Drought and pests may compromise 20% of soy crop in Bahia, Brazil

The Bahia Irrigators Association (Aiba) warns that the soybean crop of 2013/14 may suffer a drop of up to 20% depending on the drought and pests in Bahia, Brazil.

In December 2013, it was forecasted that 56 sacks of soybeans per hectare was to be harvested, but due to a combination of bad weather and pests attacks such as Helicoverpa armigera and Grewia (Phalsa), the estimate dropped to 44 sacks per hectare in the region. Half the production has already been harvested and it is estimated that the work should be finalized by the end of the month.

Recently, unstable areas were affected by high amounts of rain in different parts of the State. In addition, there are still more forecasts of rain, sometimes heavy and bulky on Petrolina, Barra and the region of Paulo Afonso.

The agronomist engineer of the Aiba, Luiz Spahlke hopes, however, that weather conditions do not bring negative effects to cotton crops , which is now the second most important in the State. "The forecast for the cotton crop is good and is already in blossom. The cotton will be harvested between June and July of 2014" he points out.

According to Conab Brazil, the Bahian soybean production should reach 3.2 million tons. The estimate for cotton is 3500 kilos per hectare within 305 thousand hectares planted, representing a production of 1.2 million tons in the year 2013/14.