December 17, 2010

Crop disease threatens Brazil soy output

Soy farmers in Brazil, the world's second-largest producer of the oilseed, are experiencing a new crop disease that threatens to curb yields in some regions by as much as 60%, a government researcher said.

The crop disease, known as soja louca in Portuguese or mad soybean, has been found in small areas of the Mato Grosso state, which accounts for 30% of the nation's production, said Mauricio Meyer, a researcher at the government's agricultural research agency known as Embrapa. It has also been detected in Maranhao, Para and Tocantins states, he said.

Mad soybean causes plants to produce less beans and interferes the maturation of the pods, cutting yields on infected crops by 40%-60%, Meyer said. The government is surveying farmers in an effort to curb the spread of the disease, which may be caused by a parasite, he said.

"This anomaly is not similar to anything that I have ever seen," Meyer said. "It is spreading slowly but steadily."