Sweet Corn Insect Pest Management

(For a list of insects affecting sweet corn in the Northeast, see http://web.entomology.cornell.edu/shelton/veg-insects-ne/crops.html).

Sweet corn is grown for fresh and processing markets and is valued at about $70 million annually in New York.  Because sweet corn is usually rotated with other vegetables, it is not subject to major pressure from corn rootworms.  The main pests of sweet corn are cutworms, the seedcorn maggot , wireworms, corn leaf aphid and the lepidopteran complex of the European corn borer, corn earworm and fall armyworm.  Traditionally, the European corn borer has been the major pest but it is now being overshadowed by the migratory corn earworm which is arriving earlier in the season and in higher numbers.  There is also some evidence that some populations of corn earworm have evolved resistance to the commonly used pyrethroid insecticides.

Listed below are a few of our publications in this area (see complete publication list above).

Olmstead, D. L. and A. M. Shelton.  2013.  Control of brown marmorated stink bug on sweet corn, 2012,  Arthropod Manag. Tests 38:1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4182/amt.2013.E61

Shelton, A. M., D. L. Olmstead, E. C. Burkness, W. D. Hutchison, G. Dively, C. Welty and A. N. Sparks. 2013.  Multi-state trials of Bt sweet corn varieties for control of the corn earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).  J. Econ. Entomol. 106 (5): 2151-2159. [PDF]

Shelton.  2012.  Genetically engineered vegetables expressing proteins from Bacillus thruringiensis for insect resistance:  successes, disappointments, challenges and ways to move forward.  GM Crops (invited paper) (in press).

Musser, F. R., J. P. Nyrop and A. M. Shelton.  2006.  Integrating biological and chemical controls in decision making:  European corn borer control in sweet corn as an example.  J. Econ. Entomol. 99:1538-1549. (PDF reprint here)

Musser, F.R. and A. M. Shelton.  2003.  Bt sweet corn and selective insecticides: their impacts on sweet corn pests and predators.  J. Econ. Entomol. 96: 71-80. (PDF reprint here)

Shelton, A. M.  1986.  Management of Lepidoptera on processing sweet corn in western New York.  J. Econ. Entomol. 79: 1658-1661. (PDF reprint here)

Biology, ecology and management of insect pests affectiing vegetables and other crops