A uncommon leafhopper insect plague has affected corn crops
19 April 2024
1 minute learn
A uncommon leafhopper insect plague in Argentina has knocked an estimated $1.3 billion off the anticipated 2023/24 corn crop, the director of financial research on the Rosario grains alternate mentioned on Thursday, after the physique sharply lower it harvest outlook, Reuters reported.Â
Argentina, the world’s No. 3 corn exporter, was headed for a doubtlessly document crop till the outbreak of the pests, which unfold a stunt illness that damages corn. That led the Rosario alternate final week to knock 6.5 million tons off its forecast.
“In the meanwhile, the losses brought on by the leafhopper are estimated at round $1.268 billion,” Julio Calzada, head of the Rosario alternate’s financial research division, advised Reuters. The physique presently estimates a crop of fifty.5 million tons.
The rival Buenos Aires grains alternate has already dropped its corn forecast to 49.5 million tons. The Rosario alternate is prone to lower its outlook additional because the illness persists.
The leafhopper insect is a vector of the spiroplasma micro organism and different illnesses that injury corn.
