Abstract

The reduction in efficiency of triazole and strobilurin fungicides sprayed on soybean crops has stimulated investigations into alternative ways of controlling Asian rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi). Treating seeds with fluquinconazole may provide additional benefits in terms of disease management. Results obtained through research are inconclusive, however, with studies presenting both positive and negative outcomes. In cases such as these, meta-analysis is recommended to systematically summarize and quantify the effects of treatment. Data collection brought together 74 different results obtained between 2004 and 2016 on the efficiency of this product in seed treatment. Analysis demonstrated high heterogeneity, indicating variability between study results and therefore the random-effect model was used. This also enabled data to be analysed using moderator variables. Across the datasets, the soybean yield gain with fluquinconazole treated seed was 120. 4 kg.ha^-1 with a 95% confidence varying from 66 to 174 kg.ha^-1. There was a 69.4% probability of an increase of 60 kg.ha^-1, a 53.3% probability of an increase of 120 kg.ha^-1, a 36.7% probability of an increase of 180 kg.ha^-1 and a 22.3% probability of an increase of 240 kg.ha^-1. Therefore, this is another tool that can contribute to the integrated management of Asian rust.

Key words: Systematic review, effect size, software R, Phakopsora pachyrhizi.