Integrated management is essential to combat corn leafhopper

When it comes to corn leafhopper attacks, experts are unanimous: there is not just one action capable of combating the pest, which is found to a lesser or greater extent in all states in the country where corn is planted. The leafhopper has the potential to compromise up to 70% of productivity when not controlled, which is why producers need to invest in integrated management to deal with the problem and avoid greater losses.

According to the researcher at Desafios Agro, Germison Tomquelski, the sector's expectation for the off-season is to reduce the occurrence of this pest in a large part of Brazil, as the scare of the last harvest encouraged producers to monitor each stage of cultivation more closely. “In addition to the natural contribution of the climate – which in this harvest was more favorable to management and culture than to leafhoppers – producers invested in initial care and more diversified and complementary integrated management, with strategies such as the removal of corn tiguera plants and the decrease in summer corn areas in certain regions. Another point that strongly contributed to this result is the growing adoption of biological tools, which add additional efficiency and safety to the chemical control of this target”, he explains.

Tomqueslski warns that, even if a lower incidence of the leafhopper is confirmed, this is not the time to relax. Investing in prevention contributes to greater productivity and helps producers maintain margins in a scenario marked by a sharp drop in prices and, at the same time, an unbridled rise in production costs.

Within integrated pest management (IPM), the adoption of biological control together with chemical pesticides for leafhopper management has grown year after year and the use of products based on entomopathogenic fungi has demonstrated excellent results, with high efficiency in the field.

“In recent years, we have seen good results in trials and field tests of target handling using technology from the company Vittia. Biological tools have added to pest control, both in the initial phase and also in the incidence of diseases, in addition to operationally providing peace of mind in the intervals between one application and another. They also made a good contribution to controlling aphids, another important crop pest, and also a vector of the common mosaic in corn”, says the researcher at Desafios Agro.

In the portfolio of biological manufacturer Vittia, leafhopper control is led by Bovéria-Turbo, a biological insecticide and acaricide that, in addition to its high-performance control action, also provides several other benefits to plants. “It brings technology that acts directly on the insect, colonizing it until death, as it produces spores of the fungus that spread throughout the area, infecting new insects and also guaranteeing residual control. It is one of the highlights of the Vittia portfolio, precisely because of its high efficiency, with prolonged action in the field and great chances of reaching migratory insects and new generations. Furthermore, it does not cause pest resistance and can be integrated into applications with chemicals”, says Vittia's Market Development Manager, Cibele Medeiros.

Other good practices to combat the leafhopper are seed treatment to protect the plant in its initial phase, adequate harvesting and crop management, without excesses or deficiencies, and constant care for the tigueras.