Tools to maintain the health of the bean to the letter

Legumes have their place well earned in the north of our country, being the cultivation of beans the most important in hectares and customs. Anyway, other crops such as chickpea are also very important, which with their relative importance versus beans, has been gaining space.

The cultivation of beans is the most important within the legumes that are produced in our country. Approximately 430,000 hectares are cultivated, mainly in the NOA, concentrating a large part of its production in the province of Salta (around 70%).

There are differences between producing areas and the type of beans, regardless of the variety or the environment, the main management problem is White Mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) an endemic disease of northern Argentina, which collects a large part of the investment in this crop every year. Which can cause large losses that can be up to 100% of production under favorable conditions for its development.

Given this context, investments in fungicides are strategic And as they say in the field, it always pays, since the investment is always less than the return that protection from this disease gives us.

For correct handling, we can’t leave everything to chemical management, but we must integrate different strategies and processes so as not to be very exposed to the disease.

One is to start from good quality seed, with good sanitary status and making use of tools that promote rapid growth and establishment of the seedling. Another cultural management is crop and variety rotation to cut the continuous cycle of disease in that flock. The management of row spacing and planting density help a lot to define what environment (microclimate) we generate for the development of the disease.

And with all these processes adjusted, if a sanitary management with fungicides that provides us with coverage and protection for the normal development of the crop. This last option is without a doubt the most important tool that we currently have. For its management we have to be very attentive to the environmental conditions during flowering, a stage where the pathogen has the opportunity to infect the crop.

Therefore, it is time to make use of protection tools. The success of the latter in controlling the disease is based on two decisions made by the producer; a fundamental is the application time, and the second is the choice of protection tool, where Fluazinam is the star or molecule most used for this purpose.

FMC Química SA has the main ownership of Fluazinam with the Tizca Brand, basically accepted for its quality of formulation and backed by its effectiveness year after year. And because Tizca has characteristics aimed at optimizing the preventive management of the disease. These can be summarized in the following points:

-Its asset, Fluazinam is one of the most efficient in controlling the pathogen.

-Innovative formulation that allows obtaining greater control efficiencies due to the quality and uniformity of particles, which ensure a higher concentration of AI

-Its size of particle formulation, which allows to increase the surface of control and adsorption by the sheet.

-Marked penetration into the crop, exerting a rapid effect on the pathogen.

These characteristics will give us an excellent preventive management, granting an integral barrier of protection to our crop, given the prolonged persistence and resistance to washing by rains, therefore, avoiding the attack of the pathogen when the conditions exist for the disease to spread. become a problem such as flowering crops, high relative humidity and temperate temperatures.

To optimize the aforementioned characteristics, the important thing is to respect the indicated management: apply preventively, which allows us to be successful in controlling pathogens and maximizing the return on investment. In this way, the use of tizca could be considered as an insurance for our lots, a technological investment, which allows us to control this extremely aggressive disease.

The effect of the integral protection barrier is manifested in: increase in the number of grains and their size from a greater number of grains / pod, number of pods per plant.

A greater Stay Green effect which allows a better filling and size of grains, a factor of fundamental incidence in the value of the merchandise from the improvement of the quality parameters of the grain.

Obviously, we must protect the crop at all times, and for this FMC has a very complete portfolio oriented to the entire vegetable complex, ranging from insecticides such as Coragen being the fundamental tool for the management of defoliation machines such as isocas measuring and false measuring machines among others. For whitefly management, Talstar is a great tool for managing it.

The investment made in herbicides is also very important. So much fallow to get to the sowing of the crop, where FMC has a very good participation with Shark. As well as in pre-emergence of the crop, where experiences are being carried out with very good results in the use of Capaz, which is already very important as a herbicide in the cultivation of Chickpea, and which could soon be added to the herbicides of safe use in Poroto if you submit to registration.

In recent years, the row cut for the harvest of the bean crop has been spreading, almost as much as the standing desiccation. For these two harvesting practices, many tests are being carried out that can give us adequate tools for this management. FMC is promoting trials and tests of shark for this use.

It is essential that input companies accompany the growth and development of crops such as beans or all legumes, providing solutions backed by registration for their use, because one of the important limitations is precisely the amount of products registered for safe use. And like all crops, cultural management is essential, but the effectiveness in crop protection is best expressed when we relate cultural management with good planning of chemical tools.

Writing note: The author is coordinator of the FMC NOA-Norte de Córdoba Technical Service.