SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – The 2022/23 soybean harvest reached 8% of the cultivated area in Rio Grande do Sul, a weekly advance of 4 percentage points, but with a delay compared to previous years, Emater-RS said on Thursday , also citing problems in the quality of grains harvested after periods of drought that affected the crops.
A year earlier, harvesting work was at 20% and the historical average for this time of year is 35%, according to data from the technical assistance and rural extension company.
The lack of rain during the summer months caused a reduction of around 30% in the oilseed’s productive potential, and current productivity is estimated at 2,175 kilograms per hectare.
“In addition to the reduction in production, there are problems in the quality of the harvested grains, many present forced maturation, without the correct development”, said Emater in a report.
“Part of the grains are malformed, (they are) small and with less weight, which reduces the profitability and the commercial result of the crops”, he added.
The company pointed out that other factors contribute to the production of Rio Grande do Sul having different levels of productivity in this season, such as soil compaction, low accumulation of straw covering the areas and lack of crop rotation.
On the other hand, the occurrence of rains of variable intensity in the last week helped in the more uniform maturation of the crops in development, commented Emater. Most areas in Rio Grande do Sul are in the maturation phase, totaling 42%.
The corn harvest reached 77% of areas in Rio Grande do Sul, versus 74% last week.
In the same period of the previous cycle, jobs were at 73%, while the historical average is 64%.
“The harvest advanced more slowly in the state, evolving in properties that have their own storage structure and in small productions. The commercial or collective structures concentrate the logistics in the soybean harvest”, said the report.
As with soy, the productivity of the cereal is variable, depending on the distribution of rainfall and the use of irrigation.
“In crops that do not have this technology and rainfall was insufficient, the results were even worse”, he added.
(Reporting by Nayara Figueiredo)