of Viçosa. “There are many benefits, in addition to the increase of organic matter, such as the potential for controlling erosion, minimizing the loss of soil, in addition to promoting the control of invasive plants and stimulating the biodiversity of insects that can impact the use of pesticides” (UFV)
Fundecitrus launched a digital tool called ” Avalia Psilídeo” [Evaluate Psyllids], which aims to help citrus farmers choose pesticides to control psyllids, the agent that transmits Greening (HLB) in citrus. “Within this tool, we will have the results of insecticide efficacy tests on farm populations. This data will be constantly updated as the experiments are carried out, which will bring a great advantage to the farmer, who will be able to monitor, in a dynamic way, which product is most effective in controlling the insect”, according to Wellington Eduardo, Fundecitrus researcher. (Fundecitrus)
Embrapa’s NT45 Technical Note indicates major impacts on Brazilian agricultural activities due to the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine conflicts in the fertilizer market. In a note, it is indicated: “…the consequences could be felt in our country, particularly in the agribusiness sector, which is highly dependent on imported inputs and fertilizers.” In addition, it reinforces “the need for new incentives to improve resource efficiency, research options to chemical fertilizers, with emphasis on P and K.” (Embrapa)
In research, Pesticide Atlas found that Brazil allows a concentration of about 500 micrograms/L of glyphosate in its waters, an amount 5 thousand times higher than that allowed in the European Union, of 0.1 microgram. (Pesticide Atlas)
José Eduardo Menegario is the new financial director for Latin America at Nutrien. (Nutrien)
Ibama employees who carry out activities related to environmental quality are on strike over the restructuring of the environmental specialist career. In a note, employees communicated actions that will be prioritized until the restructuring is completed: Identification of people and enterprises that carry out potentially polluting activities; Registration, evaluation and reevaluation of pesticides; Control of pesticides in environmental matrices; etc. (Asibama)
Association of State Inspectors for Agricultural and Forestry Defense of the State of Mato Grosso (Sinfa), requests court recognition of the risk activities that inspectors carry out due to exposure to chemical products, based on benefits such as a 40% increase in salary for additional hazard pay and special retirement, with a shorter contribution time, depending on the degree of danger of the activity. (Sinfa MT)
New Receiving Center for Empty Agricultural Pesticide Packaging opened in Nova Santa Helena, State of Mato Grosso, which will serve 14 municipalities, with a capacity of one thousand tonnes of packaging per year. (inpEV)
Adama is investing in the use of biodegradable materials, which can represent 30 to 80% of the solutions’ content. The company is also replacing organic solvents with water. “This innovation allows us to have a solution with less impact and, at the same time, increases the performance of active ingredients in a different formulation”, explains the company’s portfolio manager, Fabrício Pacheco. In addition, they are carrying out tests with components of plant origin. “We observed an opportunity to reduce the amount of the active ingredient by 25% when combining these natural components, which have the capacity to enhance the action of this active ingredient, delivering more efficiency in smaller doses”, explains the manager, who says that the expectation is to bring these solutions to the market in three years. (Adama)
According to Jeferson Souza, market intelligence analyst at Agrinvest Commodities, the 14% growth in the price of urea in January and its strengthening in the international market have directly impacted local consumers, with the price per tonne increasing by US$ 30 to 40. Souza says: “Even knowing that we will have a reduction in area and also a lower use of fertilizers in our “off-season” corn, I think that we still have farmers who intend to plant but have not yet purchased their input demands. Not only fertilizer, but also seeds and pesticides. So, with a short window and prices rising, the alert needs to be made…” (Agrinvest Commodities)
Around 214.9 million plants were inspected against Greening (HLB) and citrus canker in the State of São Paulo during inspections carried out by farmers to submit disease reports to the computerized Animal and Plant Management system of the São Paulo Department of Agriculture and Supply. 96.6% of the farmers have already reported the results of inspections for the 2H of 2023 and more than two million plants with Greening symptoms have been eradicated. (Gevade; SAA)
Latin America
SpeedAgro from Argentina, an adjuvant products company, is developing products with technology based on ribonucleic acid (RNA), in partnership with the company Apolo Biotech. The use of RNA helps plants defend against pathogens and reduce dependence on phytosanitary products. “It is a very disruptive megaproject at a global level that is being carried out from Argentina,” said the company’s president, Víctor Escalas. The product will first be presented in fungicides and insecticides and later in herbicides. (SpeedAgro)
It is estimated that there will be an increase between 10 and 15% in the use of biological products in Argentina in the next two years, given that in the last two seasons, more than 60 new bioinputs have been registered in the country. (EnBio 2024)
Diego Agustín Álvarez, agronomist, and Nicolas Spinelli, technician at Syngenta Argentina, recommend precautions against the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis), such as intensifying monitoring: “It is a pest that does not yet have thresholds. There is still no registration of an insecticide to treat this pest.” They also warn about the possibility of transmission of pathogens such as phytoplasma, spiroplasma and Maize rayado fine virus – MRFV. “Damage can be severe if leafhoppers are infected and bite plants between V2 and V8.”, causing medium and long-term symptoms such as corn stunting and significant yield losses. (Diego Álvarez; Nicolas Spinelli)
Claudio Balbontín is the new regional director of the INIA Intihuasi Chile’s Agricultural Research Institute. (INIA)
Peru’s National Agricultural Health Service has benefited more than 200 thousand farmers through pest control actions, including phytosanitary surveillance and locust control on more than 61 thousand ha, chemical control against coffee rust on 12 thousand ha and sanitary pruning on 11 thousand ha, in addition to evaluation, farm monitoring and training for around 37 thousand coffee growers. (Senasa)
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