Fight Off Yield-Robbing Pests
When most people think of Brazil’s climate, hot and humid usually comes to mind. But it can also be extremely dry depending on location. Add in El Nino with irregular periods of rainfall, and it is ideal for increased insect pressure. Sperto® insecticide is not only helping farmers combat pests, but it’s helping them earn higher yields in the nation’s top crop – soybeans.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the country is producing more than 130 million tons of soybeans annually. But farmers have faced high pest infestation with significant losses in productivity.
Research by consultancy Agroconsult – published on the PodSafra podcast – reports a 40% increase in brown stink bug infestation and a 29% increase in whitefly infestation. These pests directly affect plants, damaging seed quality and reducing productivity as a whole. As a result, they cause losses of up to 30% in soybean harvest, exceeding R$12 billion per year.
UPL Corp developed Sperto to help minimize that damage, helping farmers maintain their yields and profitability. The product is a highly effective insecticide, featuring a shock action and long residual against sucking pests that harm soybean productivity. This solution has two modes of action to control both nymphs and adults.
In-field, scientific tests have proven Sperto’s effectiveness with 70% white fly control and 80% brown stink bug control. More importantly is what this control delivers. Sperto-treated fields protected seed quality as 95% of soybean seeds were undamaged. And where it really counts – in yield and grain weight, Sperto provided an increase of up to four Bag/HA.
For a country like Brazil, which is the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, every increase in Bag/HA matters. Sperto is one more example of UPL Corp’s dedication to providing the tools farmers need to keep producing those top yields.
“Brazil’s hot climate with periods of rainfall – even in the drylands – is a breeding ground for damaging pests. Sperto® insecticide mitigates their threat and has contributed to some of the nation’s top soybean yields.”
Leandro Valerim, Brazil Product Manager, Insecticides