Soybean Output in Brazil to Rise 14.8% in 2024/25, Trials Confirm Benefits of Agrocete’s Building Productivity Approach
13 September 2025, Brazil: Brazil’s largest crop by volume and planted area, soybean is expected to reach 169.6 million tonnes in the 2024/25 harvest, according to the Brazilian National Supply Company (Conab), representing a 14.8% increase over the previous cycle.
Despite its economic relevance and direct contribution to agribusiness GDP, soybean may suffer significant yield losses due to soil-borne diseases caused by fungi and nematode attacks, adverse climatic conditions and improper crop management.
In this context, the concept called Construção da Produtividade (Building Productivity), an integrated management approach proposed by Agrocete — a Brazilian multinational specialized in plant physiology and nutrition, application technology and bioinputs — gains importance. The concept understands consistent results not as the outcome of isolated actions but as the product of integrated management from field preparation through to harvest. Recent studies reinforce the practice’s effectiveness: at the Instituto Goiano de Agricultura (IGA) in Montividiu (GO), the practice increased yield by up to 14.15%, resulting in an additional 7.76 sacks per hectare (≈ 465.6 kg/ha) compared with the control plot. In Arapoti (PR), trials recorded an even larger increment — up to 26.5% and 14.8 sacks per hectare (≈ 888 kg/ha) — confirming sizeable gains when the management is applied comprehensively across the soybean cycle.
Agrocete structured Building Productivity based on more than 330 scientific studies conducted in partnership with 90 research institutions. The aim is to promote balance in the agricultural environment, maximizing available resources and field outcomes. To achieve this, a series of complementary practices must be combined following three main pillars: Planting, Vigor and Rooting; Early Growth and Strength; and Application Technology. “Instead of seeking ad hoc solutions for problems already established, integrated management anticipates the crop’s needs and creates conditions for the plant to express its full productive potential from the start of the cycle. That means acting preventively, strengthening each development stage to reduce risks and get the most from invested resources. Agrocete’s portfolio — about 70 products — plays a central role in this strategy, providing solutions for every stage, all compatible with one another,” says Andrea de Figueiredo Giroldo, Marketing and Technical Development Director at Agrocete.
The first pillar, Planting, Vigor and Rooting, is considered the critical stage for ensuring subsequent phases also achieve success and deliver notable productivity gains. At this time, biological seed treatments and in-furrow applications, nutritional reinforcements and beneficial organic compounds are used to promote vigorous rooting, biological nitrogen fixation, greater stress tolerance and biological control of pests and soil-borne diseases. Next, the Early Growth and Strength stage supports robust and healthy plant development — essential for accumulating energy and assimilates later converted into grain. At this stage, management combines physiological stimulants, nutritional reinforcements and biological protection, producing more branched, stronger plants that are more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. Finally, the Application Technology pillar ensures that biological, nutritional and physiological solutions are effective in the field and also enhance the performance of crop protection products. Correct use of adjuvants is decisive: even the best inputs may not reach full potential without appropriate application technique.
Field results – Two recent studies carried out during the 2024/2025 season validate the practice’s benefits. Each study tested different combinations of products from the GRAP line, which includes foliar fertilizers with multiple functions, adjuvants, inoculants for biological nitrogen fixation, biostimulants, bionematicides, biofungicides and multifunctional biological products that promote growth, solubilize phosphorus and contribute to integrated crop management. “In addition to yield increases, one of the studies reported more pods and higher pod weight, more grains per plant and plant architecture capable of supporting a higher load. In the other study, which focused on evaluating product efficacy against nematodes and other soil pathogens, we observed higher thousand-kernel weight (TKW), control of late-season diseases and reduced populations of these organisms in both soil and roots,” explains Luis Felipe Dresch, Technical & Market Development Manager (DTM) at Agrocete.
In Arapoti, state of Paraná, at Fazenda Mutuca — recognized for its role in the development of no-till farming — four management types were tested: control; the farm’s standard (using competing inputs); in-furrow application of GRAP line solutions at planting; and a full-cycle management regime applying different products from the line throughout the cycle. The full management treatment outperformed the control by 14.8 sacks per hectare (+26.5%) and the farm standard by 3.46 sacks per hectare (+4.9%), also delivering an 8.35% increase in economic return. In addition, the combined solutions applied during the entire productive cycle significantly improved plant structure and quality: pod weight increased by +46% and +60% versus the control and versus the standard, respectively; pod count rose by +7.4% and +12.1%; and grains per plant increased by +8.8% and +7.8%. Plant structural traits were also positively affected, with greater stem diameter (+8.9% and +14.9%) and more lateral branches (+21.4% and +25.9%), indicating greater capacity to support a higher yield load.
