UPL Argentina launches OPTIMAT at the Aapresid Congress 2023

With the presence of Vikram Shroff, Co-CEO and Vice President of the UPL Group, UPL Argentina presented OPTIMAT at the Aapresid Congress 2023.

According to the Indian multinational, it is a powerful biological solution developed to recover from stress in soybeans.

OPTIMAT can be applied together with post-emergence herbicides such as Fomesafen, also against damage caused by 2,4-D drift and in different situations of abiotic stress.

According to UPL, OPTIMAT resets the soybean crop's metabolism and eliminates harmful compounds, allowing it to recover and reducing the impact on performance.

″The problem of stress in crops has been increasing due to climate change. At each harvest, soybeans suffer thermal and light stress (UV rays), and frost and are even affected by management errors, such as the use of certain herbicides, drifts, or dirty tanks″, argued Diego Gandulfo, Marketing Director of UPL Argentina.

According to him, OPTIMAT is capable of recovering a large part of the lost yield potential, in addition to adding kilos, as it protects the crop from stress situations that are often invisible.

OPTIMAT is a biological product developed by UPL within the scope of its NPP (Natural Plant Protection) business unit.

″In addition to its powerful response, one of the keys to this development is the stability of the results obtained in different years, environments, varieties, soils, etc,″ said Gandulfo.

This is because, he explained, the product generates biochemical reserves to support critical periods, and regulates the opening and closing of stomata and water transport.

″In turn, it keeps the plant's detoxification system active, promoting the continuous synthesis of glutathione, the main detoxification pathway in plants. It also forms complexes with antioxidant action and quickly balances the chlorophyll content,″ he added.

A series of tests carried out in 34 locations between 2018 and 2023 showed that the use of Fomesafen caused a 6% drop in yield.

After the application of OPTIMAT, it was possible to recover 6.5% of the yield, that is, everything that was ″lost″ by the herbicide effect and a little more.

Under 2,4-D drift stress, the average yield drop was 18% (575 kg/ha) and recovery was 7% (181 kg/ha).

When measuring phytotoxicity due to pre-emergent herbicides in three regions during the 2018/19 campaign, the yield drop was 5.6% (158 kg/ha) and the increase after the use of OPTIMAT was 5.2% (140 kg/ha).

Trials carried out in 16 locations in the years 2020/2023 also show yield increases of 6.2% (193 kg/ha) due to the use of OPTIMAT in preventive applications.

″The studies carried out indicate that with OPTIMAT, in more than 85% of cases, it is possible to recover the harvest profitably. This speaks of its stability and recovery power, which translates into gains of more than 60 USD/ha for the producer″, concluded Gandulfo.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)