November 19, 2009

Brazilian government's crop research company Embrapa has identified the first case of Asian soyrust this 2009-10 crop season on Brazilian commercial land.

 

Asian soyrust first arrived to Brazil in 2001 and can wipe out a whole field if left untreated.

 

The first case of the soyrust on a commercial property was discovered Tuesday in the municipality of Pedra Preta in Mato Grosso, Brazil's No. 1 soy producing state, a press release said on Wednesday (November 18).

 

Embrapa said that the land had been seeded in the first half of September.

 

Soy Producers Association of Mato Grosso, or Aprosoja, said that the first case of soyrust last year on commercial land appeared on Dec. 8.

 

The press release said 18 other cases of soyrust this crop season had been discovered in Brazil, but on waste land or urban areas rather than on commercial land.

 

Brazilian soy farmers have planted 61 percent of their crop as of Nov. 13, according to agricultural consultants Celeres.

 

In Mato Grosso, farmers had planted 87 percent of their soy by Nov. 13.

 

Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy producer.