Crop Protection and Nutrition - Weekly Update Brazil & Latin America (11/14/24 – 11/20/24)

According to data from the Brazilian Association of Plant Nutrition Technology Industries, there was an average growth of 28% of the Brazilian specialty fertilizers market over the past five years. (Abisolo)

With an investment of US$ 2.06 million, Agrocete enters the biopesticides market by launching a bionematicide, a biofungicide and a bioinsecticide. The Brazilian multinational operates in plant nutrition, adjuvants, pesticide application technology, etc. “Biopesticides are capable of reducing the dependence on chemical products and preventing the emergence of plant resistance”, said Andrea de Figueiredo Giroldo, the company’s director of marketing and development. (Agrocete)

The 10^th annual meeting of the International PPE Quality Consortium aimed to establish a single global system for assessing and mitigating chemical risks in rural areas. The event was organized by the Research Center of the Agronomic Institute, of the Department of Agriculture of São Paulo, in the city of Jundiaí. Focused on safety with regard to agrochemicals in the field, the Consortium brought together 40 experts from 16 countries, including Germany, Spain, the United States, France, Switzerland, Kenya, Korea and Uganda. Experts discussed scenarios of exposure to agrochemicals and models for communicating and mitigating chemical risks in the farms. (IAC-Apta)

High doses of limestone to grow first-crop soybean guarantee yield increases of up to 30% in Matopiba (Region comprising the States Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia) when compared to doses recommended by official documents. The practice does not cause an imbalance in soil fertility, although a decrease in nutrients may occur, which can be corrected with fertilization. These are the conclusions of the studies that have been conducted by Embrapa since 2019. “Farmers have been opening areas with higher doses of limestone and are already planting soybeans, which brings a certain financial return. In other situations, they start with forages and in the second year they plant soybeans”, said researcher Henrique Antunes. (Embrapa Meio-Norte)

According to Embrapa researchers Décio Luiz Gazzoni and Mariangela Virgínia, “worrying reports of serious consequences from the production of on-farm bioinputs are increasing every day”. According to an article published through the Sustainable Agro Scientific Council platform: “A survey by Embrapa Corn and Sorghum Units in the States of Mato Grosso and Goiás on the on-farm production of B. thuringiensis showed that the majority of samples did not contain Bt, but had pathogens such as Enterococcus faecalis and Acinetobacter baumannii… A study conducted in the São Francisco Valley, with 12 samples from five properties, detected contamination in 100% of the samples, 84% with total coliforms, 75% of which were thermotolerant and 75% with Salmonella sp”. (CCAS)

UbyAgro, a holding on the plant nutrition market, has announced Jorge Parras as the new commercial director of Bauminas Agro, which was recently acquired by the group. (Ubyfol – Uby Agroquímica)

Mosaic released financial results for the 3Q24, with a net income of US$ 122 million and adjusted EBITDA of US$ 448 million. Total revenue reached US$ 2.8 billion, a drop of 21% when compared to the same period of 2023. Gross margin was 15%, higher than the 12% recorded in 2023. The company also reported that Luciano Siani Pires will be the new CFO after January of 2025. Mosaic Fertilizantes, focused on Brazil, had an operating profit of US$ 56 million, compared to US$ 77 million in 2023. (The Mosaic Company)

“The demand for the adoption of bioinputs continues to trend upwards and continuous innovation will be even more essential to maintain this trajectory in the long term”, said the Bioinputs Director of CropLife Brasil, Amália Borsari. The synergistic management of biological and chemical products remains an opportunity to intensify management for the main crops. “Integrated management aims to enhance efficiency in controlling insects or diseases in soybeans, for example, at various stages of cultivation”. (CropLife Brasil)

With more than 3,000 traps spread across Brazil, the Arc Farm Intelligence system from FMC has identified peaks of up to six Spodoptera frugiperda moths per day per trap. In the same period last year, a maximum of two insects were observed. “This information confirms the tendency for pressure to increase from October to December, a period of high temperatures, rain and the beginning of the harvest. This leaves farmers on alert, prepared for more efficient management in the farms”, stated Piero Castro, manager of precision agriculture at the company. (FMC Corporation)

Indaziflam has a soil sorption rate between low and moderate, which is influenced by the addition of organic compounds to the substrate, according to Kassio Mendes, a researcher at the University of São Paulo. “This herbicide has a broad spectrum of control with high efficiency for annual grasses and several broad-leaved species”. Indaziflam acts as an inhibitor of cellulose biosynthesis in plants. “As there is little evidence of the evolution of weed resistance to herbicides that inhibit cellulose biosynthesis, these are important options as mechanisms of action available in the management of resistant weeds”. (CENA/USP)

