Now she did it!

Eldon (WA)

Well-known Member
I posted about the MIL telling all our customers at the farm stand how great our produce is, especially the corn.....well yesterday I ran across some earworms in the corn. Today I opened a new field and found even more. No complaints from customers yet, but it is something that bugs me since we have not had an earworm problem in 7 years. I saw one last year, but this year they are definitely a problem. Not sure if it is a random thing, (bad year) but it could put an end to our corn sales since everyone is in the "non GMO" spirit out here and seeing an earworm is gross.... I had always thought our dry climate may have eliminated the earworm here, but I guess I was wrong. Any advice??
 
Seems like ear worms appear about this time of year. Early corn, no problem; late corn not much problem. Seems to help if you don't plant sweetcorn in the same spot year after year.
 
(quoted from post at 18:56:43 08/29/15) Seems like ear worms appear about this time of year. Early corn, no problem; late corn not much problem. Seems to help if you don't plant sweetcorn in the same spot year after year.

One field had sweetcorn last year, latest field not. I wonder if they are cyclical?? Fields up till this week were clean.
 
Once the worm in hatched and in the ear it is all over but the crying.
If you want to spray you need to attack the moth egg as it is laid in the silk.

If BT corn is out of the question you can try and find a variety that has a tighter husk.
But the best thing you can do to prevent corn earworms is to plant EARLY.
I plant my sweetcorn when we are still under our last frost warning to try and pick before the moths move in.
 
(quoted from post at 19:12:33 08/29/15) Once the worm in hatched and in the ear it is all over but the crying.
If you want to spray you need to attack the moth egg as it is laid in the silk.

If BT corn is out of the question you can try and find a variety that has a tighter husk.
But the best thing you can do to prevent corn earworms is to plant EARLY.
I plant my sweetcorn when we are still under our last frost warning to try and pick before the moths move in.

Since we sell roadside, I have to plant sequentially. I plant 7 fields, each 7-10 days apart. First 4 fields were fine....
 
The first 4 fields were planted early enough to beat the worms.
Every field from now on will most likely have worms.

I do not know your area so I can not say if it is a one year thing or if they have moved in for good now.

Since you have acres to protect you might want to invest in a pheromone trap to monitor the presence of the CEW moths. Once you start catching 5 to 10 moths per night start spraying for the worms.

a199626.jpg
 
Eldon here is a good article on earworm control in organic produce. Also a real tight husk variety of corn helps too. Your going to have this issue more in the later planted corn as there are more moths to lay eggs later in the year.

We do not have the pressure that the warm climate states have. A good hard freeze that freezes the ground deep really helps.


http://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/corn-earworm-control/
 
(quoted from post at 19:57:06 08/29/15) Eldon here is a good article on earworm control in organic produce. Also a real tight husk variety of corn helps too. Your going to have this issue more in the later planted corn as there are more moths to lay eggs later in the year.

We do not have the pressure that the warm climate states have. A good hard freeze that freezes the ground deep really helps.


http://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/corn-earworm-control/

Thanks for the link. We did have a very mild winter here, so hopefully that is most of the problem. I did notice that our ladybug population was way down this year so that might be part of the problem also. I also irrigated pretty heavy this year, so maybe that contributed...and it has been a very hot summer...who knows. I guess we will see what next year brings....
 
I never treat my sweet corn. I cut it off the cob and
freeze it so I just lop off the wormy end. This year
some cobs were a total loss. I'm not sure if it was a
bad year or because I put the patch at the edge of
the milo field. There are sure more than I have ever
seen. Of the 120 quarts I have frozen so far there
was not a single cob that did not have worn
damage. That's a first for me.
 
(quoted from post at 20:21:20 08/29/15) I never treat my sweet corn. I cut it off the cob and
freeze it so I just lop off the wormy end. This year
some cobs were a total loss. I'm not sure if it was a
bad year or because I put the patch at the edge of
the milo field. There are sure more than I have ever
seen. Of the 120 quarts I have frozen so far there
was not a single cob that did not have worn
damage. That's a first for me.

