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Sweet Corn:
ATTRA Organic Production
    A Publication of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service • 1-800-346-9140 • www.attra.ncat.org

By Steve Diver,                              Organic sweet corn may be
George Kuepper, and                          grown for direct sale, the fresh
Preston Sullivan                             market or processing. This
Updated by                                   publication discusses key
Katherine Adam                               aspects of producing organic
NCAT Agriculture                             sweet corn including variet-
Specialist                                   ies, soil fertility, crop rotations,
© 2008 NCAT                                  weed control, insect pest man-
                                             agement, diseases, harvesting,
                                             postharvest handling, marketing
                                             and production economics.
Contents
Organic farming and
                                             Introduction
certification ...................... 1        Good markets exist for
Sweet corn                                   organic sweet corn. How-
varieties ............................. 2    ever, adequate weed and
Soil fertility ....................... 3     insect control can be dif-
Crop rotations, cover                        ficult to achieve. This pro-
crops and weed                               duction guide addresses
control ................................ 4
                                             key aspects of organic sweet
Insect pest
management ................... 6
                                             corn production, as well as
                                             postharvest handling and
Diseases ........................... 12
                                             economics. A list of Inter- Photo courtesy of USDA/ARS.
Harvest ............................. 13
                                             net resources on sweet corn
Postharvest                                  provides access to helpful information on legumes, green manures, composts and
handling .......................... 13
                                             ecological production practices. ATTRA mineral-bearing rock powders to feed the
Marketing and
economics ...................... 14
                                             publications mentioned in this production soil and supply plant nutrients. Organic
                                             guide are available online at www.attra. farmers manage insects, weeds and other
References ...................... 16
                                             ncat.org or by calling 800-346-9140.
Resources ........................ 18                                                      pests with mechanical cultivation and
Appendix: Crop Budget                        Although production guides on conventional cultural, biological and biorational con-
Worksheet....................... 21          sweet corn practices are readily available trols. Biorational methods aim to manage
                                             from the U.S. Department of Agriculture the pest species with the minimum amount
                                             Cooperative Extension Service, comprehen- of disturbance to beneficial insects.
                                             sive information on organic cultivation prac-
                                             tices is difficult to find. Organic sweet corn Organic farmers do not use conventional
                                             production differs from conventional pro- commercial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides
ATTRA – National Sustainable
Agriculture Information Service is
                                             duction primarily in soil fertility and pest or synthetic growth regulators. Organic
managed by the National Center for           management practices. These issues are the farmers do not use genetic engineering,
Appropriate Technology (NCAT)
and is funded under a grant
                                             primary focus of this publication.            as defi ned in the excluded methods of the
from the U.S. Department of                                                                National Organic Program.
Agriculture’s Rural Business-
Cooperative Service. Visit the               Organic farming and                         AT T R A’s Organic Crop Production
NCAT Web site (www.ncat.org/
sarc_current.php) for                        certification                                Overview provides information on the
more information on
our sustainable agri-
                                             Organic farmers rely heavily on crop        h i stor y, ph i losophy a nd pra ct ices
culture projects.                            rotations, crop residues, animal manures,   of organic farming.
Organic certification emerged as a grass-          is available. For more information, see
                       roots production and marketing tool during        ATTRA’s Seed Production and Variety
                       the 1970s and 1980s to ensure that foods          Development for Organic Systems.
                       labeled as organic met specified standards
                                                                         This publication focuses primarily on the
                       of production. The Organic Foods Produc-
                                                                         certified organic growing of sweet corn,
                       tion Act, a section of the 1990 Farm Bill,
                                                                         though some hard-to-fi nd information of a
                       enabled the USDA to develop a national
Related ATTRA                                                            more general nature is also included. For
                       program of universal standards, certifica-
Publications                                                             basic production information including
                       tion accreditation and food labeling.
                                                                         planting dates, regionally adapted varieties
Organic Crop
                       In April 2001, the USDA released the              and local market outlets, contact the Coop-
Production Overview
                       Final Rule of the National Organic Pro-           erative Extension Service in your area.
Organic Farm           gram. This set of national regulations stipu-     In addition, marketing assistance is often
Certification and the   lates, in considerable detail, exactly what a     available through each state’s department
National Organic
                       grower can and cannot do to produce and           of agriculture.
Program
                       market a product as organic. Growers must
Seed Production and    be certified, complete paperwork, pay fees         Sweet corn varieties
Variety Development    and undergo annual inspection. To learn
for Organic Systems                                                      Variety selection is an important consider-
                       more about the details of the certification
                                                                         ation in sweet corn production and includes
Overview of Cover      process, see ATTRA’s Organic Farm Certifi-
                                                                         factors such as sweetness, days to maturity,
Crops and Green        cation and the National Organic Program.
Manures                                                                  seed color, size, yield potential and toler-
                       The national law that took effect in Octo-        ance to pests. The Cooperative Extension
Foliar Fertilization
                       ber 2002 essentially requires farmers sell-       Service can provide a list of varieties rec-
Farmscaping to         ing produce labeled organic to be certified        ommended for each region.
Enhance Biological     through a private or state-run certification
                                                                         Cross-pollination of sweet corn with other
Control                agency accredited by the USDA.
                                                                         kinds of corn or with some other sweet
Cucumber Beetles:                                                        corn genotypes can result in starchy-tast-
                       Section 205.204 of the NOP states that
Organic and
Biorational IPM
                       seed must be organically grown. Farmers           ing kernels. Sweet corn will cross with
                       may use untreated, non-organic seed when          field corn, including genetically engi-
Biointensive           an equivalent organically produced variety        neered varieties, but not with popcorns.
Integrated Pest                                                          Generally, a minimal isolation distance of
                       is not commercially available. Most certi-
Management
                       fiers require that certified organic sweet          250 feet between those varieties or types
NCAT’s Organic         corn be produced from certified organic            is recommended; 700 feet is preferred for
Crops Workbook         seed. Although breeding efforts are under-        more complete isolation. Some authorities
Postharvest            way, varieties bred specifically for organic       recommend a quarter mile, or 1,320 feet.
Handling of Fruits     production are not available at this time.        Table 1 summarizes the general character-
and Vegetables         Only seed of the usual commercial varieties       istics of sweet corn genotypes, including
Direct Marketing       produced under organic management                 isolation requirements.
Farmers’ Markets:      Table 1: Sweet corn genotypes
Marketing and
Business Guide         Genotype           Sweetness          Conversion of    Isolate from            Comments
                                                             sugars to starch
Entertainment
Farming and            Normal sugary      Moderately         Rapid            (sh2) varieties         Early; germi-
Agri-Tourism           (su)               sweet                                                       nates in cold soil
                       Sugary             Sweeter than       Not as rapid as     (sh2) varieties      (se+) is sweeter
                       enhanced (se),     (su), less sweet   (su)                                     than (se)
                       (se+)              than (sh2)
                       Super sweet or     Very sweet         Very slow           (su), (se) & (se+)   Longest shelf-
                       shrunken (sh2)                                            varieties            life; germinates
                                                                                                      poorly in cold
                                                                                                      soils

Page 2         ATTRA                                                                 Sweet Corn: Organic Production
inches tall, additional nitrogen fertilizer will
  Seedling establishment                            not increase yield (Howell, 1998).
       •   Plant seed 1.5 to 2 inches deep.
                                                    Supplemental sidedress nitrogen fertiliz-
       •   Plot rows no closer than 30 to           ers used in organic vegetable production
           36 inches. Rows planted closer           include plant and animal by-products like
           together may cause nutrient stress,      blood meal, fishmeal and soybean meal, as
           be difficult to cultivate and cause
                                                    well as pelletized compost products.
           shaded conditions for overseeding
           in the fall.
                                                     Table 2. Commercial organic nitrogen
       •   Consider planting later than con-         recommendations: Pounds of organic fertilizer
           ventional growers. With the use           needed to provide variable levels of nitrogen (N)
           of untreated seed, organic sweet          (Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations,
           corn growers often plant later, hop-      http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu/handout/organ01.htm )
           ing that warmer soil temperatures
           will encourage quick germination,         20 lbs 40 lbs 60 lbs 80 lbs 100 lbs Product Percent
           leading to better management of           N per N per N per N per N per               N
           annual weeds (Michalak, 2002).            acre   acre     acre acre acre
                                                     Pounds of product needed per acre:
  For suggestions on dealing with seed rots, see
  Cornell University’s Resource Guide for Organic    150       310       460       620      770         Blood       13%
  Insect and Disease Management. It is avail-                                                           meal
  able online at www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/          330       670       1000      1330     1670        Cotton-     6%
  resourceguide. For information on finding this                                                         seed
  publication, see the Sweet corn integrated pest                                                       meal
  management portion of the Resources section
  at the end of this publication.                    290       570       860       1140     1430        Soy-        7%
                                                                                                        bean
                                                                                                        meal
                                                     220       440       670       890      1100        Fish        9%
Soil fertility                                                                                          meal
Nitrogen (N) is especially important in sweet        800       1600      2400      3200     4000        Alfalfa     2.4%
corn production, not only for plant growth                                                              meal
but also for the production of amino acids           This information, modified from an information sheet produced by the
                                                     University of Maine, provides a handy guide to application rates for
that influence flavor and nutrition. Research          selected organic fertilizers to satisfy various levels of nitrogen need
at Michigan State University showed that 6           (Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations).
percent of the total nitrogen is taken up
between germination and the sixth leaf stage,
25 percent from seventh leaf to tassel, 25          Research in Connecticut determined that
percent from tassel to silk and 39 percent          100 pounds of nitrogen per acre from com-
during ear development (Evans, 1995).               mercial fertilizer could produce optimum
                                                    yields and economic returns for sweet corn
A common recommendation in conventional             (Bravo-Ureta et al., 1995). This research is
production is to apply 50 pounds of nitro-          significant because it found the standard
gen per acre prior to or at planting, followed      rate used by Connecticut farmers, 160
by side dressing with 60 to 80 pounds of            pounds of nitrogen per acre, was too high.
nitrogen per acre when the plants are 12 to         In addition, it provides further support
18 inches tall.                                     for the organic farming practice of raising
The Pre-Sidedress Soil Nitrate Test, also           sweet corn in rotation with forage legumes.
known as the Soil NO3-N Quick Test, can             For example, it is generally accepted that
determine the need for any additional nitro-        a healthy stand of hairy vetch can provide
gen fertilizer (Heckman et al., 1997). It           around 100 to 125 pounds of nitrogen per
                                                    acre to a subsequent crop.
is now well established that if the nitrate-
nitrogen level in the soil is above a thresh-       Recent research on cover crops in Maine
old level of 25 ppm when the corn is 6 to 12        substantiates this practice. In the Agronomy
www.attra.ncat.org                                                                                          ATTRA              Page 3
Journal, authors of an article about cover        illustrate the importance of photosynthate
                       crops for sweet corn state:                       production in the early life of a corn plant,
                           “Legume cover crops can supply all or most    Schriefer emphasized the following facts
                           of the N required by a subsequent crop if     relating growth phases of corn to yield
                           legume biomass is of suffi cient quantity      potential:
                           and N mineralization is approximately syn-
                           chronous with crop demand” (Griffi n et al.,       • The number of rows of corn on
                           2000).                                              the cob will be set five weeks after
                                                                               emergence. Rows usually range
                       When legume stands are poor and therefore
                                                                               from 14 to 18.
                       nitrogen is estimated to be lacking, supple-
                       mental composts and organic fertilizers can           • Ear length and number of dou-
                       be applied as necessary.                                ble ears per plant will be estab-
                                                                               lished nine weeks after emergence
                       For additional information on estimating                (2000).
                       nitrogen production and release from cover
                       crops, see ATTRA’s Overview of Cover Crops        Foliar feeding, like many eco-farming
                       and Green Manures.                                methods, may be viewed as a sophisti-



S
                                                                         cated organic agriculture practice. To
       weet corn       Sweet corn does best with a pH of 6.0 to          assist growers with technical details on
       does best       6.5 and needs moderate to high levels of          crop manipulation through foliar feed-
       with a pH of    phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Rate            ing, ATTRA has compiled the publication
6.0 to 6.5 and needs   of application should be determined by            Foliar Fertilization.
moderate to high       soil testing. Rock phosphate, potassium
                       sulfate (mined, untreated source), sulfate        While corn is relatively drought tolerant,
levels of phosphorus
                       of potash-magnesia (commercially available        irrigation increases yields, especially when
and potassium.         K-Mag) and a limited number of other              applied during silking and when ears are
                       rock powders may be used in certified             fi lling. If irrigation is not an option and
                       organic programs.                                 weed management is good, plants might be
                                                                         seeded farther apart to reduce interplant
                       One problem with rock phosphate is that           competition.
                       phosphorus is very slowly available. In cold
                       soils, phosphorus deficiencies indicated
                       by purple-tinged leaves may be apparent.
                                                                         Crop rotations, cover crops
                       Thus, some growers drill a quickly avail-         and weed control
                       able source of phosphorus, such as bone           An ideal rotation plan for organic sweet
                       meal, at planting to insure readily avail-        corn might look something like this:
                       able phosphorus and a healthy crop stand.
                       Other growers simply delay seeding until              • Two years clover or legume pasture
                       the weather and the soil warm up.                     • One year sweet corn
                       Growers can apply and incorporate rock                • Two years other vegetables
                       mineral fertilizers, manures and bulk com-            • One year small-grain nurse crop
                       posts during field preparation and bedding               mixed with clover
                       operations. Growers often make applications       Corn typically follows pasture, hay or a
                       in the fall before planting the cover crop.       legume-based cover crop to take advantage
                       Banding to the side of the row at planting
                                                                         of the nitrogen fi xed by forage legumes.
                       is another option, primarily in combination
                                                                         This is because carry-over weed problems
                       with organic fertilizers or pelletized and for-
                                                                         are more easily managed with a row crop
                       tified composts.
                                                                         like corn than with more narrowly spaced
                       The late eco-farming adviser Don Schriefer        vegetable crops. Many farmers see an
                       advocated foliar feeding, used in combina-        increase in corn yields of 5 to 7 percent
                       tion with a chlorophyll meter, as a yield-        following soybeans, and 10 to 15 percent
                       enhancing corn production practice. To            following hay (Michalak, 2002). Local organic
Page 4      ATTRA                                                                    Sweet Corn: Organic Production
growers can provide advice on rotations           and relay intercropping. ATTRA’s Overview
adapted to each region.                           of Cover Crops and Green Manures is recom-
                                                  mended for a review of the benefits and uses
One efficient way to shift from vegetables to
                                                  of cover crops and to gain access to impor-
the small grain and clover mix is to plant
                                                  tant cover crop resources such as Managing
a spring or summer vegetable crop in the
                                                  Cover Crops Profitably, Sustainable Agricul-
last year of the vegetable rotation. After
                                                  ture Network Handbook No. 3 and the UC-
the vegetables are harvested, the field is
                                                  SAREP Cover Crops Database.
seeded down to a cereal grain and clover
mix. This usually occurs in early to mid          Weed control in organic sweet corn is based
autumn. When the cereal grain such as             on a good rotation and timely mechanical
rye, wheat or oats is harvested the follow-       cultivation. Two rotary hoeings followed by
ing spring, the clover is already well estab-     two or three cultivations with sweeps and
lished. Broadcasting cool-season cereal           hillers are common means of non-chemi-
grains and legumes into standing vegetable        cal weed control. Flame weeding and living
crops is another way to establish these win-      mulches are complementary non-chemical
ter cover crops.                                  weed suppression techniques used in com-
                                                  mercial production, usually as an adjunct to
Long rotations like this are desirable            mechanical tillage practices.
because grass and legume sod crops are
soil builders, whereas row crops are soil         Crow Miller, a Midwestern organic vegeta-
depleters. In addition to improving soil tilth,   ble grower, explained his weed control tech-
complex rotations greatly enhance the non-        nique like this:
chemical approach to weed control. Accord-            “We typically rotary hoe seven days and 14
ing to Eliot Coleman, author of The New               days after planting corn, before weeds have
Organic Grower, a well-thought-out rotation           emerged. We cultivate anywhere from 20 to
is worth 75 percent of everything else that           34 days after planting, when corn is 6 to 12
                                                      inches tall. Second cultivation is 35 to 50
might be done, including fertilization, till-         days after planting, when corn is 18 to 20
age and pest control (Davis, 2005).                   inches tall” (2001).
On the other hand, short rotations and            On larger farms, specialized weeding equip-
annual vegetable cropping are the norm for        ment may be an affordable option. State-of-
growers in many parts of the country. This        the-art cultivating implements include rolling
is one of the reasons annual cover crops are      cultivators, finger tine weeders, finger weed-
used so prominently in organic farming.           ers, basket weeders, spyders, torsion weeders
A typical cover crop system for organic sweet     and spring hoe weeders. Steel in the Field, a
corn is fall establishment of a winter annual     handbook from the Sustainable Agriculture
legume or cereal grain and legume mix.            Network, provides illustrations, descriptions
Pure stands of vetch or combinations of rye       and practical examples of 37 specialized
and hairy vetch or wheat and crimson clo-         tools used to control weeds. It features pro-
ver are common. The cereal grains provide         files of farmers using reduced- or non-chem-
a fast soil cover and a significant amount of      ical weed control strategies and contains a
root biomass. The legumes fix nitrogen.            list of equipment manufacturers and distrib-
                                                  utors (Bowman, 1997). Updated information
The cover crop is then plowed down a couple       on equipment suppliers can usually be easily
weeks in advance of the next season’s crop,       obtained through an Internet search. ATTRA
usually in mid to late spring, thus providing     can help with specific requests about finding
a green manure. The cost of the cover crop        appropriate equipment.
seed and a legume inoculant may be viewed
as an organic fertilizer cost.            Research and field experience in
Cover crop and tillage systems adapted to weed control and cover crops
sweet corn crops include clean-till, low-till,    A New York study showed improved produc-
no-till, mulch-till, strip-till, living mulches   tion in sweet corn fields intercropped with
www.attra.ncat.org                                                                                   ATTRA   Page 5
white clover as a living mulch (Grubinger         crops (hairy vetch, crimson clover and field
                        and Minoti, 1990). White clover was mul-          peas) mixed with oats as a nurse crop.
                        tivated or rototilled with the middle tines       Researchers winter-killed peas, leaving
                        removed, leaving strips of live clover grow-      inadequate mulch cover. Vetch was the eas-
                        ing between the corn rows. This procedure         iest cover crop to sow into, while crimson
                        is called partial rototilling. To suppress        clover was the only cover crop that reseeded
                        excessive regrowth of the living mulch,           itself. Yields were highest with hairy vetch,
                        researchers partially rototilled white clover     at 2.6-plus tons fresh weight per acre
                        two weeks after corn emergence. Waiting           (DeGregorio et al., 1991).
                        until the fourth or sixth week after sweet        Mechanical roller-crimpers and rolling
                        corn emergence to perform partial rototill-       stalk-choppers are gaining increased atten-
                        ing was less effective.                           tion as effective kill methods. These are
                        Several Massachusetts farmers used pro-           heavy-duty drum rollers similar to a culti-
                        pane fl ame weeders to control weeds in            packer with horizontal, welded, blunt-steel
                        organic sweet corn. The farmers created           strips. When pulled through the field, these
                        a stale seedbed by preparing the soil and         drum rollers crush and crimp the cover