Naval Fertilizantes, from Campo Novo do Parecis, State of Mato Grosso, prepares expansion with new stores adopting a franchise model. The company, focused on biological products, nutrition and technology for crops and pastures, plans to open 40 franchise units by the end of 2024/25 and increase its revenue from US$ 9.04 million to US$ 20.85 million. (Naval Fertilizantes)

According to Letícia Rodrigues da Silva, former regulation manager at Anvisa; Peter Rembichevisk, regulation specialist at Anvisa; and Luis Eduardo Rangel, former General Coordinator of Pesticides at the Ministry of Agriculture, in Brazil there are 279 active ingredients registered as pesticide for agricultural use. Although there are 456 monographs published by Anvisa), 112 are biologicals, semiochemicals, plant extracts or substances naturally present in plants, and 43 are not intended for agricultural use, in addition to others classified as inorganic, without usage restrictions. “From 2002 to 2022, more active ingredients have left the market than new ones have entered. The monographs of active substances that no longer had registrations of technical and formulated products excluded in the period correspond to 79 active ingredients, while, in the same period, 70 new active ingredients entered the Brazilian market for use as pesticides. Of the 79 excluded active ingredients, 12 were due to toxicological and/or ecotoxicological revaluations”. (CCAS)

According to Mosaic, the current scenario is more favorable for farmers to purchase fertilizers. The Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index, calculated by the company, indicates an improvement in the exchange rate for commodities such as soybeans, corn and cotton, in addition to sugarcane derivatives. (The Mosaic Company)

From January to August of 2024, the State of Mato Grosso was the leader in fertilizer deliveries to the Brazilian market, reaching 5.95 million tonnes (21.2%). The State was followed by Paraná (3.32 million); São Paulo (3.10 million); Rio Grande do Sul (2.90 million); Goiás (2.67 million); Minas Gerais (2.49 million); Bahia (2.07 million). (ANDA)

Sérgio de Carvalho Junior is the new director of speciality fertilizers at Nutrientes, a fertilizer company from Colombo, State of Paraná. (Nutrientes)

Josapar rice industry has contracted a loan of US$ 26.60 million with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development. The money will be used to transfer the company’s fertilizer unit from Pelotas to Rio Grande, State of Rio Grande do Sul. The company’s fertilizer branch was harmed in 2024 due to the climate disasters that occurred in Rio Grande do Sul, mainly due to the flooding of the manufacturing unit, which was inoperative for more than a month. “These factors have impacted on the margins and financial volumes of the segment’s revenue, which contributed to the shift in the company’s total margin”, according to a note from the company. (Josapar)

Brado announced a 36% increase in the company’s rail transport of pesticides from October of 2023 to September of 2024, compared to the same period in the previous year. “This market differs from other products on the domestic market, which are sold in the state of São Paulo and delivered to Mato Grosso and Goiás. With pesticides, a transfer of stock occurs, as the products are directly sold in the destination States”, according to Marcus Bruno Carvalho Nascimento, sales executive at Brado and responsible for the company’s pesticides portfolio. (Brado)

Integrated Preventive Inspection of the São Francisco River, through the Dangerous Products and Irregular Occupation team, have seized around 790 L of pesticides during inspections carried out in 21 agricultural stores. Seven companies were fined by the State of Alagoas’ Agricultural Defense and Inspection Agency for operating without authorization to sell pesticides and for selling the product in plastic bottles or without an agronomic recommendation. The seizures were carried out in the cities of Campo Grande, Junqueiro and Limoeiro de Anadia, State of Alagoas. (Adeal)

Joubert Miranda is the new credit director at the agricultural inputs company Lavoro. (Lavoro Agro)

Luziane Ramos Sales and Everlon Cid Rigobelo, researchers from the State University of São Paulo, have published a paper called “The Role of Bacillus sp. in Reducing Chemical Inputs for Sustainable Crop Production”. According to the researchers, many studies have demonstrated the “efficacy of Bacillus sp. in reducing various agricultural inputs, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers… This effect is a result of the combined ability of bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen, solubilize unavailable phosphorus in the soil, and enhance the efficiency of plants to explore the soil and uptake nutrients… However, the consumption of mineral fertilizers continues to increase annually”. (Unesp)