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  • From: "Shoemaker, William H" <wshoemak AT illinois.edu>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn - Bt resistance?
  • Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 17:32:58 +0000

I don't think the resources are there to address that Kurt. Even if they had
good genetic material, which they don't, to incorporate into these GMO
varieties, they would have to re-register, which costs millions of dollars. I
think if they could do it though, they would to protect their financial
interest in this dilemma. It'll have to be done through conventional means,
which means pesticides.

Unfortunately there is a parallel which everyone on this list should be
keenly aware of. Weeds are becoming resistant to Round-Up. Monsanto has a GMO
approach to solving this. They are creating varieties of soybeans (and other
crops) which are resistant to 2,3-D. These will be released in 2014 I
believe. That means there will be an enormous amount of cropland acreage
sprayed with 2,4-D once these crops are established. While Dow and BASF have
developed new formulations of 2,4-D and dicamba which are not as prone as old
formulations to volatilize, they can still be subject to particle drift. So
if you have dicotyledon crops (broadleaves, like tomatoes, etc.) growing near
soybeans, be prepared for an elevated risk of exposure to 2,4-D or other
diphenoxy herbicides.

Bill
William H. Shoemaker
University of Illinois, Crop Sciences
St Charles Horticulture Research Center
535 Randall Road, St Charles, IL 60174
630-584-7254, wshoemak AT illinois.edu

________________________________________
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of
clearviewfarm AT bluefrog.com [clearviewfarm AT bluefrog.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 11:16 AM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn - Bt resistance?

You make a good point about strains of Bt, Bill. I wonder how many strains
are effective against these pests and if they could be rotated to delay
resistance buildup.

Kurt Forman
Clearview Farm
Palmyra, NY 14522

--- wshoemak AT illinois.edu wrote:

From: "Shoemaker, William H" <wshoemak AT illinois.edu>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn - Bt resistance?
Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 13:45:50 +0000

That is an interesting article and represents the concerns I've had for a
while about Bt GMOs. I should point out that there are two Bt corn products.
The Bt strain in the article is exclusive to coleopteran insects: beetles. In
this case its pretty specific to corn rootworm beetle larvae (not adults), a
big problem for the corn belt and the millions of acres that depend on this
technology. The other Bt corn GMO product is more relevant to vegetable/sweet
corn growers. It uses a gene that expresses the toxin from the kurstaki
strain of Bt, which only affects lepidopteran insects: moth and butterly
larvae. There is no resistance development I am aware of to this strain of Bt
in corn. I'm convinced its just a matter of time though.

Bill
William H. Shoemaker
University of Illinois, Crop Sciences
St Charles Horticulture Research Center
535 Randall Road, St Charles, IL 60174
630-584-7254, wshoemak AT illinois.edu

________________________________________
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of
clearviewfarm AT bluefrog.com [clearviewfarm AT bluefrog.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 10:01 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn?

Here's a link to an interesting article about Bt resistance by insects in
corn.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/12/05/143141300/insects-find-crack-in-biotech-corns-armor?sc=ipad&f=1001

Kurt Forman
Clearview Farm
Palmyra, NY 14522

--- wshoemak AT illinois.edu wrote:

From: "Shoemaker, William H" <wshoemak AT illinois.edu>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn?
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 19:38:59 +0000

Interesting observation on the late-planted early maturity corn. I think you
may have been balancing daylength with cool night-time temps. Cool nights
help reduce respiration, which robs plants of sugar during hot weather. Long
cool nights will help the plant hold onto the sugar then. But long sunny days
with warm temperatures help create high sugar levels. If you can get a good
balance of both, you'll have pretty sweet corn. But once we get into late
September, the days get too short and are too cool. The corn never seems
quite as good that time of year, at least here in northern Illinois.

Do you still see much European Corn Borer in NY or NJ? We hardly see much of
it any more. I syusoect its because we have millions of acres of the corn
belt planted to Bt field corn. The ECB populations plunged once the Bt corn
came along and has not rebounded in a decade. I used to see waves of the pest
that would decimate sweet corn, peppers and snap beans. I can't remember the
last ime we had a real problem with it.

Whether or not to plant an early (<70 days) sweet corn variety is an argument
that has growers on both sides. Some feel its critical to have a minimum size
ear for the market, others feel it is critical to get into the market asap. I
suspect every grower has their own sense of their own market and which
strategy is preferable, which shows the business is market-driven.

Bill
William H. Shoemaker
University of Illinois, Crop Sciences
St Charles Horticulture Research Center
535 Randall Road, St Charles, IL 60174
630-584-7254, wshoemak AT illinois.edu

________________________________________
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of
clearviewfarm AT bluefrog.com [clearviewfarm AT bluefrog.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 12:33 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn?

I planted some early season sweet corn (Sugar Pearl, 72 day) late in the
season, due to our screwed up weather last summer and found that it tasted
much better late in the season. I think that it tasted just as good as
longer season varieties, at that time of year. Another organic grower
concurred with me on that. We think that it may have something to do with
the soil being warmer.

As far as pests go, I buy Trichogramma wasps to control corn borer from IPM
Labs in Locke, NY. I have been "grinning and bearing it" with the earworm,
which comes later in the season here. You can apply pest control with a
Zealator, but it is very labor intensive. For the few ears which are not
very saleable, I eat them myself or feed them to the cows. If they aren't
too bad, my customers just eat around the worms. My customers also tell me
that if the corn is okay for a worm to eat, then it's okay for them to eat.

Kurt Forman
Clearview Farm
Palmyra, NY 14522

--- sunnfarm AT netscape.com wrote:

From: <sunnfarm AT netscape.com>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn?
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 10:00:28 -0800

78-82 day corns are the best for large ears and best flavor. With BT
varieties worm pests are simply
not a concern of mine. Keep your rows narrow like 25-30" max and 12" between
plants for best yield... Bob.

--- hopestill1 AT gmail.com wrote:

From: Richard Robinson <hopestill1 AT gmail.com>
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sweet corn?
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 10:51:20 -0500

not just a midwest problem! it's the main thing that keeps me away
from planting corn.

Richard

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 9:07 AM, Shoemaker, William H
<wshoemak AT illinois.edu> wrote:
> Early and large are two opposing traits, but one early variety I like a lot
> is Trinity http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7366-trinity-f1-natural-ii.aspx .
> It is good looking, productive, tasty and handles cool soils well for an
> early start.
>
> If you are in the Midwest you'll need to be prepared for handling corn
> earworm. A local seed corn company or another grower may be using a
> pheremone trap to track its presence. You may be able to avoid the pest but
> you'll need to have local trap data to know whether you can avoid it or
> not. If no one else has one nearby, consider buying a trap and some
> pheremone strips.
>
> Bill
> William H. Shoemaker
> University of Illinois, Crop Sciences
> St Charles Horticulture Research Center
> 535 Randall Road, St Charles, IL 60174
> 630-584-7254, wshoemak AT illinois.edu
>
> ________________________________________
> From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] on behalf of Erin Bullock
> [erin.dandelion AT gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 7:03 AM
> To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [Market-farming] sweet corn?
>
> Anyone have a suggestion for an easy-to-grow sweet corn variety for my
> CSA this year? I have been hesitant to get into this crop, but I
> thought I'd give it a try this year, just one or two large early-
> season successions. Advice appreciated!
>
> -----
>
> Erin Bullock, Mud Creek Farm
> www.mudcreekfarm.com
> 585-455-1260
>
>
>
>
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--
Richard Robinson
please reply to: rrobinson AT nasw.org
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