The Monitora Milho SC Application was developed to facilitate access to information on the maize stunting complex for the maize production sector in Santa Catarina. Through the App, the user will be able to monitor the incidence of the corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis, in the location where the insect is being monitored. The leafhopper is an insect vector of corn stunt pathogens. The App will also be able to bring information about the infectivity of the corn leafhopper with the pathogens of the stunt complex, namely the red stunt phytoplasma, the pale stunt spiroplasma and the stripe virus.
The corn that develops in the off-season from lost grains can become a shelter for the corn leafhopper and also a reservoir for pathogens, being key for the introduction of pathogens in a crop installed in the next agricultural year. The App presents an interactive platform, in which the user can send a record of occurrence of volunteer corn (tiguera or guaxo).
The App is one of the solutions outlined by the Action Committee Against the Corn Leafhopper and Diseases of the Enfezamentos Complex, formed by several entities linked to the Santa Catarina agricultural sector. The Committee supports actions to raise awareness in the sector regarding the need for regionalized integrated management, which includes monitoring the corn leafhopper and reports of volunteer corn (tiguera) and annually promotes a campaign to reduce harvest losses and in the transport and disposal of voluntary maize.