M
          ow-down       then letting it sit for a couple of weeks to      crop and leave residue lying flat on the soil
                        encourage weeds to sprout. The objective of       surface, discouraging regrowth. By having
          and roll-                                                       the roller-crimper placed on the front of the
                        the stale seedbed strategy is to kill these
          down
                        emerging weeds without further soil distur-       tractor, a seeder can be pulled at the same
methods can knock       bance to avoid bringing new weed seeds to         time, allowing for only one pass through
down cover crops        the surface. After the weeds emerge, farm-        the field. This not only reduces soil com-
and provide a no-till   ers fl amed and immediately planted the            paction, but also reduces energy and labor
                        field. Flaming may be repeated prior to            costs. Research in Alabama showed that
mulch in vegetable
                        crop emergence (Hazzard, 1994).                   rolling down cereal grains like rye, wheat
production.                                                               and black oats was most effective after flow-
                        The University of Illinois developed a fact       ering, or anthesis, and prior to soft dough,
                        sheet with economic thresholds for weeds in       or grain formation (Ashford et al., 2000).
                        corn and soybeans. The fact sheet contains
                        a chart that shows percentage of corn yield       Overseeding cover crops into standing sweet
                        reduction in relation to number of weeds          corn, a technique known as relay intercrop-
                        such as pigweed, lambsquarters and John-          ping, is one way to achieve cover crop estab-
                        songrass per 100 feet of row (Pike).              lishment, usually with a goal to increase
                                                                          nutrient cycling as a catch crop, suppress
                        Growers commonly use herbicides in associa-       weeds as a living mulch or to enhance crop-
                        tion with no-till production to chemically kill   ping system diversity.
                        cover crops. A series of research reports and
                        farm trials show that mow-down and roll-down      Researchers in New Mexico broadcasted for-
                        methods can knock down cover crops and pro-       age brassicas, rape and turnips into sweet
                        vide a no-till mulch in vegetable production.     corn at last cultivation, known as early
                                                                          intersowing, and blister stage of the sweet
                        Flail mowers are an ideal piece of mow-           corn crop, known as late intersowing. Inter-
                        down equipment, but small-scale farmers           cropping did not depress sweet corn yields.
                        also employ rotary mowers (brush hogs)            Researchers harvested sweet corn ears and
                        and even string weeders (weed eaters) to          stover in early September and brassicas in
                        chop down cover crops. Timing is impor-           November (Guldan et al., 1998).
                        tant. Hairy vetch should be mowed when
                        the legume is already flowering. Delay mow-        Insect pest management
                        ing of rye until flowering, when the anthers
                                                                          A large number of insect pests can attack
                        are shedding pollen.
                                                                          sweet corn. The American Phytopathological
                        Researchers in Connecticut direct-seeded          Society’s 1999 Handbook of Corn Insects is
                        sweet corn into flail-mowed legume cover           the standard reference (Steffey et al., 1999).
Page 6       ATTRA                                                                     Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Among the most widespread and damaging
are corn earworm, European corn borer,
corn rootworm and cutworm.

Corn earworm
The corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) is the
larval stage of a moth that lays eggs in the
corn silk. Corn earworm is also known as
tomato fruitworm, cotton bollworm and soy-
bean podworm. In most of the country, the
corn earworm is the most destructive pest
of sweet corn. Corn earworm is particularly
difficult to control because it is protected by
the husk while feeding. Organic pest con-
                                                 Corn earworm. Photo by R.L. Croissant, Bugwood.org.
trol strategies focus on variety selection and
planting dates, cultural practices to incre-
ase natural biological control such as para-     some growing regions, such as south Texas
sitism and predation, and the use of micro-      and Mexico.
bial pesticides.
                                                 Naturally occurring biological control agents
Management options begin with resistant          that prey on corn earworm eggs and larvae
varieties. Sweet corn varieties that mature      include lady beetles, lacewings, syrphid fly
early, possess long, tight husks extending       larvae, big-eyed bug, parasitic wasps and
beyond the tips of the ears or contain natu-     parasitic tachinid fl ies (Straub and Emmett,
rally occurring earworm-repelling chemi-         1992). Farmscaping by developing insect
cals in the silks show the most resistance to    refugia through establishment of flowering
earworm attack (Davidson and Lyon, 1987          plants grown in strips and field borders
and Williams and Williams, 1994). Table 3        may encourage these beneficial insects to
lists sweet corn varieties known to possess      stay on the farm.
some level of resistance to corn earworm.
                                                 One farmscaping strategy entails the esta-
Northern growers can reduce the time             blishment of sweet alyssum (Lobularia mari-
sweet corn ears are exposed to corn ear-         tima), a short-lived flowering annual, in
worm by using a short-season variety and         occasional pest habitat strips or field bor-
planting early in the season (Wiseman and        ders (Grossman and Quarles, 1993). This
Isenhour, 1994). Early seeding is more           flower is particularly attractive to parasitic
effective as a cultural practice in nor-         wasps that prey on corn earworm, as well
thern states where the corn earworm moth         as caterpillar pests of cabbage-family vege-
is migratory. The moth overwinters in            table crops. See ATTRA’s Farmscaping to


Table 3. Sweet corn cultivars with some resistance to corn earworm
(Wiseman and Isenhour, 1994; Pleasant, 1994 )
   Stowell’s Evergreen                    Bodacious                                 Hastings SWE
   Silver Queen                           Hastings GB                               Burpee HP
   Viking RB                              Hastings CGS                              Burpee PL
   Supersweet JRB                         Hastings MER                              Burpee HC
   Golden Bantam                          Hastings KK                               Burpee ST
   Jubilee                                Hastings IOC                              Burpee ST
   Texas Honey June                       Hastings CAL                              Burpee IXS




www.attra.ncat.org                                                                                     ATTRA   Page 7
Enhance Biological Control for details and       recent research proving that a vegetable oil
                       resources on this topic.                         and Bt mix provides outstanding control.
                                                                        Ruth Hazzard, an integrated pest manage-
                       In addition to habitat manipulation through
                                                                        ment specialist with the University of Mas-
                       farmscaping, inundative release of the tiny
                                                                        sachusetts, wrote several informative leaflets
                       parasitic Trichogramma wasps can enhance
                                                                        that describe a biointensive approach to sweet
                       biological control. Levels of control achieved
                                                                        corn pest control, with detailed notes on vege-
                       with Trichogramma release varied from 20
                                                                        table oil and Bt mixtures. Several of these are
                       to 100 percent (Miles, 1995). Favorable
                                                                        listed in the Resources section below.
                       environmental conditions are important.
                       For instance, when Trichogramma wasps            To facilitate the farm-scale adoption of this
                       are released, the cards bearing parasite         approach, UMass Extension developed and
                       eggs should be covered with a small tent         released a hand-held, gun-style applicator
                       to protect them from rain and sun (Shirley,      known as the Zea-Later. The Zea-Later II
                       1992). Commercial insectaries can provide        and the spray mixture for corn earworm
                       additional information about timing, release     control, made up of emulsified soybean
                       rates and the preferred Trichogramma spe-        oil mixed with Bt, are available from



M
                       cies for specific regions.                        Johnny’s Selected Seeds. See the Sweet
          ost larval
                                                                        corn integrated pest management portion
          feeding      Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt (trade names        of the Resources section for purchasing
          is done      include Javelin, Dipel, Condor and Lepi-         information.
                       nox), is a well-known microbial pesticide
underneath the husk                                                     Two other microbial pest control strategies
                       commonly used to control lepidopterous
where foliar sprays    pests. However, aerial sprays of Bt are usu-     that show promise for corn earworm control
do not reach.          ally only somewhat effective against corn        include parasitic nematodes in the genera
                       earworm. This is because Bt must be inge-        Steinernema and Heterorhabditis and the
                       sted to be effective and most larval feeding     entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassi-
                       is done underneath the husk where foliar         ana. Trade names include Mycotrol, Natura-
                       sprays do not reach.                             lis and BotaniGard. In 2007 the University
                                                                        of Maryland’s annual IPM Activities Report
                       In contrast, direct application of Bt mixed      stated that use of B. bassiana had become
                       with vegetable oil to individual corn ears,      commonplace in certified organic vegetable
                       applied two to three days after silks extend     production. The report, available at www.
                       to their maximum length, or full brush,          mdipm.umd.edu/reports/index.cfm, said:
                       works exceptionally well as an organic
                       approach to corn earworm control. Howe-              There are specific formulations developed
                                                                            for the organic market that have carriers …
                       ver, direct application means application            acceptable to OMRI. Beauveria bassiana (Bb)
                       by hand and this is time-consuming. Use of           has been very effective for us in controlling
                       a machinery oiling can to inject the mine-           whitefl ies and green peach aphid. We found
                       ral oil increases the efficiency of this pro-         it could suppress thrips if you started [appli-
                       cedure. According to Mineral-Oil Treatment           cations] early…. We have worked with brand
                                                                            name BontaniGard, which is one of the more
                       of Sweet Corn for Earworm Control, a USDA            popular formulations of Bb. In most cases,
                       circular published in 1942, one worker is            it is best to apply Beauveria bassiana using
                       capable of treating one acre, or 12,000              a high-volume sprayer and penetrate the
                       ears, in an eight-hour day using one of these        plant canopy to make contact with the pest
                       mineral oil injectors (Barber).                      ... Unfortunately, in our field tests with grow-
                                                                            ers we found that the available formulations
                       Although mineral oil treatment for corn              of Bb tended to clog commercial low-volume
                       earworm originated in the 1940s, on-farm             sprayers and we could not get even spore
                       research trials in the 1990s in both Okla-           distribution [in greenhouse use] (Maryland
                                                                            Cooperative Extension, 2007).
                       homa (Kuepper et al., 1991), and New
                       England (Hazzard and Westgate, 2001),            The Insect Parasitic Nematodes Web site, a
                       verified the utility of this approach, with       SARE-funded project hosted by The Ohio


Page 8      ATTRA                                                                     Sweet Corn: Organic Production
State University, is a good place to fi nd
details on the biology and ecology of par-
asitic nematodes, retail suppliers and fact
sheets on application and use. The Web site
is available at www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/
nematodes. The University of Nebraska-Lin-
coln hosts a similar site, Plant and Insect
Parasitic Nematodes, available at http://
nematode.unl.edu.
The efficacy of natural pesticide sprays
and augmentative release of biocontrol
agents like Trichogramma depends on tim-
ing. Pheromone traps are a common tool for
monitoring the presence of adult corn ear-
worm moths, telling the grower when egg-         European corn borer. Photo by Frank Peairs, Colorado State University,
                                                 Bugwood.org
laying is likely to begin. They also provide
an estimate of corn earworm population           and on other exposed plant tissues. After
pressure.                                        the larvae are half-grown, they bore into
                                                 the stalk, the ear or the thicker parts of the
Scouting and sampling for corn earworm
                                                 leaf stem. Once inside the plant, European
eggs is a complementary monitoring tech-
                                                 corn borers are difficult to control, so most
nique. Earworm eggs are laid singly, usually
                                                 management efforts are directed toward the
on the corn silks. Newly laid eggs are white,
                                                 egg and early larval stages.
but develop a reddish-brown ring after 24
hours. Eggs that have been parasitized by        It is interesting to note that the European
Trichogramma turn completely black within        corn borer is one pest problem directly
the eggshell. Scouting for eggs and monitor-     affected by soil management and fertilization.
ing egg maturation can help increase corn        Researchers at The Ohio State University
earworm pest control, as optimum timing          collected soils from three sets of neighbor-
for spraying can be determined within 12         ing farms that had a history of conventional
to 24 hours.                                     (inorganic fertilizers, pesticide inputs and
Despite the best intentions and the great-       corn-soybean rotations) and organic (animal
est of care, some corn earworm damage            manures and forage-based, long-term rota-
may occur. If so, growers can shuck worm-        tions) management. Researchers placed the
infested ears and cut the damaged ends off       soil samples in pots and amended each soil
at the tip. Consumers probably won’t even        type for nitrogen using ammonium nitrate,
know the difference, since shucked and cut       fresh dairy cow manure or no amendment.
corn has become a ready-packaged grocery         Researchers raised the potted corn plants in
item in recent years.                            a greenhouse and released European corn
                                                 borer adults twice a week.
European corn borer                              The researchers observed preferential egg-
The European corn borer (Ostrinia nubila-        laying. European corn borer adults laid 18
lis) overwinters as a fully-grown larva in the   times as many eggs on potted plants with
stems and ears of corn plants, usually just      soils from conventionally managed farms as
above the ground surface. As the weather         on potted plants with soils from organically
warms in the spring, the larvae pupate and       managed farms (Phelan et al., 1995). This
emerge later as adult moths. These adults        study confi rms similar observations made
mate and the females lay eggs on the under-      in the late 1970s during research compar-
side of the corn leaves. The smallest larval     ing organic and conventional farms in the
stages of the fi rst generation feed on leaves    western Corn Belt (Kuepper, 2001).


www.attra.ncat.org                                                                                        ATTRA           Page 9
Pest management options for European corn         Bt var. kurstaki, the microbial pesticide,
                            borer include the use of resistant varieties,     is an effective control for European corn
                            cultural controls such as adjusting planting      borer. However, in order to be effective, the
                            dates to avoid infestations, sanitation includ-   Bt must be ingested before the larva bores
                            ing the destruction of overwintering sites        into the plant. Monitoring techniques are
                            such as cornstalks, and biocontrol agents         commonly employed to enhance accuracy
                            and microbial insecticides. Please note that      and timing of Bt applications. Foliar sprays
                            making the best use of these tools requires       should be applied just before or after tassel
                            field monitoring. Monitoring for European          emergence, but before silking and before
                            corn borer also includes inspecting areas         larvae bore into the ear or stalk. Biointen-
                            adjacent to the field in addition to scouting      sive Insect Management in Sweet Corn, a fact
                            of the field itself.                               sheet by Ruth Hazzard and Pam Westgate
                            Release of parasitic Trichogramma wasps           of UMass Extension, provides guidelines for
                            into sweet corn looks promising as a bio-         Bt control of European corn borer and corn
                            logical control method, but this technique is     earworm (Hazzard and Westgate, 2001).
                            highly dependent on favorable environmen-         USDA researchers working in associa-
                            tal conditions. For release, the wasp eggs        tion with Iowa State University state that
                            are attached to cards, each card bearing          Beauveria bassiana, the entomopathogenic
                            between 100,000 and 140,000 eggs. Cards           fungus, applied in granular form during
                            should be placed from three to five acres          whorl-stage of corn development, can pro-
                            apart and covered with a small tent to pro-       vide season-long control of corn borer pop-
                            tect them from rain and sun (Shirley, 1992).      ulations (Leopold Center, 2001). However,
                            Optimal timing for card placement is when         recommendations for commercial use are
                            tassels are in the whorl stage. After the         not well developed. New research findings
                            wasps emerge, they parasitize European            are assisting in development of non-Bt corn
                            corn borer eggs. Insectaries have additional      refugia planted within a measurable dis-
                            information about timing, release rates and       tance to Bt corn stands to allow the survival
                            the preferred Trichogramma species for a          of susceptible moths to mate with resistant
                            specific area. Research reports show para-         moths (USDA ARS, 2004).
                            sitism rates ranging from 60 to 97 percent        Destruction of European corn borer over-
                            using T. ostriniae, an Asian Trichogramma         wintering sites, or all crop residues and
                            wasp (Hoffmann et al., no date). Cost for         plant refuse in which the borers may spend
                            these releases are about $13 per acre for         the winter, is another control option. Stalks
                            60,000 wasps.                                     should be well shredded prior to plowing or
                                                                              disking for this method to be effective.

