Chemical Control of Asian Soybean Rust and Its Effect in the Yield and Quality of Soybean Seeds

Márcia Gabriel,Dionei Schmidt Muraro,Ivan Ricardo Carvalho,Vanessa Alba Da Silva,Genesio Mario Da Rosa,Juliano De Oliveira Stumm,Stela Maris Kulczynski,Arci Dirceu Wastowski,Vinícius Jardel Szareski,Juliano De Cesar Da Silva

doi:10.5539/jas.v10n10p518

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a foliar fungicide commonly used to control Asian soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) in the physiological and sanitary quality of soybean seeds. The experiment was carried out during the 2012/13 field season, with six treatments and four replications arranged in a randomized complete block design. The following treatments were evaluated: T1 (no fungicide application); one application at R1 stage; two applications at R1 and R3 stages; three applications at R1, R3, and R5 stages; four applications at R1, R3, R5, and R6 stages and five applications at R1, R3, R5, R6 and R7 stages. Seeds yield, seed weight, viability and vigor assessments were used to measure the impact of foliar fungicide applications on soybean yield and seed quality. The results indicated that four fungicide applications provide higher grain yield, increased seed weight, and germination percentages within commercial standards. In contrast, the number of fungicide applications did not correlate with the sanitary quality of the seeds.

Highlights

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is the most important oleaginous plant cultivated in the world
In Brazil, during the 2017/2018 soybean crop season, it was estimated that 31.9 million hectares were planted, representing a 3.5% increase in the national area, with an expected production of approximately 107 million tons (CONAB, 2017)
The analyzed data indicated that only some of the evaluated variables were significantly influenced by the treatments adopted

Summary

Introduction

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is the most important oleaginous plant cultivated in the world. Due to its great economic and social importance, is grown over a wide geographic area in Brazil and in other countries (Lazzarotto, 2010; Rigo et al, 2018). In Brazil, during the 2017/2018 soybean crop season, it was estimated that 31.9 million hectares were planted, representing a 3.5% increase in the national area, with an expected production of approximately 107 million tons (CONAB, 2017). Among the factors that define the success of soybean cultivation is the use of high quality seeds, which will generate high vigor plants that will have a superior performance in the field. The quality of seeds is of great importance, since it affects both the return of the invested capital and the yield potential for the crop season (Szareski et al, 2016; Strobel et al, 2016)

Objectives

Methods

Results