The second study, conducted at the Instituto Goiano de Agricultura (IGA, Goiano Institute of Agriculture) experimental station in Montividiu, state of Goiás, evaluated six management strategies ranging from the control to different combinations incorporating Agrocete’s biologicals from the GRAP line — BIOSTAT (bionematicide) and BeesTRIC (biofungicide) — applied as seed treatments, in-furrow at planting and at vegetative stages, as well as a treatment using a competing product. The strategies tested biologicals alone and in combination, aiming to enhance protection against nematodes and soil-borne diseases while strengthening plant vigor across the cycle.
Nematodes and other soil pathogens are a persistent challenge in soybean production: in addition to directly damaging roots, they create favorable conditions for other diseases, alter soil microbiota and reduce plant longevity, all harming yield. Historically, control relied on chemical nematicides, but continuous use and dose increases can lead to resistance. “Introducing biological products — fungi and beneficial bacteria — together with nutritional solutions that stimulate root growth reduces nematode populations and controls these pests naturally, without compromising soil health. It’s a strategic, preventive approach that protects the plant on a daily basis rather than reacting to problems, following the crop as it grows,” Dresch highlights.
IGA study results confirm integrated management efficacy. The combination of BIOSTAT and BeesTRIC, applied in-furrow and followed by BeesTRIC at vegetative stages V4 and V5, raised yield from 47.8 to 54.57 sacks per hectare, an increase of 14.15% (+7.76 sacks/ha). Thousand-kernel weight rose by 3.9%, from 162 g to 168.4 g. Late-season diseases (DFCs), such as frogeye leaf spot and brown spot, had a reduced impact when the products were applied, with BeesTRIC as a seed treatment reducing DFC severity by 57.4% at 60 days after emergence. BIOSTAT, applied as a seed treatment, proved effective against Helicotylenchus spp., reducing their population in soil by 49% at 45 days and by 36% at 75 days. The effect remained significant through the end of the cycle, being the only treatment with meaningful efficacy at that stage.
“Soil pathogens are interconnected and their combined presence significantly increases root problems and disease severity. To control these effects efficiently, it’s essential to adopt a management approach that combines different biological and nutritional solutions and acts preventively and strategically along the entire cycle. Integrating management means, for example, using a bionematicide together with a biofungicide, reducing both nematodes and fungi in the soil, boosting control effectiveness and allowing the crop to excel,” explains Weder Nunes Ferreira Junior, researcher in phytopathology and nematology at the Instituto Goiano de Agricultura (IGA).
However, he emphasizes that it is essential to understand each technology’s dynamics to correctly position them in terms of dose, application method and combination with other solutions. “We have observed significant advances in product compatibility — not only in avoiding antagonism among microorganisms, but also in how combinations can potentiate control effects. In the study, we observed that the biofungicide showed nematicidal activity and the bionematicide exhibited strong control effects against nematodes. With integrated management, we were able to increase control efficacy and yield increments. When the biofungicide was reapplied at the fourth vegetative stage, the effect was even greater, as these microorganisms also act as biostimulants and growth promoters, in addition to reducing foliar spots and soil-borne diseases from that stage onward,” the researcher adds.
Sustainability and integrated management – Building Productivity seeks not only to produce more but to produce better and sustainably. By preserving soil microbiota, reducing sole reliance on chemical crop protection and positioning biologicals and nutrients strategically, management becomes safer for applicators and the environment while increasing system resilience. In a sector that must increase food supply without expanding the agricultural frontier, per-hectare efficiency gains are the most responsible strategy, combining economic return with sustainable practices.
Within this context, Agrocete has continued investing in solutions that promote balanced agriculture, drawing on science, practice and technology. Today nearly half of the company’s products are classified as sustainable, and in 2024 these solutions accounted for 76% of domestic sales in Brazil. The portfolio includes specialty fertilizers, biological inoculants and biodefensives, with emphasis on bioinputs aimed at nutrition, growth stimulation and pest and disease control, as well as products formulated with organic raw materials or designed to reduce chemical pesticide use — thereby making the crop more efficient and resilient.
Reinforcing this movement, the Brazilian multinational — headquartered in Ponta Grossa (PR) — announced an investment of BRL 11 million in the construction of a new plant dedicated to biodefensives production, already underway. In addition, the company will allocate 5% of annual turnover to R&D and plans to launch eight new biological products by 2027, developed internally or in partnership with biotechnology companies. “With the new plant, the planned launches and continuous R&D investment, we are expanding our capacity to offer ever more innovative and sustainable biological solutions, consistently meeting market demands,” concludes Andrea de Figueiredo Giroldo, Marketing and Technical Development Director at Agrocete.
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