                                                                              Corn rootworm
                                                                              The corn rootworm (Diabrotica) is a bee-
                                                                              tle that feeds on corn leaves and clips
                                                                              corn silks, thus inhibiting pollination. The
                                                                              females lay eggs in late summer. These
                                                                              eggs hatch the following May or June. The
                                                                              larvae attack corn roots, reducing yield
                                                                              and causing stalks to blow over easily in
                                                                              high winds.
                                                                              There are three common species of corn root-
                                                                              worm: the Northern, Western and Southern
                                                                              rootworms. Under most circumstances, crop
Corn rootworm. Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service,      rotation is one of the most effective means
Bugwood.org                                                                   of controlling the Northern and Western
Page 10       ATTRA                                                                       Sweet Corn: Organic Production
species. In the late 1980s there were
reports in several upper Midwestern states
of Northern corn rootworm emergence in
cornfields that followed soybeans in rota-
tion. This was the result of extended dia-
pause in which eggs spent two years in the
soil before hatching, rather than the usual
one year. This delayed hatch defeated com-
mon corn-soybean-corn rotations (Swoboda,
1988). Geo-referenced grid samples for
Northern corn rootworm, taken from 1995
to 2000 from two study sites in eastern
South Dakota, show increased incidence of
extended diapause in Northern corn root-
worm (Ellsbury et al., 2002).
                                                Cutworm. Photo courtesy of Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension
The Western corn rootworm also devel-           Slide Series, Bugwood.org.
oped means to overcome this simple rota-
tion scheme. A new strain of the species,       Cultural measures are the traditional means
which some scientists are calling the East-     of cutworm control. Fall plowing of sod,
ern phenotype, thrives in soybean fields as      early spring plowing with delayed plant-
well as in the pest’s traditional host, corn.   ing, control of adjacent vegetation and crop
One factor seems to be the presence of          rotation are commonly recommended. Land
                                                kept clean-tilled during the late summer is
early-maturing corn varieties that the adult
                                                rarely infested.
Western corn rootworm finds less attractive
than still-succulent soybean plants (Holm-      Under conditions where infestations may
berg, 1996). As a result, longer rotations      occur, monitoring is encouraged to deter-
featuring greater crop diversity are becom-     mine if additional control is advisable.
ing necessary to control these pests.           Among the organic options for cutworm
                                                control are parasitic nematodes and Bt. Bt
The Southern corn rootworm, also known          is more effective when mixed with bran and
as the spotted cucumber beetle, is con-         molasses and applied as a bait. Another
trolled by late planting and by fall and        option is placing baits of corn meal or bran
early spring plowing. Populations of all        meal around the plant. When consumed,
three species are suppressed by predatory       corn meal and bran meal swell inside the
ground beetles, tachinid fl ies and benefi-       worm and kill it. Similarly, a molasses
cial nematodes. See the ATTRA publica-          bait can be made from hardwood sawdust,
tion Cucumber Beetles: Organic and Biora-       bran, molasses and water. Once ingested,
tional IPM for more information.                the molasses hardens and renders the pest
                                                helpless. Organically acceptable sprays of
Cutworm                                         pyrethrum or rotenone can also be used if
Cutworms cut seedling corn stems at or          applied late in the evening. Because these
near the soil surface. Cutworms feed at         pesticides have short residual activity,
night and spend the day hidden in the           several applications may be necessary.
soil. Normally considered a minor pest,
cutworms can be a significant problem in         Insect pest monitoring
sweet corn following sod, in no-till cul-       Commercial pheromone traps and other
ture and in fields adjacent to grassy areas.     monitoring devices such as black lights
There are several species of cutworms that      strategically placed in sweet corn fields and
may become pests in corn, but the black         border areas provide an excellent means to
cutworm is perhaps the most common.             determine the time of arrival and the level

www.attra.ncat.org                                                                                    ATTRA         Page 11
of infestation for several major pests, most     Sources of pheromone traps and inte-
                       notably the corn earworm and European            grated pest management monitoring sup-
                       corn borer. This information can improve         plies include Great Lakes IPM and BioQuip
                       control and in many cases save on spray          Entomology Products. See the Sweet corn
                       applications.                                    integrated pest management portion of the
                                                                        Resources section at the end of this publi-
                       The Cooperative Extension Service devel-         cation for ordering information.
                       oped several excellent publications and
                       resources to assist growers in learning how
                       to trap, scout and interpret results appro-      Diseases
                       priately for their locale. Sweet Corn IPM:
                       Insect Pest Management is a 30-minute            Smut
                       video available through the UMass Exten-         Smut is a fungal disease contracted while
                       sion. See the Sweet corn integrated pest         the corn plant is a seedling. White or gray
                       management portion of the Resources              swellings on any part of the plant are indi-
                       section for information on obtaining the         cations of smut. Crop rotation and resistant
                       video. The video demonstrates the use of         varieties are the primary means of control-



T
                       pheromone traps, field monitoring, pest           ling this problem. Sulfur and copper fun-
        he Internet
                       action thresholds and pesticide application      gicides can also be used. Growers should
        revolution-                                                     remove and destroy infected plants.
                       for sweet corn pests in the Northeast.
        ized the way
agricultural           Also recommended is the Northeast Sweet          Rust
information is         Corn Production and Integrated Pest Man-
                       agement Manual, a regional integrated            Rust is another fungal disease. Infected
distributed and
                       pest management publication produced by          plants have orange-brown raised spots on
obtained, and quite                                                     the leaves, which gradually enlarge and
                       the University of Connecticut. Filled with
                                                                        turn black before dying. Use rust-tolerant
a few integrated       handy tables, color photos and illustrations,
                                                                        cultivars.
pest management        it includes helpful sections on cultural prac-
materials are          tices, cover crops, sidedress nitrogen rec-
                       ommendations, sweet corn pests, integrated       Stewart’s bacterial wilt
available online.
                       pest management monitoring and action            Stewart’s bacterial wilt is a disease caused
                       thresholds. See the Sweet corn integrated        by a bacterium that affects sweet corn, espe-
                       pest management portion of the Resources         cially early-maturing varieties. This disease
                       section for ordering information. Also, see      can reduce yields and stunt or kill entire
                       the University of Connecticut Web site at        plantings. Some plants are killed in the
                       www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm for updated sweet         seedling stage while others may not show
                       corn integrated pest management topics for       symptoms until tasseling or later. Leaves
                       the Northeast.                                   develop long whitish streaks and bacte-
                                                                        rial slime oozes from any cut plant part.
                       For additional background on trapping,           Infected plants should be destroyed and
                       scouting and similar integrated pest man-        populations of flea beetles — the vector for
                       agement methodologies, request ATTRA’s           this disease — should be kept low. Some
                       Biointensive Integrated Pest Management.         hybrid varieties are resistant.
                       The Internet revolutionized the way agricul-
                       tural information is distributed and obtained,   Maize Dwarf Mosaic
                       and quite a few integrated pest management       Mosaic is a viral disease that typically
                       materials are available online. Many of the      attacks late-planted corn. It is best con-
                       Cooperative Extension Service fact sheets        trolled by resistant varieties. If suscep-
                       and integrated pest management newsletters       tible varieties are planted, it is important
                       are now available only in electronic format.     to remove Johnsongrass, an alternate host,
                       A selection of Internet resources is provided    from adjacent areas and keep aphids, the
                       at the end of this publication.                  vectoring agent, in check.

Page 12     ATTRA                                                                   Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Harvest                                        Don Schlimme, a professor at the Univer-
                                               sity of Maryland, recommends the follow-
The following are general guidelines for
                                               ing strategy for refrigerated storage of sweet
organic sweet corn harvest.
                                               corn. He uses enhanced or super-sweet cul-
    • The same techniques as conven-           tivars harvested at optimum maturity. After
      tional sweet corn are appropriate.       husking and de-silking, cut the stem end
    • Sweet corn should be handled dif-        close to the cob and remove insect damage
      ferently and more carefully than         on the tip end. Put the ears in ice water
      animal feed, or dent corn.               until the cob temperatures reach at least
                                               40 degrees. This will take from 15 to 30
    • Organic corn must be kept separate       minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of common house-
      from conventional corn in order to       hold bleach per gallon of cold water to kill
      maintain its value and identity. Any     microbes. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
      equipment used for both organic          per gallon of water to lower the pH. Remove
      and conventional crop harvest must       the ears from the water, drain for only a
      be thoroughly cleaned before har-        minute or two to avoid letting the corn warm
      vesting an organic crop.                 up, and place in a gallon-size plastic bag.
    • Although mechanical sweet corn           Then refrigerate the corn at 40 degrees;
      harvesters are available, most har-      usually colder than the average home refrig-
      vest is still done by hand labor.        erator. Sweet corn held in this way will last
                                               two weeks; holding the corn at 31 degrees
    • Trimming the flag leaves off the
                                               will increase holding time to three weeks
      ears at harvest reduces kernel dent-
                                               (Aylsworth, 1995).
      ing since the leaves draw moisture
      from the kernels.                        Several methods are available for precooling
    • For more information on organic          sweet corn after harvest. Vacuum coolers
      regulations, see NCAT’s Organic          are widely used by larger commercial opera-
      Crops Workbook.                          tions. Hydrocooling by spraying or immersing
                                               in water at 32 to 38 degrees is the next-
                                               best method and more easily accessible on
Postharvest handling                           a moderate scale, though it takes longer.
Since sweet corn is a highly perishable
crop, postharvest handling is important.       Crated corn needs to be left for more than
Proper treatment at harvest will help ensure   one hour in a hydrocooler to cool the corn
good quality.                                  to 41 degrees. Many growers, especially
                                               at small and medium scales of produc-
Rapid removal of field heat via precool-        tion, prefer mesh or burlap bags to crates
ing will help delay deterioration. Precool     because the same container used for field
the corn to 32 degrees Fahrenheit within       harvest can be easily dunked into the tank
one hour after harvest and hold it steady      for cooling. Once cooled, the bags are ready
at the same temperature (USDA, 1986). At       for shipping or short-term cold storage.
optimum conditions of 32 degrees and 95
percent relative humidity, sweet corn has a    After hydrocooling, the corn should be iced
storage life of five to eight days. After two   during transport and holding. If precool-
to three days, the product declines in flavor   ing facilities are unavailable, top icing is
and tenderness. Sugar levels decrease less     absolutely necessary. The standard pack
rapidly at 32 degrees. At 86 degrees, 60       for sweet corn is 42- to 50-pound cartons,
                                               wire-bound crates or sacks. Standard packs
percent of the sugars may convert to starch
                                               should be used because sweet corn tends to
in a single day versus only a 6-percent loss
                                               heat when kept in a pile.
at 32 degrees. Even at 50 degrees, sugar is
converted four times more quickly than at      For growers selling to local markets, har-
32 degrees (Aylsworth, 1995).                  vesting during the cool morning hours and

www.attra.ncat.org                                                                              ATTRA   Page 13
selling as soon as possible are techniques
                          that make hydrocooling unnecessary. You-             Local markets: Fayetteville, Ark.
                          pick marketing is another means of avoiding          The Fayetteville (Ark.) Farmers’ Market did not
                          postharvest handling. For additional infor-          have certified organic sweet corn in 2008, but
                          mation, see ATTRA’s Postharvest Handling             vendors marketed premium-quality conven-
                          of Fruits and Vegetables.                            tional sweet corn at prices ranging from 50
                                                                               cents per ear to six ears for $5 toward the end
                                                                               of the marketing window in late August. That
                          Marketing and economics                              was up from 20 to 40 cents per ear in 2007.
                          In different parts of the United States              The produce manager of Ozark Natural Food
                          organic sweet corn may be raised for ship-           Co-op in Fayetteville said organic produce
                          ping, for processing or for sale through             prices are up 3 percent across the board this
                          alternative marketing channels such as farm          year, but he has discretion in marking up indi-
                                                                               vidual items. Although the co-op’s policy is
                          stands, farmers’ markets or community-sup-
                                                                               to buy local “when available,” just about all
                          ported agriculture systems.                          the store’s sweet corn is shipped in. In 2008,
                          Farmgate or wholesale prices for organic             corn sold at retail for $1.19 per ear; in 2007 the
                          sweet corn are difficult to determine. Sample         manager was able to offer it few times at 99
                                                                               cents per ear. The customary markup is 100
                          crop budgets and economic information dif-
                                                                               percent (Freeman, 2008).
                          fer widely from region to region and year to
                          year. See Appendix for a crop budget tem-
                          plate. Sweet corn yields vary widely depend-
                          ing upon the stand, growing conditions,            A 2001 survey done by the Organic Farm-
                          weather and marketing channels, according          ing Research Foundation reported that 82
                          to the University of California-Davis.             percent of organic sweet corn is grown for
                                                                             commercial processing such as canning and
                                                                             freezing.
   Standards for sweet corn
                                                                             The survey found farmgate prices for organic
   Weights and measures                                                      sweet corn range from $1 to $3.50 per
   Crate = 4 to 6 dozen ears (North Carolina Extension, Organic Sweet        dozen ears. A Colorado grower complained
   Corn Production)
                                                                             that “cheap prices through local supermar-
   50-pound waxed cardboard box = 4 dozen ears                               kets and a local economy in recession” made
   (California Standards, Corn picked for shipping)
                                                                             it “difficult to obtain the organic price pre-
   Bushel = minimum of 35 pounds of ears in the husk with minimum            mium.” The window of availability for fresh
   8-inch ears with full kernel development (U.S. Bureau of Standards)       market sweet corn is small compared with
   Bushel of sweet corn = From 35 to 40 pounds (University of                that of vegetables produced over a longer
   Nebraska Weights and Measures, www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/              season or more amenable to storage, so it is
   pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationID=603)
                                                                             not surprising that fresh market conventional
   Sweet corn = From 6 to 8 pounds per dozen (University of Georgia,         competes with fresh market organic. Of 68
   http://caes.uga.edu)                                                      U.S. organic sweet corn producers surveyed,
   Per acre yields                                                           16 percent direct marketed. The producers
   Organic                                                                   reported weather fluctuations as the No. 1
   826 to 1,240 dozen ears, or 248 crates (North Carolina Extension,         factor affecting returns to organic vegetable
   Organic Sweet Corn Production) (Davis, 1997)                              growers (Walz, 2004).
   560 to 720 dozen ears, or 4.2 to 4.5 tons (OFRF 2001 survey)              See the Resources section for a variety of
   (Walz, 2004)
                                                                             crop budgets for sweet corn.
   Conventional
   1,400 to 2,000 dozen ears, or 350 to 500 48-count boxes per acre.         An attractive feature of growing sweet corn,
   This is about 17,500 pounds to 25,000 pounds, or 8.75 tons to 12.5 tons   especially for the small farmer, is its market-
   per acre (UC Davis figures for conventional sweet corn production)         ability. Sweet corn sells quite well at farmers’
   1,000 dozen ears average (Oklahoma Extension figures for                   markets and other direct-to-consumer venues
   conventional sweet corn production)                                       and a good-quality product sells out easily
                                                                             and rapidly in most communities.
Page 14      ATTRA                                                                         Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Table 4: Net dollar returns per acre of sweet corn: Central California coast †
(Klonsky et al., 1994)

Wholesale price received per 48-ear box (unhusked)
Yield        $5           $6           $7           $8          $9         $10        $11        $12
200          -$814        -$614        -$414        -$214       -$14       +$186      +$386      +$586
250          -$699        -$449        -$199        +$51        +$301      +$551      +$801      +$1,051
300          -$583        -$283        +$17         +$317       +$617      +$917      +$1,217    +$1,517
350          -$468        -$118        +$232        +$582       +$932      +$1,282    +$1,632    +$1,982
400          -$352        +$48         +$448        +$848       +$1,248    +$1,648 +$2,048 +$2,448
† Adjusted for changes in harvest costs due to yield.

