Sales of insecticides for corn leafhopper control jump in Brazil

A recent study showed that the sales of pesticides for the control of corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) increased 85% during the 2017-18 season. According to data from the survey, the growth of these sales contrasted with a 15% reduction in the corn planting area this summer.

Estimates indicated that the sales of this kind of insecticides were valued at US$17.1 million compared to the sales in the 2016-17 season, which were $9.2 million.

Acording to the study these active ingredients represent 94% of the total revenue in the sector of foliar insecticides. “To control this plague, the focus should be on the crop, as its impact on crops is extremely harmful to the productivity of hybrids on corn,” the author affirmed.

The author also indicated that besides these insecticides, the demand for other products such as neonicotinoids, organophosphates, and pyrethroids had increased significantly. According to him, the sector of suckers was the only one to show growth this season, being almost totally directed to the application to combat Dalbulus maidis. “The drier weather contributed to the increase in the plague’s impact this season,” he explained.

The data released by this study showed that the corn-planted area in this cycle represented some 3.54 million hectares. The disease is associated with the high population density of the infectious insects on the crop, which are responsible for transmitting pathogens from sick plants to healthy plants, inflicting serious damage on corn production.