the The 2024/25 pea campaign will not produce a good harvest. Returns are highly variable and the main reasons for this behavior are: Excessive rainfall and fungal attacks That, taken together, It caused total losses to plants in the lower region Or poor development in sectors that have suffered from floods for a long time. Peas are Winter cultivation Which is grown to diversify the good crop and increase income, but in this campaign this purpose was not achieved. As an export product, China is the number one customer for this product.
“In the plots planted with peas in the 2024/25 season, a progression of conditions can be observed: In the hills, heavy rains will allow trend yields to be achieved; while In low-lying areas, total losses were recorded due to excess water. Between both extremes, there are intermediate states characterized by very poor plant development.” martin schmid, O’Brien’s producer at Bragado Party.
“Peas are a particularly sensitive crop to excess water.” Under normal conditions, it completes its cycle with good production with rainfall ranging from 300 to 350 mm. But in many areas, especially in the heart of the country, “About 200 mm per month accumulated during the winter and spring, which led to a production collapse in many companies.” Confirms Adrian Poletti, Owner of a monolithic consulting company.
Schmid points out that “There are sectors that are completely lost in the plots and others with very poor development, which predicts very low productivity due to the decrease in the number of plants and the appearance of fungal diseases.” Based on the yield trend of close to 20 F/ha, he estimates the campaign will close at 12 to 13.
The businessman does not remember a year with Such severe impact of waterlogging and attacks of crypto diseases. “In the face of anomalous climate behaviour, crops also responded in an unusual way; the campaign was characterized by heavy rains and bouts of extreme heat and unusual cold,” he recalls.
For his part, Politi adds that “In many plots, production problems started when planted with excess moisture in the winter.”
“The situation worsened in August with continued rainfall, which affected the work of pollinators, damaging the nitrogen supply to plants. During vegetative states, rainfall continued, leading to the emergence of diseases, forcing the implementation of two fungicide operations,” he said.
The result of this combination – excess water and fungal attacks – He was very different shares, with High sectors can reach 30qq/ha and others are only 5qq/ha.
The worst yields are seen in plots with a recent history of pea growing. “We understood that three years between peas was enough to reduce disease pressure, but what happened this year forces us to think in longer periods, from four to six years,” he understands. gabriel busson, Production manager of El Hinojo, a company that grows 40,000 hectares of fine and coarse grains in Entre Ríos.
“The predominant fungal diseases correspond to the Ascochyta complex, which appeared early and required immediate spraying. At the end of the cycle, powdery mildew, It bleaches plants and there is no chemical control possible once installed. “Its attack disrupts the photosynthesis process and affects grain filling.” Polity calls.
As a summary of the campaign, he notes that “in flooded sectors there was no possibility of plant recovery; in areas subjected to temporary flooding, they survived, but Rhizobium did not.” Causing a lack of nitrogen and poor plant growth.
In those cases, Returns will be well below the historical average. Compared to the last campaign – in which several plots of 28 m2/ha were registered – according to Politi this year Productivity will fall to 16-18 m3/ha in farms with good technology and to 10 m3/ha or less in low investment systems.
Grain quality will also be unacceptable due to harvesting under high humidity and inverted crops, with soil incorporated into the grain, which can lead to reductions if required quality standards are not met.
For its part, in El Hinojo, in Entre Ríos, they have grown winter and spring yellow pea varieties. “The winter varieties were the most affected by fungal diseases, as well as the week-long sunstroke that coincided with grain filling,” recalls Bosson.
The main fungus responsible for the damage was Ascochyta, which significantly reduced production even in well-cultivated plots with high-quality seeds and inoculations. In addition, the “summerization” of grain packaging led to a significant reduction in the weight of the 1000 grains, which fell to 160 grams compared to 250 grams in the previous campaign.
he The main destination for Argentine peas is export, with China being the main buyer. It is used for canned goods and snacks. Followed by Brazil and Senegal. the External demand ranges between 200 thousand and 230 thousand tons annually. while The local industry consumes about 20,000 tons of canned and split peas. “The consumption of legumes in Argentina is very low, about one kilogram per person per year,” Politi laments.
Peas have no prices in official markets; In general, marketing is carried out through agreements between producers and industrialists or exporters. “These days, Agricultores Federados Argentinos (AFA) is offering 360,000 pesos per ton. Buyers like Curcija, Areco Semillas, Merchants From Rosario,” recounts Schmid.
Usually, buyers specify the quality conditions of the goods through a contract, and most of what is purchased is intended for export to India in the form of yellow peas. Green peas are also marketed through specific contracts with canneries. Schmid recommends avoiding harvest-time deliveries without a contract, as this usually results in large price penalties. This month, the National Quality Standard for Peas is about to be approved, which will unify standards for receiving goods throughout the chain.