June 29, 2005

Brazil prepares itself to face soybean rust over long term

Brazilian farmers must be prepared to face soybean rust over the long term through a combination of new cultivars, preventive spraying and proactive control once the fungus is identified in a field, according to the country's federal agriculture research agency, Embrapa.

On the other hand, a soybean farmer in one of the worst-hit areas of Mato Grosso state reportedly has high hopes that Embrapa and other research agencies would develop a rust-resistant soybean variety to solve the problem.

The government might also cut taxes on fungicides in order to cushion losses sustained by farmers.

In the short term, many Brazilian soybean producers have already factored fungicide costs into their coming-year planning with some of them making advance orders. Field scouting and early rust identification would continue to play an important role.

For the long term, breeders at Brazil's Mato Grosso Foundation have been working on developing a rust-resistant soybean variety.

GM giant Monsanto reported that it had already found four genes that could serve as rust inhibitors in soybeans. The company could introduce varieties with tolerance or resistance in approximately five to seven years.

So far, efforts to develop rust-resistant soybean varieties have been unsuccessful and producers still have to rely on chemical treatment available while factoring in losses from soybean rust, said researchers.