TECHNOLOGY
Technology applied to agribusiness has shown positive results in enhancing productivity, pest and disease control, and reducing waste. Learn more about the major initiatives applied to sugarcane production in Brazil.
DRONES
Drones have multiple uses in agriculture including productivity data monitoring, fire control and the fight against disease and pests. Through multispectral or RGB cameras, drones can register sequential images of a certain area that, in conjunction with data analysis, also helping guide producers about sugarcane field health and soil quality.
Drones play an important role in pest control by enabling producers to rapidly and accurately introduce natural predators, a technique known as biological control.
SATELLITES
Sugarcane producers use technology to monitor and to be prepared to fight fires, especially during the dry season. Some mills and distilleries use NASA (U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration) satellites for real-time monitoring of fire outbreaks, helping to decrease fire-brigade response time. The 24/7 fire outbreak monitoring has decreased response time from 23 to 6 minutes.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The Brazilian sugarcane investment in enhanced genome research has enabled the development of sugarcane varieties better adapted to regional soil and weather patterns, and more resistant to diseases and pests. The Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC) keeps more than 4,000 varieties in its Sugarcane Germplasm Bank, the biggest and most complete genome bank for sugarcane in the world.
