In soybean fields, bugs in plants pose a challenge, especially because farmers do not have varieties that resist pest attacks.
However, integrated pest management (IPM) is a set of techniques that are a valid alternative. The Embrapa Soja’s figures evidence that.
Conducted by Embrapa Soja and Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná (IDR-PR), the Programa MIP-Soja shows that it is possible to reduce the number of pesticide applications on the crop by up to 50% by applying IPM techniques.
To further understand how relevant the IPM is for the soybean, we interviewed Daniel Sosa Gomez, Embrapa Soja researcher and specialist in integrated pest management.
What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?
More than a concept, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a support tool for strategic actions for pest control based on scientific knowledge, which can contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of an agricultural activity.
However, many farmers still have doubts about what IPM is and how it contributes to protecting soybean crops.
Daniel Sosa states that IPM is a set of practices encompassing pest monitoring through sampling for pesticide application at the appropriate time.
IPM also allows spraying products that are more selective to natural predators and less harmful to the environment before the pests cause economic damage.
“Deciding on implementing IPM in soybean crops can be the best sustainable practice in the field. It is a method that poses fewer risks to humans, animals, and the environment, as well as reduces the use of pesticides, contributing to the preservation of natural agents present in the fields,” he explains.
IPM-Soja for bug control
The presence of bugs in soybeans can cause much damage to the fields. Said damage can be direct and indirect, affecting soybean quality and yield.
Thus, with the beginning of the next harvest, soybean farmers must prepare themselves to manage the bugs, seeking to combine efficiency and savings.
Moreover, Daniel Sosa explains that production costs are even higher, reducing field profitability. “Soybean farmers should not use insecticides at any level of pest infestation. They can have the same yield using fewer insecticides by applying it only when necessary.”
Thus, Sosa says the farmer should be attentive to the action threshold corresponding to the population level that soybean plants can tolerate without affecting crop productivity.
“The MIP-Soja begins with a weekly field monitoring using a drop cloth that allows inferring the number and size of pests in the crop,” he explains.
During the monitoring process, the researcher also highlights that the infestation should be checked for the damage the pest caused, such as defoliation, or, depending on the type of pest, the number of plants attacked in the total samples.
“Pesticide application is recommended only when the density of pests detected in the crop exceeds the action threshold already established by the research. Otherwise, control is not necessary,” suggests.
50% decrease in pesticide application
Embrapa, in partnership with the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná (IDR-PR), has developed, since the 2013/2014 crop, a work in several agricultural areas in the state of Paraná that fosters the adoption of good agriculture practices. One of the most relevant practices is the Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
The researcher states that in the previous crop, while the average number of insecticide applications in soybean crops in Paraná was 3.9, the areas that adopted the IPM made only 1.9 applications.
“That figure evidences the IPM can reduce pesticide application up to 50%,” highlights Sosa.
Moreover, research pointed out that the first pesticide application was on the 79th day in fields with IPM. In crops without IPM, spraying was necessary to advance by 35 days, i.e., on the 44th day after planting.
Positive impacts in several aspects
Pesticides are used in many soybean fields in Brazil without considering the effective presence of pests or the damage they cause.
Daniel Sosa explains that this occurs because of an application schedule where insecticides are used with other products without a technical specification.
“By proceeding that way, the farmer tends to make insecticide applications much earlier and spends more on insecticides than necessary,” he adds.
Consequently, the higher number of applications results in increased production costs, elimination of natural agents, and increased risk of reappearance and development of resistant pests.
On the other hand, when there is more effective monitoring and using IPM strategies, soybean farmers naturally reduce the impact on the environment, increase productivity, and reduce their production costs as they use fewer insecticides.
Read this article to see more details about the relevance of IPM in crops