ATTRA has a number of marketing pub-                        Table 4 was developed from budget informa-
lications that can be of particular use to                  tion on California organic production in 1994
sweet corn growers. These include Direct                    (Klonsky et al., 1994). It shows the influence
Marketing, Farmers’ Markets and Entertain-                  of yield and market price on net returns. The
ment Farming and Agri-Tourism.                              range of yields and prices shown are realis-
                                                            tic for that state. It should be noted that even
Marketability is no guarantee of profitabil-                 with high yields and an optimal market,
ity, however. While sweet corn sells read-                  per-acre profitability is less than $2,500.
ily, it does not have a reputation as a money               Growers with limited acreage would be wise
maker among small producers, though                         to consider alternative crops that have higher
many use it to attract customers.                           potential net returns per acre.




Table 5: Net dollar returns per acre of sweet corn: Maryland †
Retail price received per dozen ears
Yield                        $1.50                         $2.50                    $3.50
250 doz                      -$854.40                      -$604.40                 -$479.40
500 doz                      -$479.40                      +$20.61                  +$270.61
750 doz                      -$104.40                      +$645.61                 +$1,010.61
† The total variable and fixed costs developed in this budget were $1229.40/acre


A 1999 production budget for organic                        be noted that the Maryland produc-
sweet corn in Maryland produced a simi-                     tion budget used to create Table 5 found
lar but more modest projection of profitabil-                total variable and fi xed costs per acre of
ity (Anon., 1999). The data is presented in                 $1,229.40. A 1996 budget for organic
Table 5.                                                    sweet corn in nearby New Jersey found
Organic production budgets for many                         total variable and fi xed costs of $1,901.13
specialty crops can vary widely. It should                  (Anon., 1996).



www.attra.ncat.org                                                                                             ATTRA   Page 15
References                                                 DeGregorio, Ralph. 1989. Minimizing corn earworm:
                                                           an integrated approach. New Alchemy Quarterly,
Anon. 1996. Costs of Production for Sweet Corn, Per        No. 35. www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/q35/
Acre, Organic Production Practices, Northeastern United    earworm.htm
States, 1996. Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New
Brunswick, NJ. http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~farmmgmt/ne-      DeGregorio, R.E., R.A. Ashley, and J.S. Barclay.
budgets /ORGANIC/SWEET-CORN. HTML                          1991. No-till sweet corn in three legume cover-crops
                                                           for improved productivity. Environmental Conserva-
Anon. 1999. Sweet Corn (Organic). Center for Agricul-      tion. Vol. 18, No. 1. p. 68–70.
tural and Natural Resource Policy, University of
Maryland, College Park, MD.                                Ellsbury, Michael, et al. 2002. Abstract: Increased
                                                           Incidence of Extended Diapause in Northern Corn
Ashford, D.L., et al. 2000. Roller vs. Herbicides:
                                                           Rootworm as Evidenced by Georeferenced Adult
An Alternative Kill Method for Cover Crops. p. 6-7,
64–69. In: Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conser-          Emergence Data. USDA/ARS Research Project:
vation Tillage for Sustainable Agriculture Conference,     Sustainable Agricultural Systems Based on
held June 19–21, Monroe, Louisiana. www.ars.usda.          Ecological Principles of Crop, Weed, and Insect Pest
gov/ SP2UserFiles/Place/64200500/csr/ResearchPubs/         Management. www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/
Reeves/ ashford_00.pdf                                     publications.htm?seq_no_115=142250
Aylsworth, Jean D. 1995. Three-week-old sweet corn.        Evans, Dale. 1995. Sweet Corn Nitrogen Fertilization.
American Vegetable Grower. June. p. 51                     Oswego County Vegetable Program News, Cornell
                                                           Cooperative Extension. April 25. p. 6.
Barber, George W. 1942. Mineral-Oil Treatment of
Sweet Corn for Earworm Control. USDA Circular No.          Freeman, Zach. Ozark Natural Foods Co-op. Personal
657. 15 p.                                                 communication with the author, August 15, 2008.
Bowman, Greg (ed.) 1997. Steel in the Field: A Farmer’s    Griffin, Tim, Matt Liebman, and John Jemison, Jr.
Guide to Weed Management Tools. Sustainable Agricul-       2000. Cover crops for sweet corn production in a
ture Network, Handbook Series No. 2. Sustainable           short-season environment. Agronomy Journal. Vol. 92,
Agriculture Publications, University of Vermont. 128 p.    No. 1. p. 144–151.
  Available through Sustainable Agriculture and            Grossman, J. and W. Quarles. 1993. Strip intercrop-
  Research Information                                     ping for biological control. The IPM Practitioner.
  www.sare.org/publications/weeds.htm
                                                           April. p. 1-11.
  Hills Building
  University of Vermont                                    Grubinger, Vern P. and Peter L. Minoti. 1990.
  Burlington, VT 05405-0082 (802) 656-0471                 Managing white clover living mulch for sweet corn
  msimpson@uvm.edu                                         production with partial rototilling. American Journal
Bravo-Ureta, Boris E., Antonio E. Pinheiro, and Rich-      of Alternative Agriculture. Vol. 5, No. 1. p. 4–12.
ard A. Ashley. 1995. Alternative nitrogen fertility lev-   Guldan, S.J., C.A. Martin, and D.L. Daniel. 1998.
els and profitability in sweet corn production. Journal     Interseeding forage brassicas into sweet corn: forage
of Sustainable Agriculture. Vol. 5, No. 4. p. 95–104.      productivity and effect on sweet corn yield. Journal of
Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations.               Sustainable Agriculture. Vol. 11, Nos. 2–3. p. 51–58.
University of Maine Soil Testing Lab. Handout.
                                                           Hazzard, Ruth (ed.) 1994. Weed Management. p.
http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu
                                                           7–11. In: Proceedings of the Northeast Farmer To
Davidson, R.H. and W.F. Lyon. 1987. Insect Pests of        Farmer Information Exchange Sweet Corn Meeting:
Farm, Garden, and Orchard, 8th ed. John Wiley &            1992 and 1993 Winter Meetings. Northeast Organic
Sons, New York, NY. p. 157–160.                            Farming Association and University Of Massachusetts
Davis, Jeanine. 1997. Updated 2005. Organic Sweet          Cooperative Extension System. 34 p. [out of print—
Corn Production. Horticulture Information Leaflet,          superseded by Gilman, Steve. 2002. Organic Weed
HIL-50. North Carolina Cooperative Extension               Management. 96 p. NOFA Interstate Council Online
Service. www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-50.html       Store (www.nofa.org/store/index.php)].

Page 16     ATTRA                                                                  Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2001. Biointensive        Miller, Crow. 2001. Reducing the impact of weeds.
Insect Management in Sweet Corn. VegSF 2-01. Uni-         Acres U.S.A. March. p. 21.
versity of Massachusetts Extension, Vegetable & Small     Phelan, P.L., J.F. Mason, and B.R. Skinner. 1995.
Fruit Program. 5 p.                                       Soil fertility management and host preference by
Heckman, J.R., D.J. Prostak, and W.T. Hlubik. 1997.       European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), on
Presidedress Soil Nitrate Test (PSNT) Recommenda-         Zea mays L.: A comparison of organic and conven-
tions for Sweet Corn. Rutgers Cooperative Service,        tional chemical farming. Agriculture, Ecosystems and
FS760. 2 p. www.njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.       Environment. Vol. 56. p. 1–8.
asp?pid=FS760                                             Pike, David R. No date. Economic Threshold for
Hoffmann, Mike, Anthony M. Shelton and Catherine          Weeds. University of Illinois, Cooperative Extension.
R. Weeden, eds. No date. Biological Control: A Guide to   2 p. www.ag.uiuc.edu/Vista/pdf _pubs/ECTHR.PDF
Natural Enemies in North America. Department of           Pleasant, Barbara. 1994. Have a super sweet corn
Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.               summer. Organic Gardening. May–June. p. 50–54, 56.
www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/info/biocont.html
                                                          Schreifer, Donald L. 2000. Agriculture in Transition.
Holmberg, Mike. 1996. The drive to survive.               Acres, USA. Austin, TX. p. 219–234.
Successful Farming. May-June. p. 34–35.
                                                          Shirley, Christopher. 1992. Wasps to the rescue.
Howell, John. 1998. Soils Basics V: Topdressing and       The New Farm. July-August. p. 38–39.
Sidedressing Nitrogen.University of Massachusetts         Steffey, K., M. Rice, J. All, D. Andow, M. Gray, J. Van
Extension. VegSF3-98. 5 p.                                Duyn. 1999. Handbook of Corn insects. American
Klonsky, Karen, Laura Tourte, David Chaney,               Phytopathological Society. 174 p.
Pete Livingston and Richard Smith. 1994. Cultural           Order from APS on-line: http://shopapspress.org/
Practices and Sample Costs for Organic Vegetable            haofcoin.html. Members of Entomological Society of
Production on the Central Coast of California.              America receive a 10 percent discount.
Giannini Foundation Information Series No. 94-2.          Straub, R.W. and B. Emmett. 1992. Pests of
University of California. Davis, CA. 84 p.                Monocotyledon Crops: Sweetcorn. p. 213–235. In:
Kuepper, George. 2001. Personal communication. For-       R.G. McKinlay (ed.) Vegetable Crop Pests. CRC Press,
merly on staff with The Center for the Biology of Natu-   Boca Raton, FL.
ral Systems, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.        Swoboda, Rod. 1988. Counting corn rootworms before
Kuepper, George L., Teresa Maurer, and Teresa             they hatch. Prairie Farmer. December 6. p. 16.
Wright. 1991. A Report of 1990 On-Farm Demonstra-         USDA. 1986. Commercial Storage of Fruits,
tion and Research Trials Conducted by The Kerr Cen-       Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks. USDA
ter for Sustainable Agriculture and Cooperative Farm-     Agricultural Handbook No. 66. US Gov. Printing
ers in Low Input Sustainable Horticulture. The Kerr       Office, Washington, DC. p. 58.
Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Poteau, OK. 10 p.     USDA ARS. 2004. Ecologically-Based Management
Leopold Center. 2001. Development of alternative          of Selected Insects Associated with Corn. Corn Insects
carriers for use of Beauveria bassiana in Ostrinia        and Crop Genetics Research. www.ars.usda.gov/
nubilalis suppression on corn. Leopold Center Prog-       research/projects/projects.htm?ACCN_NO=406890&sho
ress Reports, Vol. 10. Leopold Center for Sustainable     wpars=true&fy=2004
Agriculture, Iowa State University. p. 61–63.             Walz, Erica. (ed./compiler) 2004. [based on crop year
Maryland Cooperative Extension. 2007. Maryland            data 2001]. 4th National Organic Farmers’ Survey:
Integrated Pest Management 2007. p. 28.                   Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic
                                                          Marketplace. OFRF, Santa Cruz, CA. http://ofrf.org/
Michalak, Patricia S. 2002. Organic Grain Cropping Sys-   publications/survey.html
tem and Marketing. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. 80 p.
                                                          Williams, Greg and Pat Williams. 1994. Something
Miles, Carol. 1995. Corn earworm. Pacifi c Northwest       else that’s special about Ashworth corn. HortIdeas.
Sustainable Agriculture. September. p. 4.                 October. p. 118.
www.attra.ncat.org                                                                           ATTRA       Page 17
Wiseman, B.R. and D.J. Isenhour. 1994. Resistance          Florida. University of Florida, NFREC, Marianna,
in sweet corn to corn earworm larvae. Journal of           FL. Chart. 1 p. http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Hewitt/Budgets/
Agricultural Entomology. April. p. 157–163.                veg%20sweet$20corn$20.xls
                                                           Meister, Herman S. 2004. Sample Cost to Establish
Resources                                                  and Produce Sweet Corn. Imperial County–2004.
                                                           University of California Cooperative Extension. 14 p.
Marketing and economics                                    http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/files/sweetcorn04.pdf
Gentry, Karen. 2002. Dollar a dozen? Not so sweet for        Treats all aspects of sweet corn production for both
growers: Research outlines sweet corn production costs.      shipping and alternative markets. Underscores high
                                                             yields per acre in the Imperial Valley.
Walz, Erica. (ed./compiler) 2004. Based on crop year
data 2001. 4th National Organic Farmers’ Survey:           Miles, Carol. 2004. Sweet Corn for Fresh Market.
Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic             Commercial Vegetable Production Guides. Oregon
Marketplace. OFRF, Santa Cruz, CA.                         State University, Corvallis. About 3 pages. http://
http://ofrf.org/publications/survey.html                   hort-devel-nwrec.hort.oregonstate.edu/corn-fr.html
  Complete survey available online.                          Covers isolation, seeding, harvest, handling
                                                             and storage.
Production budgets: Organic                                Miles, Carol. 2004. Sweet Corn for Processing.
Davis, Jeanine. 199. Revised 2005. Organic Sweet           Commercial Vegetable Production Guides. Oregon
Corn Production. Horticulture Information Leaflet,          State University, Corvallis. About 12 pages. http://
HIL-50. North Carolina Cooperative Extension               hort-devel-nwrec.hort.oregonstate.edu/corn-pr.html
Service. www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-50.html         Covers genetic types, isolation, fertilizers, harvest,
Organic Trade Association: How to Go Organic. Path-          handling, storage, pest control and provides a sample
way to Organic for Producers. www.howtogoorganic.            1993 crop budget.
com/index.php?page=marketing.                              Sharp, Rod, and Wayne Cooley. 2004. The Cost of
  Gateway to economic information, including links for     Growing Sweet Corn in Western Colorado. Colorado
  crop budgets.                                            State University Cooperative Extension. 7 p.
Staff. 2003. Organic Crop Enterprise Budgets—              www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/NWR/ABM/sweetcorn.pdf
Sweet Corn. Sustainable Agriculture Management             Staff. 2008. Estimated Costs and Returns per Acre,
Guide. Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS.                   2008–2009:Sweet Corn for Fresh Market, Irrigated.
www.kansasruralcenter.org/publications.html.               Clemson University Extension. 2 p.
  Follow links to Management guides, then Organic crop     http://cherokee.agecon.clemson.edu/crnfrnkt.pdf
  enterprise budgets. Scroll down for an organic sweet
  corn budget based on interview with one grower.          Staff. 2003. Sweet Corn Marketing Fact Sheet. 2003.
                                                           University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. 2 p.
Staff. 1996. Table 76: Costs of Production for Sweet       www.uky.edu/Ag/HortBiz
Corn, Per Acre/Organic Production Practices, Nor-
theastern United States. AESOP/Rutgers University.
2 p. http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~farmmgmt/ne-budgets/        Sweet corn integrated pest
organic/sweet-corn.html                                    management
Staff. 1994. Organic Sweet Corn—Central Coast. Cen-        Caldwell, Brian, Emily Brown Rosen, Eric Sideman,
tral Coast Organic Mixed Vegetable Cost and Return         Anthony M. Shelton and Christine T. Smart. 2005.
Study. University of California Cooperative Extension.     Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease
p. 86–91. http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/files/mixveg.pdf   Management—Sweet Corn. www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/
                                                           resourceguide
                                                             This guide is intended for organic farmers and
Production budgets:                                          farmers in transition to organic production,
Conventional                                                 extension professionals and farm advisors. It includes
Hewitt, Timothy D. 2007. Estimated Costs of Produ-           crop management practices and fact sheets for materials
cing One Acre of Sweet Corn for Fresh Market, North          accepted in organic production.

