EN 
PT_BR The Integrated Agricultural Development Company of Santa Catarina (Cidasc) publishes the sanitary gap period and soybean sowing calendar in Santa Catarina for the 2025/2026 harvest established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), in Ordinance No. 1,271, of May 5, 2025.
The measures, combined with the ban on soybean cultivation on soybeans, are provided for in the National Program for the Control of Asian Soybean Rust (PNCFS) and are fundamental in the context of plant health protection, focusing on the prevention and control of Asian rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi), one of the most severe diseases affecting soybean crops.
The sanitary break consists of a continuous interval during which it is forbidden to cultivate, maintain or allow the presence of live emerged soybean plants. During this period, it is also mandatory to eliminate volunteer plants (spontaneously born – guaxa soybean) in the fields, aiming to break the cycle of the pathogen that causes the disease. With the sanitary break, the population of the fungus in the environment is reduced during the off-season, significantly delaying the occurrence of the disease in the following harvest.
The sowing calendar establishes the period allowed for planting soybeans, and aims to rationalize the number of fungicide applications throughout the harvest and, therefore, reduce the selection pressure for fungus resistance to fungicides.
Asian rust can compromise between 10% and 90% of productivity under conditions favorable to infection and development of the fungus, and is therefore one of the main threats to the sustainability of soybean production in the country. Strict adoption of the sanitary gap and the sowing calendar is essential to minimize risks and ensure the health of Santa Catarina's crops.
For the 2025/2026 harvest, the territory of Santa Catarina was divided into only two regions, whereas in previous harvests there were four regions. “We proposed to Mapa that the sowing period be extended by 20 days in the region that, in the previous harvest, covered the Midwest, Southern Plateau, Greater Florianópolis and North of the State. Thus, all municipalities in Santa Catarina had a 120-day planting window, benefiting producers, who previously had only 100 days and simplifying the management of regions with different dates in the state”, explains the agricultural engineer and manager of the State Department of Plant Health Defense (Dedev) of Cidasc, Alexandre Mees.
Region I:
Soybean Sanitary Vacancy: July 4, 2025 to October 12, 2025
Soybean Sowing Period: October 13, 2025 to February 10, 2026
Region II:
Soybean Sanitary Vacancy: June 13, 2025 to September 21, 2025
Soybean Sowing Period: September 22, 2025 to January 22, 2026
Cidasc reinforces that the National Program for Controlling Asian Soybean Rust aims to protect the production of the largest commodity in Brazilian agribusiness, and, in the long term, Santa Catarina's production also benefits from the success of the program.
