Farmbox monitoring tool to reduce pesticide use in soybean

Pesticides account for 30% of soybean growers’ costs in Brazil. Therefore, reduction in the use of pesticides can bring about substantially higher profits.

Brazilian company FarmBox offers a pest and disease monitoring tool, that allows growers to control pests in a very targeted way and thus save significantly on their pesticide use.

Integrated Pest Management

Farmbox’s system carries out a detailed monitoring of each field in order to plan and control applications, including integrated pest management (IPM) using biologicals.

50% decrease in pesticide costs

According to a study carried out by Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), IPM showed a more than 50% decrease in pesticide costs, while 45% fewer applications were required in comparison to traditional pest management methods. Soybean yields increased 2.4% at the same time.

For maximum effectiveness of IPM, it is important to use accurate monitoring tools. “With Farmbox, growers are able to implement sustainable pest management and can easily monitor and control all occuring pests and diseases”, said Farmbox CEO, André Guerreiro Cantarelli.

Field data

Farmbox uses a wide variety of field data for that purpose. The company uses indicators such as infestation maps, monitoring frequency, application schedule, inputs, harvest forecasts, costs, productivity and profitability per plot, among others.

“With the adequate technology, it is possible to optimise costs and labour. Without it, pesticides are often applied based on gut feeling, instead of being based on accurate pest monitoring results”, said Ivana Manke, marketing manager of Farmbox.

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