Amazonas: soy fallow period is in effect

Rafael Moreira, a researcher at Embrapa Soja, exposes the importance of the period of sanitary emptiness for combating the fungus that causes Asian rust.

“Rust is caused by a fungus that needs the living soybean plant to survive. So if you don’t have the plant in the environment, in the field, in the field, the rust fungus spores survive for a maximum of fifty days. So if he doesn’t find the plants, he will fall and die. And this will reduce the population of the fungus”, he explains.

The fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, which causes Asian rust, a disease that can cause up to 75% of crop losses and has a high capacity for reproduction and dissemination.

According to Ordinance No. 781/2023 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), the ban runs from June 15 to September 15. The Sanitary Empty periods are established annually by the Map and must be followed by the producing states, across the country.

The municipalities of Humaitá, Lábrea and Canutama are among the main soy producers in the state of Amazonas. The state has no recorded cases of the plague.

Violation of the soy fallow period can result in penalties such as the interdiction of the property, fines, destruction of the plantation, and even criminal liability of the owner, according to article nº 259 of the Brazilian Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment from 2 to 5 years, and a fine for those who spread disease or plague that may cause damage to the forest, plantation or animals of economic utility. In the case of guilt, the punishment is imprisonment from 1 to 6 months, or a fine.

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