The biological control market is experiencing its fourth revolution and Brazil is one of the leaders in this stage, serving large crops in addition to the use of traditional chemical pesticides. In the view of the researcher in Integrated Pest Management, Alexandre de Sene Pinto, speaker at the event, the application of biological pesticides should reach 15 million hectares treated in the country this year, considering the total number of product applications per covered area. The sector has grown, on average, between 16% and 20% per year, said the consultant during the Brazilian Defensives Forum, promoted by ABC Bio – Brazilian Association of Biological Control Companies and by Informa Agro, in São Paulo, this Wednesday (30).
Among the states that use biodefensive products the most are São Paulo, Goiás, Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais. Products based on the fungus Trichoderma sp are the most applied, with a volume of more than five million hectares treated, according to Pinto. This expansion was possible thanks to advances in production technology, management and the adoption of innovations. “In macrobiologicals, for example, drones are currently responsible for 35% of the application of 1.7 million hectares of Trichogramma galloi. The plane is still the most common means, with 50%.”
The consultant also brought research that shows the reasons why rural producers adopt biological control products: 29% said it was due to the ineffectiveness of pesticides and GMOs. Other reasons are: banning of some pesticides and the emergence of new pests. “Only 2% apply the product out of environmental awareness, which shows that the issue of profitability is even stronger”.
On the other hand, he also highlighted the barriers to further advancement of biodefensive products, 51% of which are linked to the lack of information about the technology. “A strong paradigm shift would be the mandatory inclusion in universities with an Agricultural Sciences course of a Biodefensive Application Technology discipline”, considered Pinto.
For Glenio Martins de Lima Mariano, president of the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Minas Gerais (Emater–MG), this lack of knowledge is a reality and needs to be worked on so that the dissemination of information reaches all farmers. “Biological agents have great potential for growth, but in our universe (small rural producers), there are few who have mastered this technology,” he stated.
PANEL DETAILS SUCCESS STORIES – Less environmental degradation, less risk of contamination for rural workers, general improvement in soil conditions and less toxic residue in the final product. These were the main benefits reported in the presentation of Success Stories of Producers who used biodefensive products during the ABC Bio Forum. The advantages were described by agricultural producer Paulo Eduardo Garcia Junior, from Agropecuária 3G, who produces organic sugarcane and soy using only biodefensive products.
Currently cultivating an area of 300 hectares with sugarcane and 60 hectares with soybeans, all organic, Garcia informs that he has been using biodefensive products for 20 years. “Over this time, we have improved our sustainable pest management and concluded that with biodefensive it is not possible to eliminate 100% from pests, but rather to reduce the damage they cause to crops”, he informs.
The producer, however, is keen to highlight that the system requires management that demands much more control than conventional cultivation, which includes, among other items, the constant weeding of plantations to eliminate weeds without the use of chemicals. He emphasizes that special attention is needed with the forms of application, since biodefensive, unlike chemical, is much more complex and fragile in the transport, storage and application phases. “Furthermore, it does not have an immediate effect as with chemicals”, concluded the speaker.
In this panel on success stories, the Safe Harvest Program (PCS) presented the results of the application of the project in the pepper production chain, which, in 2013, topped the list of foods most contaminated by pesticides, with 91.8% of non-conformities in the samples analyzed, according to the report from the Food Pesticide Residue Analysis Program (PARA) released by the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The PCS aims to ensure a safe harvest, through the transfer of good agricultural practices (BPA) to producers and conscious management of the crop, aiming to preferentially use organic products.
Through the project, 1920 tons of peppers were produced, with a compliance index of 80% of the analyzed samples. But, to achieve this, more than 1000 technical visits were carried out and more than 100 people were trained, in addition to the greater use of biological pesticides, which increased to 31% against 3% before the start of the PCS. “There was a drop of around 50% in both the use of fungicides and insecticides”, highlighted Francisco Araldo Pezzato Junior, Program manager, and Thiago Ezio Moreira, Quality manager at the MNS Group.
Also participating in this round of success stories were Tom Prado, director of Itaueira Agropecuária, and Roberto Risolia, Marketing manager at Stoller. Both detailed the gains made by their companies with the use of biological pesticides.
Source: Agrolink
