Taxa de utilização e critérios de escolha de sementes de soja no estado de Santa Catarina

Abstract

Due to its economic importance, soybean (Glycine max) has been the subject of intense research aimed at providing information leading to higher yield gains. With in this context, the use of legal seeds is considered an extremely important tool for farmers. However, for several reasons, farm-saved seeds or informal seeds are regularly used by farmers. Aiming to evaluate the soybean seed usage rate in the state of Santa Catarina, identify reasons explaining the use of legal or illegal seeds, and providing guide lines for sanitary education and supervision by the Integrated Agricultural Development Company of Santa Catarina (CIDASC), a survey research was under taken polling 103 soybean producers from different regions of the state. Data were collected from 12/01/2012 to 03/29/2013 in 67 municipalities of Santa Catarina located in soybean- producing regions. The results obtained showed that the rate of legal soybean seed usage in Santa Catarina for the last three growing seasons was 71.9, 73.4 and 79.6%, respectively. Seed lots with low vigor and sanitary problems are the main criteria that guide the producer's decision to opt for commercial seeds. The high price of commercial seeds and acceptable crop yields obtained from farmsaved seeds explain the use of saved or informal seed in the state of Santa Catarina.