Page 18     ATTRA                                                                   Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Johnny’s Selected Seeds                                   Hazzard, Ruth. 1991. Caterpillars and Corn:
Foss Hill Road                                            Sweet Corn Insect Pests and their Control. The
Albion, ME 04910                                          Natural Farmer. UMass Extension. http://eap.mcgill.ca/
(207) 437-4395 (commercial department)                    CPMP_3.htm
www.johnnyseeds.com                                       Hazzard, Ruth. 2003. Caterpillar Control in Organic
Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2000. Bio-                Sweet Corn. UMass Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/
Intensive Control of Caterpillars in Fresh Market Sweet   ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/caterpillar_control_in_
Corn: Results of On-Farm Trials. University of Mas-       organic_sweet_corn.htm
sachusetts Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_        Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2004. Organic
projects/vegetable/bio_intensive_control_                 insect management in sweet corn. UMass Extension.
caterpillars_2000.html                                    VegSF 2-01. www.umassvegetable.org/soil_crop_pest_
Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2001. Biointensive        mgt/articles_html/organic_insect_managemen _in_
Insect Management in Sweet Corn. U Mass Extension.        sweet_corn.html
2-01. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_                        Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2000. Bio-Inten-
projects/vegetable/biointensive_insect_management.html    sive Control of Caterpillars in Fresh Market Sweet
Sweet Corn IPM: Insect Pest Management                    Corn: Results of On-Farm Trials. UMass Extension.
www.umass.edu/umext/imp/publications/other_pubs.html      www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/
 30-minute video available for $15 postage paid from:     bio_intensive_control_caterpillars_2000.html
 UMass Extension Bookstore                                Hazzard, Ruth. 1999. Integrated Caterpillar Control in
 Draper Hall, 40 Campus Center Way                        Organic Sweet Corn: Report on 1999 Project. UMass
 University of Massachusetts                              Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/
 Amherst, MA 01003-9244                                   vegetable/integrated_caterpillar_control_1999.html
 (413) 545-2717
                                                          Hazzard, Ruth, Jeffrey Lerner and Suzanne Lyon.
Adams, Roger G. and Jennifer C. Clark. 1996.              Using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Products for Euro-
Northeast Sweet Corn Production and Integrated            pean Corn Borer Control in Sweet Corn 1994-1996
Pest Management Manual. University of Connecticut         On-Farm Trials: Final Report. UMass Extension.
Cooperative Extension. Storrs, CT. 120 p. www.umass.      www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/
edu/umext/imp/publications/other_pubs.html                using_bacillus_thuringiensis.html
  Available for $22.50 postage paid from: University
                                                          Hazzard, Ruth. Bt Product List. UMass Extension.
  of Connecticut Communication & Information
                                                          www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/
  Technology, U-35
                                                          bt_product_list.html
  1376 Storrs Rd.
  Storrs, CT 06269-4035                                   Hazzard, Ruth John Howell, Richard Bonanno, David
  (860) 486-3336                                          Ferro and Craig Hollingsworth. IPM Guidelines for Sweet
  Also from UMass Extension Bookstore for $25             Corn. UMass Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_
                                                          projects/vegetable/ipm_guidelines_sweetcorn.html
Great Lakes IPM, Inc.
10220 Church Road                                         Sweet Corn Pest Alert Network/Pests of Sweet Corn.
Vestaburg, MI 48891-9746                                  PennState Online Vegetable Resources. http://
(517) 268-5693                                            PestWatch.cas.psu.edu
(517) 268-5911 fax                                        Sweet Corn Pest Thresholds. PennState Entomological
glipm@nethawk.com                                         Notes. www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/
BioQuip Entomology Products                               cornthresholds.htm
17803 LaSalle Avenue                                      IPM centers (Southern, North Central, Northeastern,
Gardena, CA 90248-3602                                    Western Regions)
(310) 324-0620                                            IPM Web Resources for Sweet Corn
(310) 324-7931 fax                                        IPM Crop Profi les—Sweet Corn
bqinfo@bioquip.com                                        www.impcenters.org/index.cfm

www.attra.ncat.org                                                                           ATTRA       Page 19
Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Sweet Corn: Organic Production
Sweet Corn: Organic Production

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Sweet Corn: Organic Production

