Brazil Aims To Cut Ag-chem Use On Cotton

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|29 October 2007

The first-year trials are aiming to cut pesticide applications against boll weevils (Anthonomus grandis), and are being run by Embrapa and the cotton farmer associations, Fundacao GO and Agopa.

The trials are being held in three regions with results almost no infestation. Farmers in the country usually spend US $216 on 12 pesticide applications per hectare against the pest, the Brazilian newswire adds. The project aims to reduce applications to four per season and cut costs by two-thirds within three years.