Crops

Corn, Sweet

Sweet corn is a warm-season crop and one of the major vegetables grown in New England.It is an extremely popular crop for roadside stand sales.

Sweet corn grows on a wide range of soil types. Early planting should be on light, well-drained soil in a warm, sheltered location. Heavier soils are best for the main crop. Plowing under corn stalks and cover crops to maintain high levels of organic matter in soils is recommended for best crop production. Irrigation may be necessary in dry weather, particularly on light soils.

For Current information on production methods (including varieties, spacing, seeding, and fertility), weed, disease, and insect management, please visit the New England Vegetable Management Guide website.

Below you will find additional information on managing this crop, including photos of insects and diseases in this crop, fact sheets, articles, and power point presentations, when available.

Insect List

• European Corn Borer
• Common Armyworm
• Fall Armyworm
• Corn Earworm
• Corn Flea Beetle
• Corn Leaf Aphid
• Cutworm Black
• Cutworm Variegated
• Seedcorn Maggot
• Wireworms
• Twospotted Spider Mite
• Japanese Beetle
• Stalk Borer
• SAP and Picnic Beetles

Disease List

1. Corn Rust (Puccinia)
2. Corn Smut (Ustilago maydis)
3. Corn Stewart's Wilt (Erwinia)
4. Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus (MDMV)

Articles

Integrated Pest Management

• IPM Guidelines for Corn, Sweet
• Assessment of Sweet Corn IPM Adoption in New England & Mid-Atlantic States: Are We There Yet

Organic Sweet Corn: Production and Pest Management

• Organic Sweet Corn Production: A Summary
• Bulletin: Organic Insect Management in Sweet Corn

• Timing and Efficacy of Corn Oil and Bt as a Barrier to Corn Earworm
• Research Reports:
  • Implementing a Biointensive Strategy for Caterpillar in Sweet Corn
  • Using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Products for European Corn Borer Control in Sweet Corn 1994-1996 On-Farm Trials: Final Report
• Zea-later
• Organic Control for Corn Earworm in Sweet Corn

Bio-control

• Trichogramma Use Guidelines for Fresh Market Sweet Corn

Other

• Cutworms in Seedlings
• Growing Corn From Transplants

• Weed Control: What's New and Effective?
• Managing Wildlife Damage in Maturing Sweet Corn