Eficiência do tratamento de sementes para controle de Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott) na cultura do milho: uma revisão bibliográfica

Abstract

Maize is one of the most important agribusiness crops in Brazil. As it is produced in three harvests, it contributes to prolonged periods of survival of the corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott), one of the main pests of the crop. The damage caused by this pest is mainly the transmission of phytopathogenic bacteria, phytoplasma and spiroplasma, and the transmission of the Maize Rayado Fino Virus when feeding on plant sap, which drastically affects crop productivity. The control of this pest is carried out mainly with chemicals, and can be done in the form of seed treatment with systemic insecticides, and its use has gained ground in the market for achieving higher productivity in crops. Insecticides used in seed treatment act preventively in the control of D. maidis, preventing major damage in the early stages and ensuring the development of maize plants. This work addressed a literature review of recent studies evaluating the effectiveness of seed treatments to control D. maidis in maize crops and also the effect of these treatments on stunt-disseminating pathogens. In order to complement the work, due to the lack of studies on the effectiveness of seed treatment for the control of D. maidis in the maize crop, works referring to the control of other sucking insects in the cotton crop, using the seed treatment were addressed. Seed treatment is efficient in the control of sucking insects in the initial stages of the culture in experiments carried out in greenhouses, as a preventive strategy. Under field conditions, the results were unsatisfactory. Thus, the need for further studies on the efficiency of seed treatment for the control of D. maidis in maize crop is evident.