The 2005 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition
December 15-18, 2005
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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Friday, December 16, 2005
D0245

Ear pests and damage to organic, conventional and BT protected sweet corn grown in Kentucky

John D. Sedlacek, jsedlacek@gwmail.kysu.edu, Steve L. Hillman, shillman@gwmail.kysu.edu, and Karen L. Friley, kfriley@gwmail.kysu.edu. Kentucky State University, Atwood Research Facility, 400 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY

Organic, conventional, and BT protected sweet corn was grown in replicated plots in Franklin County, KY. Two hundred twenty five ears per cropping type were harvested and examined for ear pests and damage. Numbers of corn earworm, European corn borer, and southwestern corn borer larvae were quantified per ear. Ear damage, weight, and length were also quantified. During the first year of the study BT protected sweet corn was virtually undamaged and no larvae were found on any ears in these plots. Corn earworms were found on 7% and 15% of conventionally and organically grown sweet corn ears, respectively. Roughly 15% and 20% of ears in these two cropping types were damaged. Ears in organic and conventional plots weighed less than BT protected ears. Comparisons will be made between year one and two data.


Species 1: Lepidoptera Noctuidae Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm)
Species 2: Lepidoptera Crambidae Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer)
Species 3: Lepidoptera Crambidae Diatraea grandiosella (southwestern corn borer)
Keywords: sweet corn IPM

Poster (.pdf format, 366.0 kb)