Crop Protection and Nutrition – Weekly Update Brazil & Latin America (05/01/25 – 05/07/25)

Agronomic Institute of Campinas and Koppert Brasil have signed a cooperation agreement at Agrishow 2025 to validate biological solutions for the sustainable management of sugarcane farms. (IAC; Koppert Brasil)

Fertilizer imports reached 7.9 million tonnes from January to March of 2025, an increase of 10.9% when compared to the same period of 2024, which reached 7.2 million tonnes. (Conab)

Best exchange ratio in the last 13 years, with 1.7 bag of coffee per tonne of fertilizer, compared to 2.7 last year. (Rabobank)

Cassava gall fly (Jatrophobia brasiliensis) has become a threat to cassava crops in the State of Tocantins, causing losses of up to 100% in newly planted areas. (Embrapa; Ruraltins) 

Adama has appointed Rogério Ferraz de Castro as Director of Business for the East Cerrado Biome region. (Adama)

Center for Engineering and Automation has created the Official Functionality Seal for Agricultural Adjuvants, with the aim of ensuring greater safety and quality for the sector, since these products do not undergo mandatory registration in Brazil. (CEA-IAC)

New sprayer launched by Incomagri seeks to reduce herbicide use by up to 95%. The equipment uses optical chlorophyll detection sensors to identify weeds. According to director Carlos Reinaldo Nogueira Filho, the system allows up to four nozzles to be individually controlled every 25 cm. (Incomagri)

Study supported by the São Paulo State Research Foundation combined Bradyrhizobium spp. bacteria with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, resulting in greater growth and pod production in soybeans, without impacting the native microbial community. The combination can improve the assimilation of phosphorus by plants, reducing the need for fertilization. (FAPESP)

The increase in the occurrence of target spot (caused by the fungus Corynespora cassiicola) was driven by the lack of specific fungicides for cotton and the predominance of applications focused on ramularia control. “Since cotton farmers traditionally focused their efforts to control ramularia, the aggressiveness of target spot surprised them in the last two seasons. In addition, the soybean-cotton rotation allowed the fungus to survive in the residues of the plants”, said Marcelo Gimenes, fungicide manager at Adama. (Adama)

SLC Agrícola will pay US$ 42.28 million in dividends, which is equivalent to US$ 0.095 per stock, on May 15th. (SLC Agrícola)

Drosophila suzukii showed high resistance to the insecticide imidacloprid in Paula Cândido, State of Minas Gerais, according to researchers from the Federal University of Viçosa. D. suzukii is capable of infesting strawberries, grapes, figs, peaches, plums, among other fruits. (UFV)

Bayer has announced that part of Climate FieldView will be developed in Brazil, marking the company’s first local operation focused on digital agricultural innovation. Brazil, which accounts for 28% of Bayer’s turnover in Latin America, will become the second largest global market. (Bayer)

According to a survey carried out by the maritime agency Williams Brasil, the import of 8.275 million tonnes of fertilizers was scheduled for April 1st to May 5th. The agency’s report takes into account vessels already anchored, those offshore awaiting docking and those scheduled to arrive by July 17th, 2025. (Williams Brasil)

Anvisa approved the toxicological evaluation of a New Formulated Product – with an active ingredient not yet registered in Brazil, based on basil extract, from Total Biotecnologia. (Anvisa)

Volatility in fertilizer prices has led farmers to postpone purchasing decisions, but demand remains firm, with expectations of growth in sales compared to 2024. (EuroChem)

In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approves toxicological evaluations of chlorpyrifos 750 g/kg WG from SM Agrocare; chlorfenapyr 720 g/L SC from Cropchem; sulfentrazone 500 g/L SC from Interprod; and flumioxazine 495 g/L SC from Lemma. (Anvisa)

On April 30th, 2025, the State Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso rejected and shelved a bill that would have obliged water suppliers to report the presence of pesticides in the water every six months; only four congressmen voted against the Environment Committee’s opinion to reject the bill. (ALMT)

Ministry of Agriculture has seized 336 tonnes of unregistered organic fertilizers from a company in Pederneiras, State of São Paulo, which was operating without an environmental permit; the inspection found 300 tonnes in bulk, 36,425 kg of fertilizers inside bags and 3,000 packages, resulting in the suspension of activities for 30 days and the opening of administrative proceedings. (MAPA)

FMC launched a pheromone that interrupts the reproductive cycle of Spodoptera frugiperda in maize, which can be used via terrestrial or aerial application. “This is a major advance in corn protection in Brazil”, said Alexandre Frateschi, the company’s Plant Health Director. (FMC)

According to Leandro Cieslak, agronomist, several factors are affecting the fertilizer market. In the nitrogen market, there is upward pressure due to tariffs imposed by the USA and growing demand from India, etc. On the other hand, the ammonia market is showing a downward trend, with increased supply from Europe, the Middle East and China.

According to the Sugarcane Study Center at the Federal University of Lavras, Sugarcane Wilt Syndrome has become one of the main phytosanitary challenges in the sugar-ethanol sector The disease is the result of the association of pathogenic fungi with abiotic stress factors, such as drought, and biotic stress factors, such as attacks by soil pests, favoring the action of organisms such as Phaeocytostroma sacchari, Colletotrichum falcatum and Fusarium spp. (UFLA-MG)

The National Waterway Transportation Agency has suspended the operation of bulk cargo transportation at the Port of Itajaí, State of Santa Catarina, including fertilizers, corn, soybeans, wheat, etc. (Antaq)

The specialty fertilizer market reached revenues of US$ 4.73 billion in 2024, which is 18.9% higher than the revenues in 2023, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Plant Nutrition Technology. (Abisolo)

The Supreme Federal Court ruled as inadmissible the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality proposed against State Law 15571/2021 of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, which eliminated the requirement for registration of pesticides in the country of origin for their distribution and commercialization in the State. (STF)

Tai Knighthood ship, from China, docked this weekend at the Port of Paranaguá. Exported by trader Bestwin and represented by Bulkfertz in Brazil, the vessel loaded with more than 78 thousand tonnes of fertilizers broke the record for the volume of product imported at a single time. (FTSPar)

According to Anpii Bio, the Brazilian bioinputs generated US$ 1 billion in the last season and could reach US$ 1.58 billion by the end of the decade. Brazil already accounts of more than 11% of global consumption of bioinputs, with the potential to reach 16.4% by 2030. (Anpii Bio)