That is scary! I found 4 ears in 40 dozen and that was too many for me....of course I probably missed some.
 
Eldon (WA)- Just a quick question...

I have encountered this on many occasions when I sold sweet corn in my stand.

I have had many people stop by and start 'shucking' the corn and find a ear worm in the tip of
the of the cob. Then they proceed to toss the ear off to the side of the stand onto the ground.

So, now am I not only stuck with a 'shucked' ear of corn but it has also been tossed onto the
ground.

Do you experience this problem and if you do, how do you deal with it?

Thanks
 
A drop of mineral oil in each ear after they silk out will stop the ear worms but that's pretty much out of the question for you I would assume.When I used to grow a a lot of
sweet corn to sell I'd just tell the customers up front to expect some ear worms didn't seem to bother most people.Timing has a lot to do with it and you never know this year I planted twice the first crop had some worms the 2nd bunch didn't have any.
 
I've had a small amount of experience selling but was told rotation greatly reduces the
occurrence of earworm. My problem this year was bear. Pretty much total loss , only about
3/4 of an acre .
 
Hi, I spray silk end with a back pack sprayer using
sevin aka carbaryl. No problem. Do it when silk is
young. Ed will
 
(quoted from post at 21:50:43 08/29/15) Eldon (WA)- Just a quick question...

I have encountered this on many occasions when I sold sweet corn in my stand.

I have had many people stop by and start 'shucking' the corn and find a ear worm in the tip of
the of the cob. Then they proceed to toss the ear off to the side of the stand onto the ground.

So, now am I not only stuck with a 'shucked' ear of corn but it has also been tossed onto the
ground.

Do you experience this problem and if you do, how do you deal with it?

Thanks

We tell them to go to Walmart if they want to peel the ears....seriously!
 
Eldon you are really limited in controlling the earworms if you can't use pesticides.

Some have stated that rotation will help it does but in your case your fields are too close for it to really help much. Example: If you switch the ground that is in corn to onions the grubs will still hatch into moths. These moths fly long distance ( this can be miles and they do ride the air currents as well so it can fifty to a hundred miles) to lay eggs in the silks of corn. So moving the field a few hundred feed does little for control.

There are natural BT funguses that are approved for organic production that can be sprayed. Also varieties of corn with real tight husk help. Like Traditional farmer posted a little vegetable oil on the silks will help control them as well.

You will have to have a earworm control plan now that they are in your soil. I do not think your ground will freeze hard enough to control them. They will be back next year in greater numbers. Before the BT corns came around they could be major pests in field corn when we had the "right" weather and air flows from the south. The moths can and do ride the air currents north. I am really surprised you have not had them for 6-7 years. Maybe your where lucky in that there was not major fields of corn around you close????? I usually plant my sweet corn in the outside few rows of a regular field corn field. They seem to not bother these rows as much as the ones in the middle of the field but in some years I will still have as high as 25% ear damage. Like some have posted we usually just cut the top of the ear off and are able to use the bottom. I know this is not an option for you selling corn.

Like I said you need to plan now for next year as there are a few things to do yet this fall like tillage to help control them. They are not like the corn bore in that earworms winter in the soil not the fodder. So tillage is only a small control agent.
 
You should post a sign saying something to the effect of; Our corn is raised non GMO and with no pesticides. Everyone thinks this is great, but the side effects are that bugs have free access to the crops. Our corn has ear worms because we didn't spray with a pesticide to kill them. When you get a ear with a worm in it, just cut that section out and the rest is good. Prepare as usual and enjoy it knowing that no pesticides were used on the food you are eating.
The city people that are SO against GMO's and pesticides need to realize that there are consequences for their actions and beliefs. Tell them that that is proof the no pesticides were used on their food. Might ought to raise the price so they feel better about buying pesticide free food. Chris
 

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