Brazil: UPL creates group of experts in weed resistance

UPL has announced the creation of a “Wolf Team” – a group of recognized Brazilian experts that will gather to think and plant “the future of resistance of weeds to herbicides”. The goal is to reach conclusions and new technological solutions that can help producers to foresee the evolution of the problem and reduce the impact on yields.

According to consultancy Sparks Companies Inc., the weed resistance has increased at an annual rate of 6.2%. In the meantime, the major herbicide products can lose up to 48% of effectiveness since the launch, impacting the fall of the crop yield– reaching about 20% on soybeans and 22% on corn.

"We have a growing situation of weed resistance to glyphosate at each season. We are concerned about this future. Predicting this problem, we are gathered to discuss what we do today to avoid that the producer is affected in the next years. In 2025, for instance, how will that be? We need to understand the problem to think about the solution and then act. Nothing better than the most recognized researchers thinking together to make the result even more effective,” explains Luciano Zanotto, Manager of Herbicide Products of UPL Brazil.

The Wolf Team selection includes researchers of several crops in different regions of the country: soybeans, corn, cotton, sugarcane, rice, and pasture. “Each researcher brings the reality of the region where works, but in the end the problem is the same. Those are different experiences that can contribute for a solution for all,” affirms Sylvio Henrique Bidel Dornelles, rice researcher at the Federal University of Santa Maria (Rio Grande do Sul).

According to Zanotto, “this is the first group meeting that can bring important solutions for all producers in Brazil. These group studies generate knowledge that can and should be spread so that our crops are more productive in the future”.