Global Courant 2023-05-13 13:10:12
Bunge began working from this campaign on a program for the generation of biofuels based on rapeseed and camelina oil.
Plans to mitigate global warming create an opportunity and a challenge for agriculture. Basically, sustainable agriculture must be achieved, strict in the care of soil carbon and at the same time increase productivity. Society expects the capture of atmospheric carbon and fixation in the organic matter of the soils, spending the least possible amount of inputs.
For this challenge, which will set the pace of agriculture in the coming years, our country has some well-known tools such as direct seeding. In addition, the consumption of fertilizers has always focused on efficiency and, although it must be improved, there is one of the most efficient agriculture in the world.
However, to increase production we must incorporate other tools. The inclusion in the crop sequence of green bridges with harvest is one of them. The concept is based on developing winter crops with special characteristics that can be included in the current rotations, generating a more intensive sequence (more harvests in a given period). These crops make it possible to trade fallows for green bridges, carbon respiration for carbon sequestration, and a reduction in the need for herbicides.
Under this slogan, Bunge begins to work from this campaign on a program for the generation of biofuels based on rapeseed and camelina oil.
“Today what we see in the Pampas region is that winter crops occupy close to 30% and in some places less than that percentage. Many times there are long periods of time where the ground is bare or uncovered”, warned Matias Saks, Bunge’s Technical Coordinator.
“In the first instance, we have chosen rapeseed and camelina crops, two oilseeds from the brassica family whose main destination is biofuels. According to Saks, these species make it possible to intensify the sequence of crops and combat some of the problems present in different areas of the Pampas region, such as resistant weeds and superficial compaction.
Likewise, he remarked that these crops release the batch between 10 to 15 days before wheat, which helps to anticipate the planting of the second crop. “Some research papers indicate that there is a benefit in rapeseed compared to its predecessor wheat, which is 200 to 300 kilos of soybeans and 800-1000 kg/ha in corn.
“Our work aims to provide alternatives to the agricultural producer, which improve the sustainability of production and open new markets,” remarked the specialist. “For this we have made agreements with seed growers and we are bringing the best alternatives in both crops, along with technical monitoring and specific commercial agreements for these crops.”
The nutrition of these crops has to be balanced and efficient. “We are working on formulas with NPS and Zn since the meso and micronutrients are essential to improve the absorption of macronutrients. The improvement of fertilizers with additions of molecules that inhibit some nitrogen loss processes becomes increasingly important. In this line, urea with a volatilization inhibitor stands out, and the new formulation of SolMIX that adds reduces losses due to leaching.