  • 1. Sweet Corn: ATTRA Organic Production A Publication of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service • 1-800-346-9140 • www.attra.ncat.org By Steve Diver, Organic sweet corn may be George Kuepper, and grown for direct sale, the fresh Preston Sullivan market or processing. This Updated by publication discusses key Katherine Adam aspects of producing organic NCAT Agriculture sweet corn including variet- Specialist ies, soil fertility, crop rotations, © 2008 NCAT weed control, insect pest man- agement, diseases, harvesting, postharvest handling, marketing and production economics. Contents Organic farming and Introduction certification ...................... 1 Good markets exist for Sweet corn organic sweet corn. How- varieties ............................. 2 ever, adequate weed and Soil fertility ....................... 3 insect control can be dif- Crop rotations, cover ficult to achieve. This pro- crops and weed duction guide addresses control ................................ 4 key aspects of organic sweet Insect pest management ................... 6 corn production, as well as postharvest handling and Diseases ........................... 12 economics. A list of Inter- Photo courtesy of USDA/ARS. Harvest ............................. 13 net resources on sweet corn Postharvest provides access to helpful information on legumes, green manures, composts and handling .......................... 13 ecological production practices. ATTRA mineral-bearing rock powders to feed the Marketing and economics ...................... 14 publications mentioned in this production soil and supply plant nutrients. Organic guide are available online at www.attra. farmers manage insects, weeds and other References ...................... 16 ncat.org or by calling 800-346-9140. Resources ........................ 18 pests with mechanical cultivation and Appendix: Crop Budget Although production guides on conventional cultural, biological and biorational con- Worksheet....................... 21 sweet corn practices are readily available trols. Biorational methods aim to manage from the U.S. Department of Agriculture the pest species with the minimum amount Cooperative Extension Service, comprehen- of disturbance to beneficial insects. sive information on organic cultivation prac- tices is difficult to find. Organic sweet corn Organic farmers do not use conventional production differs from conventional pro- commercial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides ATTRA – National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is duction primarily in soil fertility and pest or synthetic growth regulators. Organic managed by the National Center for management practices. These issues are the farmers do not use genetic engineering, Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant primary focus of this publication. as defi ned in the excluded methods of the from the U.S. Department of National Organic Program. Agriculture’s Rural Business- Cooperative Service. Visit the Organic farming and AT T R A’s Organic Crop Production NCAT Web site (www.ncat.org/ sarc_current.php) for certification Overview provides information on the more information on our sustainable agri- Organic farmers rely heavily on crop h i stor y, ph i losophy a nd pra ct ices culture projects. rotations, crop residues, animal manures, of organic farming.
  • 2. Organic certification emerged as a grass- is available. For more information, see roots production and marketing tool during ATTRA’s Seed Production and Variety the 1970s and 1980s to ensure that foods Development for Organic Systems. labeled as organic met specified standards This publication focuses primarily on the of production. The Organic Foods Produc- certified organic growing of sweet corn, tion Act, a section of the 1990 Farm Bill, though some hard-to-fi nd information of a enabled the USDA to develop a national Related ATTRA more general nature is also included. For program of universal standards, certifica- Publications basic production information including tion accreditation and food labeling. planting dates, regionally adapted varieties Organic Crop In April 2001, the USDA released the and local market outlets, contact the Coop- Production Overview Final Rule of the National Organic Pro- erative Extension Service in your area. Organic Farm gram. This set of national regulations stipu- In addition, marketing assistance is often Certification and the lates, in considerable detail, exactly what a available through each state’s department National Organic grower can and cannot do to produce and of agriculture. Program market a product as organic. Growers must Seed Production and be certified, complete paperwork, pay fees Sweet corn varieties Variety Development and undergo annual inspection. To learn for Organic Systems Variety selection is an important consider- more about the details of the certification ation in sweet corn production and includes Overview of Cover process, see ATTRA’s Organic Farm Certifi- factors such as sweetness, days to maturity, Crops and Green cation and the National Organic Program. Manures seed color, size, yield potential and toler- The national law that took effect in Octo- ance to pests. The Cooperative Extension Foliar Fertilization ber 2002 essentially requires farmers sell- Service can provide a list of varieties rec- Farmscaping to ing produce labeled organic to be certified ommended for each region. Enhance Biological through a private or state-run certification Cross-pollination of sweet corn with other Control agency accredited by the USDA. kinds of corn or with some other sweet Cucumber Beetles: corn genotypes can result in starchy-tast- Section 205.204 of the NOP states that Organic and Biorational IPM seed must be organically grown. Farmers ing kernels. Sweet corn will cross with may use untreated, non-organic seed when field corn, including genetically engi- Biointensive an equivalent organically produced variety neered varieties, but not with popcorns. Integrated Pest Generally, a minimal isolation distance of is not commercially available. Most certi- Management fiers require that certified organic sweet 250 feet between those varieties or types NCAT’s Organic corn be produced from certified organic is recommended; 700 feet is preferred for Crops Workbook seed. Although breeding efforts are under- more complete isolation. Some authorities Postharvest way, varieties bred specifically for organic recommend a quarter mile, or 1,320 feet. Handling of Fruits production are not available at this time. Table 1 summarizes the general character- and Vegetables Only seed of the usual commercial varieties istics of sweet corn genotypes, including Direct Marketing produced under organic management isolation requirements. Farmers’ Markets: Table 1: Sweet corn genotypes Marketing and Business Guide Genotype Sweetness Conversion of Isolate from Comments sugars to starch Entertainment Farming and Normal sugary Moderately Rapid (sh2) varieties Early; germi- Agri-Tourism (su) sweet nates in cold soil Sugary Sweeter than Not as rapid as (sh2) varieties (se+) is sweeter enhanced (se), (su), less sweet (su) than (se) (se+) than (sh2) Super sweet or Very sweet Very slow (su), (se) & (se+) Longest shelf- shrunken (sh2) varieties life; germinates poorly in cold soils Page 2 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 3. inches tall, additional nitrogen fertilizer will Seedling establishment not increase yield (Howell, 1998). • Plant seed 1.5 to 2 inches deep. Supplemental sidedress nitrogen fertiliz- • Plot rows no closer than 30 to ers used in organic vegetable production 36 inches. Rows planted closer include plant and animal by-products like together may cause nutrient stress, blood meal, fishmeal and soybean meal, as be difficult to cultivate and cause well as pelletized compost products. shaded conditions for overseeding in the fall. Table 2. Commercial organic nitrogen • Consider planting later than con- recommendations: Pounds of organic fertilizer ventional growers. With the use needed to provide variable levels of nitrogen (N) of untreated seed, organic sweet (Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations, corn growers often plant later, hop- http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu/handout/organ01.htm ) ing that warmer soil temperatures will encourage quick germination, 20 lbs 40 lbs 60 lbs 80 lbs 100 lbs Product Percent leading to better management of N per N per N per N per N per N annual weeds (Michalak, 2002). acre acre acre acre acre Pounds of product needed per acre: For suggestions on dealing with seed rots, see Cornell University’s Resource Guide for Organic 150 310 460 620 770 Blood 13% Insect and Disease Management. It is avail- meal able online at www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/ 330 670 1000 1330 1670 Cotton- 6% resourceguide. For information on finding this seed publication, see the Sweet corn integrated pest meal management portion of the Resources section at the end of this publication. 290 570 860 1140 1430 Soy- 7% bean meal 220 440 670 890 1100 Fish 9% Soil fertility meal Nitrogen (N) is especially important in sweet 800 1600 2400 3200 4000 Alfalfa 2.4% corn production, not only for plant growth meal but also for the production of amino acids This information, modified from an information sheet produced by the University of Maine, provides a handy guide to application rates for that influence flavor and nutrition. Research selected organic fertilizers to satisfy various levels of nitrogen need at Michigan State University showed that 6 (Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations). percent of the total nitrogen is taken up between germination and the sixth leaf stage, 25 percent from seventh leaf to tassel, 25 Research in Connecticut determined that percent from tassel to silk and 39 percent 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre from com- during ear development (Evans, 1995). mercial fertilizer could produce optimum yields and economic returns for sweet corn A common recommendation in conventional (Bravo-Ureta et al., 1995). This research is production is to apply 50 pounds of nitro- significant because it found the standard gen per acre prior to or at planting, followed rate used by Connecticut farmers, 160 by side dressing with 60 to 80 pounds of pounds of nitrogen per acre, was too high. nitrogen per acre when the plants are 12 to In addition, it provides further support 18 inches tall. for the organic farming practice of raising The Pre-Sidedress Soil Nitrate Test, also sweet corn in rotation with forage legumes. known as the Soil NO3-N Quick Test, can For example, it is generally accepted that determine the need for any additional nitro- a healthy stand of hairy vetch can provide gen fertilizer (Heckman et al., 1997). It around 100 to 125 pounds of nitrogen per acre to a subsequent crop. is now well established that if the nitrate- nitrogen level in the soil is above a thresh- Recent research on cover crops in Maine old level of 25 ppm when the corn is 6 to 12 substantiates this practice. In the Agronomy www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 3
  • 4. Journal, authors of an article about cover illustrate the importance of photosynthate crops for sweet corn state: production in the early life of a corn plant, “Legume cover crops can supply all or most Schriefer emphasized the following facts of the N required by a subsequent crop if relating growth phases of corn to yield legume biomass is of suffi cient quantity potential: and N mineralization is approximately syn- chronous with crop demand” (Griffi n et al., • The number of rows of corn on 2000). the cob will be set five weeks after emergence. Rows usually range When legume stands are poor and therefore from 14 to 18. nitrogen is estimated to be lacking, supple- mental composts and organic fertilizers can • Ear length and number of dou- be applied as necessary. ble ears per plant will be estab- lished nine weeks after emergence For additional information on estimating (2000). nitrogen production and release from cover crops, see ATTRA’s Overview of Cover Crops Foliar feeding, like many eco-farming and Green Manures. methods, may be viewed as a sophisti- S cated organic agriculture practice. To weet corn Sweet corn does best with a pH of 6.0 to assist growers with technical details on does best 6.5 and needs moderate to high levels of crop manipulation through foliar feed- with a pH of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Rate ing, ATTRA has compiled the publication 6.0 to 6.5 and needs of application should be determined by Foliar Fertilization. moderate to high soil testing. Rock phosphate, potassium sulfate (mined, untreated source), sulfate While corn is relatively drought tolerant, levels of phosphorus of potash-magnesia (commercially available irrigation increases yields, especially when and potassium. K-Mag) and a limited number of other applied during silking and when ears are rock powders may be used in certified fi lling. If irrigation is not an option and organic programs. weed management is good, plants might be seeded farther apart to reduce interplant One problem with rock phosphate is that competition. phosphorus is very slowly available. In cold soils, phosphorus deficiencies indicated by purple-tinged leaves may be apparent. Crop rotations, cover crops Thus, some growers drill a quickly avail- and weed control able source of phosphorus, such as bone An ideal rotation plan for organic sweet meal, at planting to insure readily avail- corn might look something like this: able phosphorus and a healthy crop stand. Other growers simply delay seeding until • Two years clover or legume pasture the weather and the soil warm up. • One year sweet corn Growers can apply and incorporate rock • Two years other vegetables mineral fertilizers, manures and bulk com- • One year small-grain nurse crop posts during field preparation and bedding mixed with clover operations. Growers often make applications Corn typically follows pasture, hay or a in the fall before planting the cover crop. legume-based cover crop to take advantage Banding to the side of the row at planting of the nitrogen fi xed by forage legumes. is another option, primarily in combination This is because carry-over weed problems with organic fertilizers or pelletized and for- are more easily managed with a row crop tified composts. like corn than with more narrowly spaced The late eco-farming adviser Don Schriefer vegetable crops. Many farmers see an advocated foliar feeding, used in combina- increase in corn yields of 5 to 7 percent tion with a chlorophyll meter, as a yield- following soybeans, and 10 to 15 percent enhancing corn production practice. To following hay (Michalak, 2002). Local organic Page 4 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 5. growers can provide advice on rotations and relay intercropping. ATTRA’s Overview adapted to each region. of Cover Crops and Green Manures is recom- mended for a review of the benefits and uses One efficient way to shift from vegetables to of cover crops and to gain access to impor- the small grain and clover mix is to plant tant cover crop resources such as Managing a spring or summer vegetable crop in the Cover Crops Profitably, Sustainable Agricul- last year of the vegetable rotation. After ture Network Handbook No. 3 and the UC- the vegetables are harvested, the field is SAREP Cover Crops Database. seeded down to a cereal grain and clover mix. This usually occurs in early to mid Weed control in organic sweet corn is based autumn. When the cereal grain such as on a good rotation and timely mechanical rye, wheat or oats is harvested the follow- cultivation. Two rotary hoeings followed by ing spring, the clover is already well estab- two or three cultivations with sweeps and lished. Broadcasting cool-season cereal hillers are common means of non-chemi- grains and legumes into standing vegetable cal weed control. Flame weeding and living crops is another way to establish these win- mulches are complementary non-chemical ter cover crops. weed suppression techniques used in com- mercial production, usually as an adjunct to Long rotations like this are desirable mechanical tillage practices. because grass and legume sod crops are soil builders, whereas row crops are soil Crow Miller, a Midwestern organic vegeta- depleters. In addition to improving soil tilth, ble grower, explained his weed control tech- complex rotations greatly enhance the non- nique like this: chemical approach to weed control. Accord- “We typically rotary hoe seven days and 14 ing to Eliot Coleman, author of The New days after planting corn, before weeds have Organic Grower, a well-thought-out rotation emerged. We cultivate anywhere from 20 to is worth 75 percent of everything else that 34 days after planting, when corn is 6 to 12 inches tall. Second cultivation is 35 to 50 might be done, including fertilization, till- days after planting, when corn is 18 to 20 age and pest control (Davis, 2005). inches tall” (2001). On the other hand, short rotations and On larger farms, specialized weeding equip- annual vegetable cropping are the norm for ment may be an affordable option. State-of- growers in many parts of the country. This the-art cultivating implements include rolling is one of the reasons annual cover crops are cultivators, finger tine weeders, finger weed- used so prominently in organic farming. ers, basket weeders, spyders, torsion weeders A typical cover crop system for organic sweet and spring hoe weeders. Steel in the Field, a corn is fall establishment of a winter annual handbook from the Sustainable Agriculture legume or cereal grain and legume mix. Network, provides illustrations, descriptions Pure stands of vetch or combinations of rye and practical examples of 37 specialized and hairy vetch or wheat and crimson clo- tools used to control weeds. It features pro- ver are common. The cereal grains provide files of farmers using reduced- or non-chem- a fast soil cover and a significant amount of ical weed control strategies and contains a root biomass. The legumes fix nitrogen. list of equipment manufacturers and distrib- utors (Bowman, 1997). Updated information The cover crop is then plowed down a couple on equipment suppliers can usually be easily weeks in advance of the next season’s crop, obtained through an Internet search. ATTRA usually in mid to late spring, thus providing can help with specific requests about finding a green manure. The cost of the cover crop appropriate equipment. seed and a legume inoculant may be viewed as an organic fertilizer cost. Research and field experience in Cover crop and tillage systems adapted to weed control and cover crops sweet corn crops include clean-till, low-till, A New York study showed improved produc- no-till, mulch-till, strip-till, living mulches tion in sweet corn fields intercropped with www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 5
  • 6. white clover as a living mulch (Grubinger crops (hairy vetch, crimson clover and field and Minoti, 1990). White clover was mul- peas) mixed with oats as a nurse crop. tivated or rototilled with the middle tines Researchers winter-killed peas, leaving removed, leaving strips of live clover grow- inadequate mulch cover. Vetch was the eas- ing between the corn rows. This procedure iest cover crop to sow into, while crimson is called partial rototilling. To suppress clover was the only cover crop that reseeded excessive regrowth of the living mulch, itself. Yields were highest with hairy vetch, researchers partially rototilled white clover at 2.6-plus tons fresh weight per acre two weeks after corn emergence. Waiting (DeGregorio et al., 1991). until the fourth or sixth week after sweet Mechanical roller-crimpers and rolling corn emergence to perform partial rototill- stalk-choppers are gaining increased atten- ing was less effective. tion as effective kill methods. These are Several Massachusetts farmers used pro- heavy-duty drum rollers similar to a culti- pane fl ame weeders to control weeds in packer with horizontal, welded, blunt-steel organic sweet corn. The farmers created strips. When pulled through the field, these a stale seedbed by preparing the soil and drum rollers crush and crimp the cover M ow-down then letting it sit for a couple of weeks to crop and leave residue lying flat on the soil encourage weeds to sprout. The objective of surface, discouraging regrowth. By having and roll- the roller-crimper placed on the front of the the stale seedbed strategy is to kill these down emerging weeds without further soil distur- tractor, a seeder can be pulled at the same methods can knock bance to avoid bringing new weed seeds to time, allowing for only one pass through down cover crops the surface. After the weeds emerge, farm- the field. This not only reduces soil com- and provide a no-till ers fl amed and immediately planted the paction, but also reduces energy and labor field. Flaming may be repeated prior to costs. Research in Alabama showed that mulch in vegetable crop emergence (Hazzard, 1994). rolling down cereal grains like rye, wheat production. and black oats was most effective after flow- The University of Illinois developed a fact ering, or anthesis, and prior to soft dough, sheet with economic thresholds for weeds in or grain formation (Ashford et al., 2000). corn and soybeans. The fact sheet contains a chart that shows percentage of corn yield Overseeding cover crops into standing sweet reduction in relation to number of weeds corn, a technique known as relay intercrop- such as pigweed, lambsquarters and John- ping, is one way to achieve cover crop estab- songrass per 100 feet of row (Pike). lishment, usually with a goal to increase nutrient cycling as a catch crop, suppress Growers commonly use herbicides in associa- weeds as a living mulch or to enhance crop- tion with no-till production to chemically kill ping system diversity. cover crops. A series of research reports and farm trials show that mow-down and roll-down Researchers in New Mexico broadcasted for- methods can knock down cover crops and pro- age brassicas, rape and turnips into sweet vide a no-till mulch in vegetable production. corn at last cultivation, known as early intersowing, and blister stage of the sweet Flail mowers are an ideal piece of mow- corn crop, known as late intersowing. Inter- down equipment, but small-scale farmers cropping did not depress sweet corn yields. also employ rotary mowers (brush hogs) Researchers harvested sweet corn ears and and even string weeders (weed eaters) to stover in early September and brassicas in chop down cover crops. Timing is impor- November (Guldan et al., 1998). tant. Hairy vetch should be mowed when the legume is already flowering. Delay mow- Insect pest management ing of rye until flowering, when the anthers A large number of insect pests can attack are shedding pollen. sweet corn. The American Phytopathological Researchers in Connecticut direct-seeded Society’s 1999 Handbook of Corn Insects is sweet corn into flail-mowed legume cover the standard reference (Steffey et al., 1999). Page 6 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 7. Among the most widespread and damaging are corn earworm, European corn borer, corn rootworm and cutworm. Corn earworm The corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) is the larval stage of a moth that lays eggs in the corn silk. Corn earworm is also known as tomato fruitworm, cotton bollworm and soy- bean podworm. In most of the country, the corn earworm is the most destructive pest of sweet corn. Corn earworm is particularly difficult to control because it is protected by the husk while feeding. Organic pest con- Corn earworm. Photo by R.L. Croissant, Bugwood.org. trol strategies focus on variety selection and planting dates, cultural practices to incre- ase natural biological control such as para- some growing regions, such as south Texas sitism and predation, and the use of micro- and Mexico. bial pesticides. Naturally occurring biological control agents Management options begin with resistant that prey on corn earworm eggs and larvae varieties. Sweet corn varieties that mature include lady beetles, lacewings, syrphid fly early, possess long, tight husks extending larvae, big-eyed bug, parasitic wasps and beyond the tips of the ears or contain natu- parasitic tachinid fl ies (Straub and Emmett, rally occurring earworm-repelling chemi- 1992). Farmscaping by developing insect cals in the silks show the most resistance to refugia through establishment of flowering earworm attack (Davidson and Lyon, 1987 plants grown in strips and field borders and Williams and Williams, 1994). Table 3 may encourage these beneficial insects to lists sweet corn varieties known to possess stay on the farm. some level of resistance to corn earworm. One farmscaping strategy entails the esta- Northern growers can reduce the time blishment of sweet alyssum (Lobularia mari- sweet corn ears are exposed to corn ear- tima), a short-lived flowering annual, in worm by using a short-season variety and occasional pest habitat strips or field bor- planting early in the season (Wiseman and ders (Grossman and Quarles, 1993). This Isenhour, 1994). Early seeding is more flower is particularly attractive to parasitic effective as a cultural practice in nor- wasps that prey on corn earworm, as well thern states where the corn earworm moth as caterpillar pests of cabbage-family vege- is migratory. The moth overwinters in table crops. See ATTRA’s Farmscaping to Table 3. Sweet corn cultivars with some resistance to corn earworm (Wiseman and Isenhour, 1994; Pleasant, 1994 ) Stowell’s Evergreen Bodacious Hastings SWE Silver Queen Hastings GB Burpee HP Viking RB Hastings CGS Burpee PL Supersweet JRB Hastings MER Burpee HC Golden Bantam Hastings KK Burpee ST Jubilee Hastings IOC Burpee ST Texas Honey June Hastings CAL Burpee IXS www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 7
