Anuário Brasileiro do Arroz 2011 - Unemat

Experiments with
organic blackbeans
show similar
field performance
and higher market
value compared
to conventional
plantings
Compensating
With the consumption of organic
products on the rise in Brazil, this cultivation
system turns out to be attractive
to farmers. According to researcher
Enderson Petrônio de Brito Ferreira, of
Embrapa Rice and Beans, based in
Santo Antônio de Goiás (GO), there is
much added value in cereal produced
organically, by virtue of scarce supply.
While a 50-kg sack of conventionally
produced black-beans rarely reaches
R$ 80 (minimum price stipulated by
the government), organic black-beans,
grown without agrochemicals, frequently
sell for upwards of R$ 100 a
sack.
Embrapa has been running trials
with organic black-beans for at least
eight years. The fields were established
gradually, until reaching three crops.
By analyzing the results achieved from
the harvested grain, in each one of the
phases, the researchers ascertained
that the performance was much similar
to commercial plantings, assessed
through surveys conducted by the
National Supply Company (Conab).
According to Ferreira, the leguminous
cereal cultivated in the first
Embrapa crop, seeded in the second
half of October, achieved productivity
rates ranging from 1,500 and 2,500
kilos per hectare. “This depends on
the type of management, but in direct
seeding the performance is superior
compared to plowed and disked soil”,
the researcher points out. At the beginning
of the experiment, eight years
ago, yield per hectare barely reached
600 kilos. According to the Conab report,
April 2011, the national average
in the first crop of the 2010/11 season,
will remain at 1,169 kg/ha.
For five years, Embrapa researchers
have been planting winter crop blackbeans,
always in the same area, with
seeding in mid-February. According to
Ferreira, the productivity rates have
been low, reaching 800 kg/ha. “At this
period, there is higher pest and disease
incidence, besides scarce rainfall”, he
justifies. In traditional plantings, according
to official figures, average productivity
is estimated at 750 kg/ha for
the 2010/11 crop year.
The third crop in the research institution’s
experiments started in 2007,
always seeded after mid-May. Ferreira
explains that in this period the field of
the organic crop is entirely conducted
through conventional soil management
practices, with plowing, disking
and irrigation. Productivity is about
2,000 kg/ha. In traditional cultivations,
surveyed by Conab, the estimated
average result for the 2010/11 crop
year is 1,022 kg/ha.
ADVANTAGES Embrapa Researcher
Anderson Petrônio de Brito Ferreira
has it that the major advantages
derived from organic plantings include
the elimination of any chance for agrochemical
contamination, smaller environmental
impact, rising population of
natural enemies of pests and smaller
incidence of diseases. One of the biggest
hurdles in black-bean crops is
disease management. The researcher
maintains that there are no cultivars
resistant to such scourges as white
mold, caused by the fungus known as
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and golden
mosaic, whose vectors are Bemisia
tabaci and B. argentifolli flies.
Ferreira explains that to fight fungus
diseases, biological controls can
be used, which require the use of the
fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. For
Bacteria-induced diseases, the recommendation
is the application of the
Bordeaux or sulfur calcium mixtures.
For the control of pests, researchers
normally apply neem oil, an Indian
plant with insecticide powers, besides
caranja and pepper extract.
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