Soybean-Free Period Starts in Parana, Brazil on Friday, June 10th

The annual soybean-free period for the state of Parana will start this Friday, June 10th and extend through September 10th. During this 90-day period, no live soybean plants are permitted in farmer fields, along the edges of fields, along the roadways, or near storage of transportation facilities.

The goal of the soybean-free period is to eliminate as much as possible any live soybean plants that could harbor soybean rust spores during the period between soybean crops. Soybean rust spores can survive for approximately 60 days without a host plant such as soybeans. By eliminating live soybean plants for 90 days, there should be fewer spores to infect the next soybean crop.

Soybean rust is the most important disease of soybeans in Brazil and the longer the disease can be kept out of newly planted soybeans, the fewer fungicide applications will be needed to control the disease, thus saving money, and preventing yields losses as much as possible.

In addition to eliminating volunteer soybeans in the more obvious locations, farmers must also monitor their winter crops such as wheat, oats, and barley for any soybean plants that might appear.

State sanitation officials will travel throughout the state searching for any live soybean plants and if any are found, the landowner will be notified and ordered to have the plants eliminated. Fines will be levied for any live soybean plants not eliminated.

All the major soybean producing states in Brazil have similar regulations, but the start and end dates may vary by location.

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