Last week, Bayer presented the first results of its Credenz soybeans with LibertyLink technology in Brazil. Around 400 of the most representative Brazilian soybean farmers were invited to plant seven varieties, and are now about to harvest the first harvest with LL technology – launched last year as the great alternative for controlling resistant weeds in the country.
Preliminary results indicate productivity above the regional average. In Santa Catarina, for example, it can reach 85 bags per hectare, while in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Goiás the averages are 72 to 74 bags per hectare. To give you an idea, in Rio Grande do Sul (third largest soybean producer in Brazil) the average productivity has been 50 bags per hectare in the last ten years.
“LibertyLink technology came to bring a new alternative to producers who are currently suffering from the problem of growing resistance and difficulty controlling weeds. LL technology allows you to apply the Liberty herbicide (Ammonium Glufosinate), which has a different mode of action, in which you have control of weeds that you no longer had with conventional herbicides”, explained the marketing manager of soybean seeds, Filipe Romano.
According to him, the LibertyLink technology also brings benefits to the preservation of Bt technology (Bacillus thuringiensis): “When LL soybeans are planted in association, or next to a Bt area, it helps in the management of insect resistance, because it works as an 'area of refuge'”. This is because the insects created in the area of this new technology are susceptible to the control of the Bt area – and will end up generating new susceptible individuals when crossing with resistant insects – providing preservation of both technologies.
Romano explains that there are real gains with fewer applications and fewer pesticides. “Producers have increased not only the number of applications but also the dose of glyphosate. This brings increased costs and implies operational complexity. The LibertyLink technology does not have any cases of resistance registered in Brazil, which makes it possible to return to application levels like when glyphosate began to be used, that is, one application”, he highlights.
Through the #DeOlhonaSustentabilidade program, Bayer not only provided the seeds and herbicide, but also all product and management subsidies to these farmers. The company's technicians followed the entire process, assisting in the preparation with pre-emergent herbicide and also offering supplementation with the biostimulant Veritas, which enhances the translocation of calcium in the plant.
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