  • 8. Enhance Biological Control for details and recent research proving that a vegetable oil resources on this topic. and Bt mix provides outstanding control. Ruth Hazzard, an integrated pest manage- In addition to habitat manipulation through ment specialist with the University of Mas- farmscaping, inundative release of the tiny sachusetts, wrote several informative leaflets parasitic Trichogramma wasps can enhance that describe a biointensive approach to sweet biological control. Levels of control achieved corn pest control, with detailed notes on vege- with Trichogramma release varied from 20 table oil and Bt mixtures. Several of these are to 100 percent (Miles, 1995). Favorable listed in the Resources section below. environmental conditions are important. For instance, when Trichogramma wasps To facilitate the farm-scale adoption of this are released, the cards bearing parasite approach, UMass Extension developed and eggs should be covered with a small tent released a hand-held, gun-style applicator to protect them from rain and sun (Shirley, known as the Zea-Later. The Zea-Later II 1992). Commercial insectaries can provide and the spray mixture for corn earworm additional information about timing, release control, made up of emulsified soybean rates and the preferred Trichogramma spe- oil mixed with Bt, are available from M cies for specific regions. Johnny’s Selected Seeds. See the Sweet ost larval corn integrated pest management portion feeding Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt (trade names of the Resources section for purchasing is done include Javelin, Dipel, Condor and Lepi- information. nox), is a well-known microbial pesticide underneath the husk Two other microbial pest control strategies commonly used to control lepidopterous where foliar sprays pests. However, aerial sprays of Bt are usu- that show promise for corn earworm control do not reach. ally only somewhat effective against corn include parasitic nematodes in the genera earworm. This is because Bt must be inge- Steinernema and Heterorhabditis and the sted to be effective and most larval feeding entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassi- is done underneath the husk where foliar ana. Trade names include Mycotrol, Natura- sprays do not reach. lis and BotaniGard. In 2007 the University of Maryland’s annual IPM Activities Report In contrast, direct application of Bt mixed stated that use of B. bassiana had become with vegetable oil to individual corn ears, commonplace in certified organic vegetable applied two to three days after silks extend production. The report, available at www. to their maximum length, or full brush, mdipm.umd.edu/reports/index.cfm, said: works exceptionally well as an organic approach to corn earworm control. Howe- There are specific formulations developed for the organic market that have carriers … ver, direct application means application acceptable to OMRI. Beauveria bassiana (Bb) by hand and this is time-consuming. Use of has been very effective for us in controlling a machinery oiling can to inject the mine- whitefl ies and green peach aphid. We found ral oil increases the efficiency of this pro- it could suppress thrips if you started [appli- cedure. According to Mineral-Oil Treatment cations] early…. We have worked with brand name BontaniGard, which is one of the more of Sweet Corn for Earworm Control, a USDA popular formulations of Bb. In most cases, circular published in 1942, one worker is it is best to apply Beauveria bassiana using capable of treating one acre, or 12,000 a high-volume sprayer and penetrate the ears, in an eight-hour day using one of these plant canopy to make contact with the pest mineral oil injectors (Barber). ... Unfortunately, in our field tests with grow- ers we found that the available formulations Although mineral oil treatment for corn of Bb tended to clog commercial low-volume earworm originated in the 1940s, on-farm sprayers and we could not get even spore research trials in the 1990s in both Okla- distribution [in greenhouse use] (Maryland Cooperative Extension, 2007). homa (Kuepper et al., 1991), and New England (Hazzard and Westgate, 2001), The Insect Parasitic Nematodes Web site, a verified the utility of this approach, with SARE-funded project hosted by The Ohio Page 8 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 9. State University, is a good place to fi nd details on the biology and ecology of par- asitic nematodes, retail suppliers and fact sheets on application and use. The Web site is available at www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ nematodes. The University of Nebraska-Lin- coln hosts a similar site, Plant and Insect Parasitic Nematodes, available at http:// nematode.unl.edu. The efficacy of natural pesticide sprays and augmentative release of biocontrol agents like Trichogramma depends on tim- ing. Pheromone traps are a common tool for monitoring the presence of adult corn ear- worm moths, telling the grower when egg- European corn borer. Photo by Frank Peairs, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org laying is likely to begin. They also provide an estimate of corn earworm population and on other exposed plant tissues. After pressure. the larvae are half-grown, they bore into the stalk, the ear or the thicker parts of the Scouting and sampling for corn earworm leaf stem. Once inside the plant, European eggs is a complementary monitoring tech- corn borers are difficult to control, so most nique. Earworm eggs are laid singly, usually management efforts are directed toward the on the corn silks. Newly laid eggs are white, egg and early larval stages. but develop a reddish-brown ring after 24 hours. Eggs that have been parasitized by It is interesting to note that the European Trichogramma turn completely black within corn borer is one pest problem directly the eggshell. Scouting for eggs and monitor- affected by soil management and fertilization. ing egg maturation can help increase corn Researchers at The Ohio State University earworm pest control, as optimum timing collected soils from three sets of neighbor- for spraying can be determined within 12 ing farms that had a history of conventional to 24 hours. (inorganic fertilizers, pesticide inputs and Despite the best intentions and the great- corn-soybean rotations) and organic (animal est of care, some corn earworm damage manures and forage-based, long-term rota- may occur. If so, growers can shuck worm- tions) management. Researchers placed the infested ears and cut the damaged ends off soil samples in pots and amended each soil at the tip. Consumers probably won’t even type for nitrogen using ammonium nitrate, know the difference, since shucked and cut fresh dairy cow manure or no amendment. corn has become a ready-packaged grocery Researchers raised the potted corn plants in item in recent years. a greenhouse and released European corn borer adults twice a week. European corn borer The researchers observed preferential egg- The European corn borer (Ostrinia nubila- laying. European corn borer adults laid 18 lis) overwinters as a fully-grown larva in the times as many eggs on potted plants with stems and ears of corn plants, usually just soils from conventionally managed farms as above the ground surface. As the weather on potted plants with soils from organically warms in the spring, the larvae pupate and managed farms (Phelan et al., 1995). This emerge later as adult moths. These adults study confi rms similar observations made mate and the females lay eggs on the under- in the late 1970s during research compar- side of the corn leaves. The smallest larval ing organic and conventional farms in the stages of the fi rst generation feed on leaves western Corn Belt (Kuepper, 2001). www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 9
  • 10. Pest management options for European corn Bt var. kurstaki, the microbial pesticide, borer include the use of resistant varieties, is an effective control for European corn cultural controls such as adjusting planting borer. However, in order to be effective, the dates to avoid infestations, sanitation includ- Bt must be ingested before the larva bores ing the destruction of overwintering sites into the plant. Monitoring techniques are such as cornstalks, and biocontrol agents commonly employed to enhance accuracy and microbial insecticides. Please note that and timing of Bt applications. Foliar sprays making the best use of these tools requires should be applied just before or after tassel field monitoring. Monitoring for European emergence, but before silking and before corn borer also includes inspecting areas larvae bore into the ear or stalk. Biointen- adjacent to the field in addition to scouting sive Insect Management in Sweet Corn, a fact of the field itself. sheet by Ruth Hazzard and Pam Westgate Release of parasitic Trichogramma wasps of UMass Extension, provides guidelines for into sweet corn looks promising as a bio- Bt control of European corn borer and corn logical control method, but this technique is earworm (Hazzard and Westgate, 2001). highly dependent on favorable environmen- USDA researchers working in associa- tal conditions. For release, the wasp eggs tion with Iowa State University state that are attached to cards, each card bearing Beauveria bassiana, the entomopathogenic between 100,000 and 140,000 eggs. Cards fungus, applied in granular form during should be placed from three to five acres whorl-stage of corn development, can pro- apart and covered with a small tent to pro- vide season-long control of corn borer pop- tect them from rain and sun (Shirley, 1992). ulations (Leopold Center, 2001). However, Optimal timing for card placement is when recommendations for commercial use are tassels are in the whorl stage. After the not well developed. New research findings wasps emerge, they parasitize European are assisting in development of non-Bt corn corn borer eggs. Insectaries have additional refugia planted within a measurable dis- information about timing, release rates and tance to Bt corn stands to allow the survival the preferred Trichogramma species for a of susceptible moths to mate with resistant specific area. Research reports show para- moths (USDA ARS, 2004). sitism rates ranging from 60 to 97 percent Destruction of European corn borer over- using T. ostriniae, an Asian Trichogramma wintering sites, or all crop residues and wasp (Hoffmann et al., no date). Cost for plant refuse in which the borers may spend these releases are about $13 per acre for the winter, is another control option. Stalks 60,000 wasps. should be well shredded prior to plowing or disking for this method to be effective. Corn rootworm The corn rootworm (Diabrotica) is a bee- tle that feeds on corn leaves and clips corn silks, thus inhibiting pollination. The females lay eggs in late summer. These eggs hatch the following May or June. The larvae attack corn roots, reducing yield and causing stalks to blow over easily in high winds. There are three common species of corn root- worm: the Northern, Western and Southern rootworms. Under most circumstances, crop Corn rootworm. Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, rotation is one of the most effective means Bugwood.org of controlling the Northern and Western Page 10 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 11. species. In the late 1980s there were reports in several upper Midwestern states of Northern corn rootworm emergence in cornfields that followed soybeans in rota- tion. This was the result of extended dia- pause in which eggs spent two years in the soil before hatching, rather than the usual one year. This delayed hatch defeated com- mon corn-soybean-corn rotations (Swoboda, 1988). Geo-referenced grid samples for Northern corn rootworm, taken from 1995 to 2000 from two study sites in eastern South Dakota, show increased incidence of extended diapause in Northern corn root- worm (Ellsbury et al., 2002). Cutworm. Photo courtesy of Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension The Western corn rootworm also devel- Slide Series, Bugwood.org. oped means to overcome this simple rota- tion scheme. A new strain of the species, Cultural measures are the traditional means which some scientists are calling the East- of cutworm control. Fall plowing of sod, ern phenotype, thrives in soybean fields as early spring plowing with delayed plant- well as in the pest’s traditional host, corn. ing, control of adjacent vegetation and crop One factor seems to be the presence of rotation are commonly recommended. Land kept clean-tilled during the late summer is early-maturing corn varieties that the adult rarely infested. Western corn rootworm finds less attractive than still-succulent soybean plants (Holm- Under conditions where infestations may berg, 1996). As a result, longer rotations occur, monitoring is encouraged to deter- featuring greater crop diversity are becom- mine if additional control is advisable. ing necessary to control these pests. Among the organic options for cutworm control are parasitic nematodes and Bt. Bt The Southern corn rootworm, also known is more effective when mixed with bran and as the spotted cucumber beetle, is con- molasses and applied as a bait. Another trolled by late planting and by fall and option is placing baits of corn meal or bran early spring plowing. Populations of all meal around the plant. When consumed, three species are suppressed by predatory corn meal and bran meal swell inside the ground beetles, tachinid fl ies and benefi- worm and kill it. Similarly, a molasses cial nematodes. See the ATTRA publica- bait can be made from hardwood sawdust, tion Cucumber Beetles: Organic and Biora- bran, molasses and water. Once ingested, tional IPM for more information. the molasses hardens and renders the pest helpless. Organically acceptable sprays of Cutworm pyrethrum or rotenone can also be used if Cutworms cut seedling corn stems at or applied late in the evening. Because these near the soil surface. Cutworms feed at pesticides have short residual activity, night and spend the day hidden in the several applications may be necessary. soil. Normally considered a minor pest, cutworms can be a significant problem in Insect pest monitoring sweet corn following sod, in no-till cul- Commercial pheromone traps and other ture and in fields adjacent to grassy areas. monitoring devices such as black lights There are several species of cutworms that strategically placed in sweet corn fields and may become pests in corn, but the black border areas provide an excellent means to cutworm is perhaps the most common. determine the time of arrival and the level www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 11
  • 12. of infestation for several major pests, most Sources of pheromone traps and inte- notably the corn earworm and European grated pest management monitoring sup- corn borer. This information can improve plies include Great Lakes IPM and BioQuip control and in many cases save on spray Entomology Products. See the Sweet corn applications. integrated pest management portion of the Resources section at the end of this publi- The Cooperative Extension Service devel- cation for ordering information. oped several excellent publications and resources to assist growers in learning how to trap, scout and interpret results appro- Diseases priately for their locale. Sweet Corn IPM: Insect Pest Management is a 30-minute Smut video available through the UMass Exten- Smut is a fungal disease contracted while sion. See the Sweet corn integrated pest the corn plant is a seedling. White or gray management portion of the Resources swellings on any part of the plant are indi- section for information on obtaining the cations of smut. Crop rotation and resistant video. The video demonstrates the use of varieties are the primary means of control- T pheromone traps, field monitoring, pest ling this problem. Sulfur and copper fun- he Internet action thresholds and pesticide application gicides can also be used. Growers should revolution- remove and destroy infected plants. for sweet corn pests in the Northeast. ized the way agricultural Also recommended is the Northeast Sweet Rust information is Corn Production and Integrated Pest Man- agement Manual, a regional integrated Rust is another fungal disease. Infected distributed and pest management publication produced by plants have orange-brown raised spots on obtained, and quite the leaves, which gradually enlarge and the University of Connecticut. Filled with turn black before dying. Use rust-tolerant a few integrated handy tables, color photos and illustrations, cultivars. pest management it includes helpful sections on cultural prac- materials are tices, cover crops, sidedress nitrogen rec- ommendations, sweet corn pests, integrated Stewart’s bacterial wilt available online. pest management monitoring and action Stewart’s bacterial wilt is a disease caused thresholds. See the Sweet corn integrated by a bacterium that affects sweet corn, espe- pest management portion of the Resources cially early-maturing varieties. This disease section for ordering information. Also, see can reduce yields and stunt or kill entire the University of Connecticut Web site at plantings. Some plants are killed in the www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm for updated sweet seedling stage while others may not show corn integrated pest management topics for symptoms until tasseling or later. Leaves the Northeast. develop long whitish streaks and bacte- rial slime oozes from any cut plant part. For additional background on trapping, Infected plants should be destroyed and scouting and similar integrated pest man- populations of flea beetles — the vector for agement methodologies, request ATTRA’s this disease — should be kept low. Some Biointensive Integrated Pest Management. hybrid varieties are resistant. The Internet revolutionized the way agricul- tural information is distributed and obtained, Maize Dwarf Mosaic and quite a few integrated pest management Mosaic is a viral disease that typically materials are available online. Many of the attacks late-planted corn. It is best con- Cooperative Extension Service fact sheets trolled by resistant varieties. If suscep- and integrated pest management newsletters tible varieties are planted, it is important are now available only in electronic format. to remove Johnsongrass, an alternate host, A selection of Internet resources is provided from adjacent areas and keep aphids, the at the end of this publication. vectoring agent, in check. Page 12 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 13. Harvest Don Schlimme, a professor at the Univer- sity of Maryland, recommends the follow- The following are general guidelines for ing strategy for refrigerated storage of sweet organic sweet corn harvest. corn. He uses enhanced or super-sweet cul- • The same techniques as conven- tivars harvested at optimum maturity. After tional sweet corn are appropriate. husking and de-silking, cut the stem end • Sweet corn should be handled dif- close to the cob and remove insect damage ferently and more carefully than on the tip end. Put the ears in ice water animal feed, or dent corn. until the cob temperatures reach at least 40 degrees. This will take from 15 to 30 • Organic corn must be kept separate minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of common house- from conventional corn in order to hold bleach per gallon of cold water to kill maintain its value and identity. Any microbes. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar equipment used for both organic per gallon of water to lower the pH. Remove and conventional crop harvest must the ears from the water, drain for only a be thoroughly cleaned before har- minute or two to avoid letting the corn warm vesting an organic crop. up, and place in a gallon-size plastic bag. • Although mechanical sweet corn Then refrigerate the corn at 40 degrees; harvesters are available, most har- usually colder than the average home refrig- vest is still done by hand labor. erator. Sweet corn held in this way will last two weeks; holding the corn at 31 degrees • Trimming the flag leaves off the will increase holding time to three weeks ears at harvest reduces kernel dent- (Aylsworth, 1995). ing since the leaves draw moisture from the kernels. Several methods are available for precooling • For more information on organic sweet corn after harvest. Vacuum coolers regulations, see NCAT’s Organic are widely used by larger commercial opera- Crops Workbook. tions. Hydrocooling by spraying or immersing in water at 32 to 38 degrees is the next- best method and more easily accessible on Postharvest handling a moderate scale, though it takes longer. Since sweet corn is a highly perishable crop, postharvest handling is important. Crated corn needs to be left for more than Proper treatment at harvest will help ensure one hour in a hydrocooler to cool the corn good quality. to 41 degrees. Many growers, especially at small and medium scales of produc- Rapid removal of field heat via precool- tion, prefer mesh or burlap bags to crates ing will help delay deterioration. Precool because the same container used for field the corn to 32 degrees Fahrenheit within harvest can be easily dunked into the tank one hour after harvest and hold it steady for cooling. Once cooled, the bags are ready at the same temperature (USDA, 1986). At for shipping or short-term cold storage. optimum conditions of 32 degrees and 95 percent relative humidity, sweet corn has a After hydrocooling, the corn should be iced storage life of five to eight days. After two during transport and holding. If precool- to three days, the product declines in flavor ing facilities are unavailable, top icing is and tenderness. Sugar levels decrease less absolutely necessary. The standard pack rapidly at 32 degrees. At 86 degrees, 60 for sweet corn is 42- to 50-pound cartons, wire-bound crates or sacks. Standard packs percent of the sugars may convert to starch should be used because sweet corn tends to in a single day versus only a 6-percent loss heat when kept in a pile. at 32 degrees. Even at 50 degrees, sugar is converted four times more quickly than at For growers selling to local markets, har- 32 degrees (Aylsworth, 1995). vesting during the cool morning hours and www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 13
