The Role of Economic Thresholds to Optimize Insecticide Application in Soybean Production

Global population growth underscores the increasing demands for food production, and therefore, for higher crop yields, especially in soybean, as the cheapest source of protein for animal and human nutrition. This scenario frequently leads to overuse of traditional chemical insecticides to maximize yields, thereby triggering adverse side effects. However, both consumers and governments around the world have been demanding reduction of chemical insecticides in agriculture. To address this challenge, pest control must be guided by proper adoption of economic thresholds (ETs), which indicate the most appropriate time to initiate insecticide applications. Despite the well-documented science behind ETs, not only its adoption but also its reliability has been questioned by farmers in a search for higher production, highlighting the importance of reviewing this topic. Thus, this review discusses, based on the available literature, the role of ETs to optimize insecticide application in soybean production, highlining the importance of their adoption to mitigate the overuse of chemicals. In Brazil, the major soybean producer in the world, not only did growers who adopted ETs to control pests in soybean reduce the amount of pesticides required, but also production costs associated with pest control, while achieving greater yields than conventional producers. The use of ETs improves soybean sustainability and farmers profit while benefitting the agroecosystem.