Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry is considering a ban on second-season soybean in Mato Grosso, the major soybean state, as a control against the rust fungus and a newly arrived plant pest known as the earworm, says AgroSouth News. “Officials have stated that the situation is worsening with these threats to the crops year by year and may hurt long-term productivity,” says AgroSouth, adding growers object to the ban. Brazil and the United States run neck-and-neck as the No 1 soy-growing nation.
There was a ban on planting soybeans from July 15-Sept 15 of last year in an attempt to break the rust cycle, DTN said last fall. Mato Grosso, covering 350,000 square miles, is a “tropical Texas” by one description. Reuters described the pest and disease problems early this year.