  • 14. selling as soon as possible are techniques that make hydrocooling unnecessary. You- Local markets: Fayetteville, Ark. pick marketing is another means of avoiding The Fayetteville (Ark.) Farmers’ Market did not postharvest handling. For additional infor- have certified organic sweet corn in 2008, but mation, see ATTRA’s Postharvest Handling vendors marketed premium-quality conven- of Fruits and Vegetables. tional sweet corn at prices ranging from 50 cents per ear to six ears for $5 toward the end of the marketing window in late August. That Marketing and economics was up from 20 to 40 cents per ear in 2007. In different parts of the United States The produce manager of Ozark Natural Food organic sweet corn may be raised for ship- Co-op in Fayetteville said organic produce ping, for processing or for sale through prices are up 3 percent across the board this alternative marketing channels such as farm year, but he has discretion in marking up indi- vidual items. Although the co-op’s policy is stands, farmers’ markets or community-sup- to buy local “when available,” just about all ported agriculture systems. the store’s sweet corn is shipped in. In 2008, Farmgate or wholesale prices for organic corn sold at retail for $1.19 per ear; in 2007 the sweet corn are difficult to determine. Sample manager was able to offer it few times at 99 cents per ear. The customary markup is 100 crop budgets and economic information dif- percent (Freeman, 2008). fer widely from region to region and year to year. See Appendix for a crop budget tem- plate. Sweet corn yields vary widely depend- ing upon the stand, growing conditions, A 2001 survey done by the Organic Farm- weather and marketing channels, according ing Research Foundation reported that 82 to the University of California-Davis. percent of organic sweet corn is grown for commercial processing such as canning and freezing. Standards for sweet corn The survey found farmgate prices for organic Weights and measures sweet corn range from $1 to $3.50 per Crate = 4 to 6 dozen ears (North Carolina Extension, Organic Sweet dozen ears. A Colorado grower complained Corn Production) that “cheap prices through local supermar- 50-pound waxed cardboard box = 4 dozen ears kets and a local economy in recession” made (California Standards, Corn picked for shipping) it “difficult to obtain the organic price pre- Bushel = minimum of 35 pounds of ears in the husk with minimum mium.” The window of availability for fresh 8-inch ears with full kernel development (U.S. Bureau of Standards) market sweet corn is small compared with Bushel of sweet corn = From 35 to 40 pounds (University of that of vegetables produced over a longer Nebraska Weights and Measures, www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/ season or more amenable to storage, so it is pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationID=603) not surprising that fresh market conventional Sweet corn = From 6 to 8 pounds per dozen (University of Georgia, competes with fresh market organic. Of 68 http://caes.uga.edu) U.S. organic sweet corn producers surveyed, Per acre yields 16 percent direct marketed. The producers Organic reported weather fluctuations as the No. 1 826 to 1,240 dozen ears, or 248 crates (North Carolina Extension, factor affecting returns to organic vegetable Organic Sweet Corn Production) (Davis, 1997) growers (Walz, 2004). 560 to 720 dozen ears, or 4.2 to 4.5 tons (OFRF 2001 survey) See the Resources section for a variety of (Walz, 2004) crop budgets for sweet corn. Conventional 1,400 to 2,000 dozen ears, or 350 to 500 48-count boxes per acre. An attractive feature of growing sweet corn, This is about 17,500 pounds to 25,000 pounds, or 8.75 tons to 12.5 tons especially for the small farmer, is its market- per acre (UC Davis figures for conventional sweet corn production) ability. Sweet corn sells quite well at farmers’ 1,000 dozen ears average (Oklahoma Extension figures for markets and other direct-to-consumer venues conventional sweet corn production) and a good-quality product sells out easily and rapidly in most communities. Page 14 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 15. Table 4: Net dollar returns per acre of sweet corn: Central California coast † (Klonsky et al., 1994) Wholesale price received per 48-ear box (unhusked) Yield $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 200 -$814 -$614 -$414 -$214 -$14 +$186 +$386 +$586 250 -$699 -$449 -$199 +$51 +$301 +$551 +$801 +$1,051 300 -$583 -$283 +$17 +$317 +$617 +$917 +$1,217 +$1,517 350 -$468 -$118 +$232 +$582 +$932 +$1,282 +$1,632 +$1,982 400 -$352 +$48 +$448 +$848 +$1,248 +$1,648 +$2,048 +$2,448 † Adjusted for changes in harvest costs due to yield. ATTRA has a number of marketing pub- Table 4 was developed from budget informa- lications that can be of particular use to tion on California organic production in 1994 sweet corn growers. These include Direct (Klonsky et al., 1994). It shows the influence Marketing, Farmers’ Markets and Entertain- of yield and market price on net returns. The ment Farming and Agri-Tourism. range of yields and prices shown are realis- tic for that state. It should be noted that even Marketability is no guarantee of profitabil- with high yields and an optimal market, ity, however. While sweet corn sells read- per-acre profitability is less than $2,500. ily, it does not have a reputation as a money Growers with limited acreage would be wise maker among small producers, though to consider alternative crops that have higher many use it to attract customers. potential net returns per acre. Table 5: Net dollar returns per acre of sweet corn: Maryland † Retail price received per dozen ears Yield $1.50 $2.50 $3.50 250 doz -$854.40 -$604.40 -$479.40 500 doz -$479.40 +$20.61 +$270.61 750 doz -$104.40 +$645.61 +$1,010.61 † The total variable and fixed costs developed in this budget were $1229.40/acre A 1999 production budget for organic be noted that the Maryland produc- sweet corn in Maryland produced a simi- tion budget used to create Table 5 found lar but more modest projection of profitabil- total variable and fi xed costs per acre of ity (Anon., 1999). The data is presented in $1,229.40. A 1996 budget for organic Table 5. sweet corn in nearby New Jersey found Organic production budgets for many total variable and fi xed costs of $1,901.13 specialty crops can vary widely. It should (Anon., 1996). www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 15
  • 16. References DeGregorio, Ralph. 1989. Minimizing corn earworm: an integrated approach. New Alchemy Quarterly, Anon. 1996. Costs of Production for Sweet Corn, Per No. 35. www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/q35/ Acre, Organic Production Practices, Northeastern United earworm.htm States, 1996. Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Brunswick, NJ. http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~farmmgmt/ne- DeGregorio, R.E., R.A. Ashley, and J.S. Barclay. budgets /ORGANIC/SWEET-CORN. HTML 1991. No-till sweet corn in three legume cover-crops for improved productivity. Environmental Conserva- Anon. 1999. Sweet Corn (Organic). Center for Agricul- tion. Vol. 18, No. 1. p. 68–70. tural and Natural Resource Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Ellsbury, Michael, et al. 2002. Abstract: Increased Incidence of Extended Diapause in Northern Corn Ashford, D.L., et al. 2000. Roller vs. Herbicides: Rootworm as Evidenced by Georeferenced Adult An Alternative Kill Method for Cover Crops. p. 6-7, 64–69. In: Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conser- Emergence Data. USDA/ARS Research Project: vation Tillage for Sustainable Agriculture Conference, Sustainable Agricultural Systems Based on held June 19–21, Monroe, Louisiana. www.ars.usda. Ecological Principles of Crop, Weed, and Insect Pest gov/ SP2UserFiles/Place/64200500/csr/ResearchPubs/ Management. www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/ Reeves/ ashford_00.pdf publications.htm?seq_no_115=142250 Aylsworth, Jean D. 1995. Three-week-old sweet corn. Evans, Dale. 1995. Sweet Corn Nitrogen Fertilization. American Vegetable Grower. June. p. 51 Oswego County Vegetable Program News, Cornell Cooperative Extension. April 25. p. 6. Barber, George W. 1942. Mineral-Oil Treatment of Sweet Corn for Earworm Control. USDA Circular No. Freeman, Zach. Ozark Natural Foods Co-op. Personal 657. 15 p. communication with the author, August 15, 2008. Bowman, Greg (ed.) 1997. Steel in the Field: A Farmer’s Griffin, Tim, Matt Liebman, and John Jemison, Jr. Guide to Weed Management Tools. Sustainable Agricul- 2000. Cover crops for sweet corn production in a ture Network, Handbook Series No. 2. Sustainable short-season environment. Agronomy Journal. Vol. 92, Agriculture Publications, University of Vermont. 128 p. No. 1. p. 144–151. Available through Sustainable Agriculture and Grossman, J. and W. Quarles. 1993. Strip intercrop- Research Information ping for biological control. The IPM Practitioner. www.sare.org/publications/weeds.htm April. p. 1-11. Hills Building University of Vermont Grubinger, Vern P. and Peter L. Minoti. 1990. Burlington, VT 05405-0082 (802) 656-0471 Managing white clover living mulch for sweet corn msimpson@uvm.edu production with partial rototilling. American Journal Bravo-Ureta, Boris E., Antonio E. Pinheiro, and Rich- of Alternative Agriculture. Vol. 5, No. 1. p. 4–12. ard A. Ashley. 1995. Alternative nitrogen fertility lev- Guldan, S.J., C.A. Martin, and D.L. Daniel. 1998. els and profitability in sweet corn production. Journal Interseeding forage brassicas into sweet corn: forage of Sustainable Agriculture. Vol. 5, No. 4. p. 95–104. productivity and effect on sweet corn yield. Journal of Commercial Organic Nutrient Recommendations. Sustainable Agriculture. Vol. 11, Nos. 2–3. p. 51–58. University of Maine Soil Testing Lab. Handout. Hazzard, Ruth (ed.) 1994. Weed Management. p. http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu 7–11. In: Proceedings of the Northeast Farmer To Davidson, R.H. and W.F. Lyon. 1987. Insect Pests of Farmer Information Exchange Sweet Corn Meeting: Farm, Garden, and Orchard, 8th ed. John Wiley & 1992 and 1993 Winter Meetings. Northeast Organic Sons, New York, NY. p. 157–160. Farming Association and University Of Massachusetts Davis, Jeanine. 1997. Updated 2005. Organic Sweet Cooperative Extension System. 34 p. [out of print— Corn Production. Horticulture Information Leaflet, superseded by Gilman, Steve. 2002. Organic Weed HIL-50. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Management. 96 p. NOFA Interstate Council Online Service. www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-50.html Store (www.nofa.org/store/index.php)]. Page 16 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 17. Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2001. Biointensive Miller, Crow. 2001. Reducing the impact of weeds. Insect Management in Sweet Corn. VegSF 2-01. Uni- Acres U.S.A. March. p. 21. versity of Massachusetts Extension, Vegetable & Small Phelan, P.L., J.F. Mason, and B.R. Skinner. 1995. Fruit Program. 5 p. Soil fertility management and host preference by Heckman, J.R., D.J. Prostak, and W.T. Hlubik. 1997. European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), on Presidedress Soil Nitrate Test (PSNT) Recommenda- Zea mays L.: A comparison of organic and conven- tions for Sweet Corn. Rutgers Cooperative Service, tional chemical farming. Agriculture, Ecosystems and FS760. 2 p. www.njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication. Environment. Vol. 56. p. 1–8. asp?pid=FS760 Pike, David R. No date. Economic Threshold for Hoffmann, Mike, Anthony M. Shelton and Catherine Weeds. University of Illinois, Cooperative Extension. R. Weeden, eds. No date. Biological Control: A Guide to 2 p. www.ag.uiuc.edu/Vista/pdf _pubs/ECTHR.PDF Natural Enemies in North America. Department of Pleasant, Barbara. 1994. Have a super sweet corn Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. summer. Organic Gardening. May–June. p. 50–54, 56. www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/info/biocont.html Schreifer, Donald L. 2000. Agriculture in Transition. Holmberg, Mike. 1996. The drive to survive. Acres, USA. Austin, TX. p. 219–234. Successful Farming. May-June. p. 34–35. Shirley, Christopher. 1992. Wasps to the rescue. Howell, John. 1998. Soils Basics V: Topdressing and The New Farm. July-August. p. 38–39. Sidedressing Nitrogen.University of Massachusetts Steffey, K., M. Rice, J. All, D. Andow, M. Gray, J. Van Extension. VegSF3-98. 5 p. Duyn. 1999. Handbook of Corn insects. American Klonsky, Karen, Laura Tourte, David Chaney, Phytopathological Society. 174 p. Pete Livingston and Richard Smith. 1994. Cultural Order from APS on-line: http://shopapspress.org/ Practices and Sample Costs for Organic Vegetable haofcoin.html. Members of Entomological Society of Production on the Central Coast of California. America receive a 10 percent discount. Giannini Foundation Information Series No. 94-2. Straub, R.W. and B. Emmett. 1992. Pests of University of California. Davis, CA. 84 p. Monocotyledon Crops: Sweetcorn. p. 213–235. In: Kuepper, George. 2001. Personal communication. For- R.G. McKinlay (ed.) Vegetable Crop Pests. CRC Press, merly on staff with The Center for the Biology of Natu- Boca Raton, FL. ral Systems, Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Swoboda, Rod. 1988. Counting corn rootworms before Kuepper, George L., Teresa Maurer, and Teresa they hatch. Prairie Farmer. December 6. p. 16. Wright. 1991. A Report of 1990 On-Farm Demonstra- USDA. 1986. Commercial Storage of Fruits, tion and Research Trials Conducted by The Kerr Cen- Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks. USDA ter for Sustainable Agriculture and Cooperative Farm- Agricultural Handbook No. 66. US Gov. Printing ers in Low Input Sustainable Horticulture. The Kerr Office, Washington, DC. p. 58. Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Poteau, OK. 10 p. USDA ARS. 2004. Ecologically-Based Management Leopold Center. 2001. Development of alternative of Selected Insects Associated with Corn. Corn Insects carriers for use of Beauveria bassiana in Ostrinia and Crop Genetics Research. www.ars.usda.gov/ nubilalis suppression on corn. Leopold Center Prog- research/projects/projects.htm?ACCN_NO=406890&sho ress Reports, Vol. 10. Leopold Center for Sustainable wpars=true&fy=2004 Agriculture, Iowa State University. p. 61–63. Walz, Erica. (ed./compiler) 2004. [based on crop year Maryland Cooperative Extension. 2007. Maryland data 2001]. 4th National Organic Farmers’ Survey: Integrated Pest Management 2007. p. 28. Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic Marketplace. OFRF, Santa Cruz, CA. http://ofrf.org/ Michalak, Patricia S. 2002. Organic Grain Cropping Sys- publications/survey.html tem and Marketing. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. 80 p. Williams, Greg and Pat Williams. 1994. Something Miles, Carol. 1995. Corn earworm. Pacifi c Northwest else that’s special about Ashworth corn. HortIdeas. Sustainable Agriculture. September. p. 4. October. p. 118. www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 17
  • 18. Wiseman, B.R. and D.J. Isenhour. 1994. Resistance Florida. University of Florida, NFREC, Marianna, in sweet corn to corn earworm larvae. Journal of FL. Chart. 1 p. http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Hewitt/Budgets/ Agricultural Entomology. April. p. 157–163. veg%20sweet$20corn$20.xls Meister, Herman S. 2004. Sample Cost to Establish Resources and Produce Sweet Corn. Imperial County–2004. University of California Cooperative Extension. 14 p. Marketing and economics http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/files/sweetcorn04.pdf Gentry, Karen. 2002. Dollar a dozen? Not so sweet for Treats all aspects of sweet corn production for both growers: Research outlines sweet corn production costs. shipping and alternative markets. Underscores high yields per acre in the Imperial Valley. Walz, Erica. (ed./compiler) 2004. Based on crop year data 2001. 4th National Organic Farmers’ Survey: Miles, Carol. 2004. Sweet Corn for Fresh Market. Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic Commercial Vegetable Production Guides. Oregon Marketplace. OFRF, Santa Cruz, CA. State University, Corvallis. About 3 pages. http:// http://ofrf.org/publications/survey.html hort-devel-nwrec.hort.oregonstate.edu/corn-fr.html Complete survey available online. Covers isolation, seeding, harvest, handling and storage. Production budgets: Organic Miles, Carol. 2004. Sweet Corn for Processing. Davis, Jeanine. 199. Revised 2005. Organic Sweet Commercial Vegetable Production Guides. Oregon Corn Production. Horticulture Information Leaflet, State University, Corvallis. About 12 pages. http:// HIL-50. North Carolina Cooperative Extension hort-devel-nwrec.hort.oregonstate.edu/corn-pr.html Service. www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-50.html Covers genetic types, isolation, fertilizers, harvest, Organic Trade Association: How to Go Organic. Path- handling, storage, pest control and provides a sample way to Organic for Producers. www.howtogoorganic. 1993 crop budget. com/index.php?page=marketing. Sharp, Rod, and Wayne Cooley. 2004. The Cost of Gateway to economic information, including links for Growing Sweet Corn in Western Colorado. Colorado crop budgets. State University Cooperative Extension. 7 p. Staff. 2003. Organic Crop Enterprise Budgets— www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/NWR/ABM/sweetcorn.pdf Sweet Corn. Sustainable Agriculture Management Staff. 2008. Estimated Costs and Returns per Acre, Guide. Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS. 2008–2009:Sweet Corn for Fresh Market, Irrigated. www.kansasruralcenter.org/publications.html. Clemson University Extension. 2 p. Follow links to Management guides, then Organic crop http://cherokee.agecon.clemson.edu/crnfrnkt.pdf enterprise budgets. Scroll down for an organic sweet corn budget based on interview with one grower. Staff. 2003. Sweet Corn Marketing Fact Sheet. 2003. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. 2 p. Staff. 1996. Table 76: Costs of Production for Sweet www.uky.edu/Ag/HortBiz Corn, Per Acre/Organic Production Practices, Nor- theastern United States. AESOP/Rutgers University. 2 p. http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~farmmgmt/ne-budgets/ Sweet corn integrated pest organic/sweet-corn.html management Staff. 1994. Organic Sweet Corn—Central Coast. Cen- Caldwell, Brian, Emily Brown Rosen, Eric Sideman, tral Coast Organic Mixed Vegetable Cost and Return Anthony M. Shelton and Christine T. Smart. 2005. Study. University of California Cooperative Extension. Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease p. 86–91. http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/files/mixveg.pdf Management—Sweet Corn. www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/ resourceguide This guide is intended for organic farmers and Production budgets: farmers in transition to organic production, Conventional extension professionals and farm advisors. It includes Hewitt, Timothy D. 2007. Estimated Costs of Produ- crop management practices and fact sheets for materials cing One Acre of Sweet Corn for Fresh Market, North accepted in organic production. Page 18 ATTRA Sweet Corn: Organic Production
  • 19. Johnny’s Selected Seeds Hazzard, Ruth. 1991. Caterpillars and Corn: Foss Hill Road Sweet Corn Insect Pests and their Control. The Albion, ME 04910 Natural Farmer. UMass Extension. http://eap.mcgill.ca/ (207) 437-4395 (commercial department) CPMP_3.htm www.johnnyseeds.com Hazzard, Ruth. 2003. Caterpillar Control in Organic Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2000. Bio- Sweet Corn. UMass Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ Intensive Control of Caterpillars in Fresh Market Sweet ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/caterpillar_control_in_ Corn: Results of On-Farm Trials. University of Mas- organic_sweet_corn.htm sachusetts Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_ Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2004. Organic projects/vegetable/bio_intensive_control_ insect management in sweet corn. UMass Extension. caterpillars_2000.html VegSF 2-01. www.umassvegetable.org/soil_crop_pest_ Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2001. Biointensive mgt/articles_html/organic_insect_managemen _in_ Insect Management in Sweet Corn. U Mass Extension. sweet_corn.html 2-01. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_ Hazzard, Ruth and Pam Westgate. 2000. Bio-Inten- projects/vegetable/biointensive_insect_management.html sive Control of Caterpillars in Fresh Market Sweet Sweet Corn IPM: Insect Pest Management Corn: Results of On-Farm Trials. UMass Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/imp/publications/other_pubs.html www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/ 30-minute video available for $15 postage paid from: bio_intensive_control_caterpillars_2000.html UMass Extension Bookstore Hazzard, Ruth. 1999. Integrated Caterpillar Control in Draper Hall, 40 Campus Center Way Organic Sweet Corn: Report on 1999 Project. UMass University of Massachusetts Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/ Amherst, MA 01003-9244 vegetable/integrated_caterpillar_control_1999.html (413) 545-2717 Hazzard, Ruth, Jeffrey Lerner and Suzanne Lyon. Adams, Roger G. and Jennifer C. Clark. 1996. Using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Products for Euro- Northeast Sweet Corn Production and Integrated pean Corn Borer Control in Sweet Corn 1994-1996 Pest Management Manual. University of Connecticut On-Farm Trials: Final Report. UMass Extension. Cooperative Extension. Storrs, CT. 120 p. www.umass. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/ edu/umext/imp/publications/other_pubs.html using_bacillus_thuringiensis.html Available for $22.50 postage paid from: University Hazzard, Ruth. Bt Product List. UMass Extension. of Connecticut Communication & Information www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_projects/vegetable/ Technology, U-35 bt_product_list.html 1376 Storrs Rd. Storrs, CT 06269-4035 Hazzard, Ruth John Howell, Richard Bonanno, David (860) 486-3336 Ferro and Craig Hollingsworth. IPM Guidelines for Sweet Also from UMass Extension Bookstore for $25 Corn. UMass Extension. www.umass.edu/umext/ipm/ipm_ projects/vegetable/ipm_guidelines_sweetcorn.html Great Lakes IPM, Inc. 10220 Church Road Sweet Corn Pest Alert Network/Pests of Sweet Corn. Vestaburg, MI 48891-9746 PennState Online Vegetable Resources. http:// (517) 268-5693 PestWatch.cas.psu.edu (517) 268-5911 fax Sweet Corn Pest Thresholds. PennState Entomological glipm@nethawk.com Notes. www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/ BioQuip Entomology Products cornthresholds.htm 17803 LaSalle Avenue IPM centers (Southern, North Central, Northeastern, Gardena, CA 90248-3602 Western Regions) (310) 324-0620 IPM Web Resources for Sweet Corn (310) 324-7931 fax IPM Crop Profi les—Sweet Corn bqinfo@bioquip.com www.impcenters.org/index.cfm www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 19