‘Mad Soybean’ Disease May Cut Some Brazil Output

Soybean farmers in Brazil, the world’s second-largest producer of the oilseed, are facing a new crop disease that threatens to curb yields in some areas by as much as 60 percent, a government researcher said.

The crop disease, known as soja louca in Portuguese or mad soybean, has been detected in small parts of Mato Grosso state, which accounts for 30 percent of the nation’s output, said Mauricio Meyer, a plant-disease specialist at the government’s agricultural research agency known as Embrapa. It has also been reported in Maranhao, Para and Tocantins states, he said.