Newsletter AgriBrasilis - May 13th
Marcelo Pedreira de Miranda is a scientific researcher and coordinator of the entomology area at Fundecitrus, professor of the MasterCitrus professional plant health M.Sc. course, member of the Protecitrus Technical Committee and of the Greening Tactical Committee.
AgriBrasilis – Could greening end citrus farming in the State of São Paulo?
Marcelo Miranda – No. The Brazilian citrus belt that comprises the State of São Paulo and part of the State of Minas Gerais is the main orange and orange juice producing region in the world.
The State of São Paulo is the main citrus farming area in the world, with high yields. Today, more than 80% of the research work carried out by Fundecitrus is aimed at combating the spread and control of greening.
(Access the full article on the AgriBrasilis website)
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Central Bank of Argentina put into circulation on May 07th new banknotes, worth 10 thousand pesos (approximately US$ 11). According to the Central Bank, the distribution of banknotes will occur progressively in bank agencies and ATMs across the country. So far, the highest value banknote available in Argentina had been the 2,000 pesos note, which entered circulation in May of 2023. (Banco Central de la República Argentina)
Coffee production in 2024 in Colombia will depend on the intensity of La Niña, according to German Bahamon J., general manager of the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia. “What we don’t want is for La Niña to stay for a long time”, Bahamón said. “We can have a very good coffee harvest because our coffee cultivars are resistant against rust and climate change”.
According to the Minister of Agriculture of Paraguay, Carlos Giménez, smuggling and high temperatures resulted in an excessive increase in the price of tomatoes on the local market. According to Giménez, in May production should reach just 10% of what had previously been estimated. (Ministry of Agriculture)
Another item that will come into effect again, with the veto oturned, provides that requests for registration of products based on an active ingredient under reevaluation may be granted by the federal agency responsible for the agricultural sector until its reevaluation has been completed. The government claims that this device offends the principle of precaution, putting at risk the rights to life, health and to an ecologically balanced environment.
The Bill that gave rise to the law (Bill 1,459/2022) was approved by the Senate at the end of November of 2023. The Executive vetoed 17 items, but Congress overturned the veto on eight of them and postponed the analysis of the rest.
(Access the full article on the AgriBrasilis website)
Argentina once again announced a reduction in the tariffs on fertilizers and pesticides. Government spokesman Manuel Adorni ratified the measure communicated by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo: reduction applies to current rates and varies from 3.6% to 25%, depending on the product. In the case of imports of herbicides based on glyphosate, atrazine and 2-4D, the rate goes from 35% to 12.6%. “The reduction in tariffs will encourage their use in agriculture and improve crop yields”. (Government of Argentina)
Urea production in Bolivia to reach a record in 2024. State-owned company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos – YPFB Corporacion forecasts production of more than 500 thousand tonnes, according to Armin Dorgathen, president of YPFB. Urea production in 2023 reached 347 thousand tonnes. According to the company, domestic consumption of fertilizers has “consolidated the import substitution” since 2022.
Study performed by the National Coffee Research Center - CENICAFÉ in Colombia revealed that the average infestation by coffee borer (Hypothenemus hampei) in the country’s crops reaches 3.3%, which exceeds the 2% action level (when it is necessary to apply pesticides) for coffee in most departments. The situation could be harmful for coffee farmers, especially in the regions of Boyacá, Caldas and Risaralda.
Benjamín Robles is Rainbow’s new general manager in Mexico. (Rainbow Agro)
INIA Uruguay reports on the incidence of blast (a disease caused by the fungus Pyricularia grisea) in wheat crops in the northern region of Uruguay. The disease is especially serious during humid years with high temperatures. Research was performed on 11 commercial farms and/or experimental sites on the north coast of the country in 2023, which confirmed the presence of the disease in wheat farms in the region. “Genetic resistance is the best strategy for disease control, as it has no additional cost for farmers or environmental impact, as it can lead to less use of fungicides”, according to INIA.
Larissa Amorim is a researcher at the Amazon Monitoring Program at Imazon – Amazon Institute of People and the Environment, with a degree in forestry engineering, and a M.Sc. in forestry sciences from the Federal Rural University of the Amazon.
AgriBrasilis – Forest degradation in the Amazon increased by almost 5,000% in March compared to the same month in 2023. Why?
Larissa Amorim – The degradation detected in March of 2024 in the Legal Amazon [the largest socio-geographic division in Brazil, containing all nine states in the Amazon basin] was concentrated in the State of Roraima, which is currently facing a serious drought. For the State’s main river, the Rio Branco, for example, this is the second biggest drought since 1972, when the National Water and Sanitation Agency (ANA) began monitoring it.
The drought scenario in the State of Roraima increased the forest’s vulnerability to the spread of forest fires and explains the significant increase in degradation, as this type of environmental damage is caused by both fire and logging. In other words: when we have large fires, degradation increases.
(Access the full article on the AgriBrasilis website)