World Agrochemical Network (WACN) reports: Herbicides already account for 12% of total planting costs for sugarcane in Brazil in the 2021/2022 season due to the impact of inflation on crop cost inputs in Brazil in recent months.
According to ″Pecege Productivity Management Consulting and Projects″ consultant João Rosa, Brazilian producers must be very cautious in order to assess profits at the end of the harvest season.
″Herbicide prices have gone up a lot. For the 2021/2022 harvest season, the average expenditure for these products on sugarcane is 12% of the production cost, or BRL 363.35 (about R$ 475.7) per hectare, and the average expenditure for growing sugarcane is BRL 936 (about R$ 1,225.5) per hectare. However there are significant differences in costs between mills in the same region. ″Rosa said.
The example investigated by Pecege shows that one company invested BRL 521.00/ha in planting and another BRL 421.00/ha, which corresponds to a difference of 23.75% or BRL 100.00 per hectare reduction.
Among many factors, herbicide management recommendations can influence this variation. The reason for the high cost is the aimless use of herbicides without knowledge of the weed problem, which is why regulation is essential to prevent yield declines.
The above information came from the Sinergia Taranis 2022 conference, which focused on the sugar energy industry, and the key people in attendance took the opportunity to discuss useful information about competitive weed management in Brazil and how technology can help. The conference was attended by managers from more than 20 units, with a total cultivated area of more than 3.6 million hectares, representing almost 40% of the country’s sugar energy sector.
″If not managed properly, weeds can cause millions in economic losses and irreversible damage to yields,″ said Professor Pedro Christofoletti, consultant and independent researcher at PJC Consultoria Agronómica, who specializes in biology and weed management. ″Yield losses of up to 87.5% were found in tests, affecting almost the entire production. If not managed correctly, the average loss can still be high, between 45% and 50% of the yield. ″
Management is the main bottleneck of the weed problem and some producers still believe that weed competition is controlled only by adding herbicides, but usually using ″standard formulations″ based on assumptions and data with low accuracy. Experts emphasize that increasing inputs to pesticides is not always the answer.
″Monitoring is essential in order to determine the extent of crop infestation and which weed species are present in the affected areas, so that the correct management can be guided according to the actual planting of sugarcane, optimizing recommendations and adopting pesticide inputs more effectively,″ Christofoletti stressed.
High-precision monitoring using drones and aircraft, which capture very detailed images of the crop and generate realistic and accurate information, is the most effective tool to improve herbicide recommendations. ″Professionals need to understand regulatory technology, which can point out where people are going wrong and how to improve,″ said Michel Fernandes, consultant at MS Fernandes Consultoria Agrícola.
The campaign’s sponsor, Taranis, is a high-precision monitoring platform that uses artificial intelligence and is dedicated to providing a complete digital monitoring service at the leaf level through the use of drones and aircraft to help growers and agricultural consultants make more decisive decisions, simplify management and improve results.
Source: World Agrochemical Network
Post time: Dec-28-2022