The chicharrita continues to decline: National monitoring confirms low catches in all regions

The National Monitoring Network for the Corn Leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) released its Report No. 27, corresponding to the period from September 12 to September 27, 2025, and confirmed that the pressure from the insect vector of the stunting disease remains at low levels in most of the corn-growing areas of Argentina, and even in Uruguay. A total of 355 localities in Argentina and 8 in Uruguay were surveyed, distributed in the NOA, NEA, Litoral, Centro-Norte, and Centro-Sur. The key data is that in all regions, a trend of population retraction is being consolidated, with a predominance of traps without captures or with minimal detections. In the Northwest, traditionally considered an endemic area, 57 localities were surveyed. 33% did not register any adults and in 40% of the cases, the captures were very low (1 to 4 per trap). The category of more than 100 adults per trap disappeared, which reflects a marked decline. The highest capture was recorded in Alto Verde (Tucumán), with ...