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Post by greenfinger on Mar 4, 2010 21:45:46 GMT -5
Please help me with this basic problem. I don't know when to spray, or what to use. I read somewhere not to spray at or after tasseling to avoid interfering with pollination. I'd rather use a homemade spray, pepper, garlic, soap mixture, But am not actually against chemical warfare.
We would like to actually eat some corn come July.
Thankyou
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Post by mjc on Mar 4, 2010 22:45:19 GMT -5
Usually an oil (I use veggie oil) applied to the silks, a few drops, is enough to combat them.
There are some varieties of corn with tighter leaves on the cobs that are also supposed to help, but I can't think of any right now...
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Post by greenfinger on Mar 5, 2010 21:13:22 GMT -5
Sooo, just apply to silks when they look to be emerging, until harvest? And I assume using it you still get good pollination? I seem to be clinging to: "do not to spray at or after tasseling to avoid interfering with pollination". Reguardless of not remembering the source.
Please elaborate.
Thanks!
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Post by mjc on Mar 5, 2010 21:25:00 GMT -5
Ideally, you will only need to do it during the time the moth that comes from the earworm is mating...which is a couple of weeks, only. But each region is different as to when that is and some types of corn seem to be more attractive than others.
A trick that the little old lady up the street, who was basically my garden mentor, taught me, was to plant a variety that tasseled AFTER the big mating flush...but darned if I could ever figure out when THAT was...
But...hand applying the oil a few drops to a fraction of a teaspoon per ear is not the same as spraying. Yes, certain types of sprays can interfere with pollination (so can rain at the wrong time), because it causes the pollen to clump, not because there is something in the spray itself that prevents pollination...clumped/damp pollen won't work, because it doesn't get where it needs to be.
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Post by greenfinger on Mar 7, 2010 20:36:27 GMT -5
Thankyou so much for the info. It mostly makes sense now. I am to apply a few drops to a teaspoon to the ear. At the tips? The full length of the silks?
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Post by Alan on Mar 7, 2010 21:04:24 GMT -5
good info MJC.
What type of corn are you growing greenfinger? What varieties?
Give us a list of what you plan to grow or what type you like to go and I can to a pretty good extent let you know weather it will have some natural protection given it's husk tightness and length.
Another trait that does exist but is underused is a trait within the corn which is toxic to ear pests and which is not GMO I can't remember the name of the trait but it exists in a couple of inbred dent corn lines in the ARS GRIN listing.
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Post by greenfinger on Mar 8, 2010 9:11:08 GMT -5
I will be growing Golden Bantam, and Trucker's Favorite (or Choice). I'm not sure which, It is a white kernel, I was told it was a sweet OP. Thanks.
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Post by rockguy on Mar 8, 2010 14:16:42 GMT -5
BT will work. I mean BT powder, not "BT corn" lol. It also comes in a wettable powder you can spray on. Some brand names are Dipel (read the label, they make other stuff) and Thuricide. It won't kill bees, which is one good reason not to spray the silks with Malathion or something similar. It only kills caterpillars. Good for cutworms too.
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Post by grunt on Mar 9, 2010 0:56:13 GMT -5
greenfinger: You apply the oil at the tip of the cob where the silk emerges. that prevents the moth from laying the eggs inside (to my understanding).
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Post by greenfinger on Mar 9, 2010 9:27:06 GMT -5
And I thought that would be my last question...
How often does application need to be? Once a week? After a rain? All the way until harvest? Thanks for ya'lls expertise.-
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Post by spero on Mar 28, 2010 21:53:50 GMT -5
I have had pretty good success applying only one or two drops of mineral oil to the silks not long after the silks emerge. I only do it once. To make it stronger, you can ad a little BT to the oil. Johnny's sells oil mixed with BT along with an applicator gadget for this purpose (called zea later). It looks handy, but costs about $100. I still use a dropper from a medicine bottle. -JS
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Post by DarJones on Mar 29, 2010 2:35:29 GMT -5
You know those pump bottles of hand soap. Well, save one of them and put a cup of mineral oil and 2 tablespoons of dipel in it. Stir well and then go down the row pumping a dollop onto the silks just where they emerge from the ear. I've used this for the last 8 years since a neighbor showed me the trick.
DarJones
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Post by mnjrutherford on Mar 29, 2010 5:41:50 GMT -5
What is dipel?
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Post by canadamike on Mar 29, 2010 7:37:34 GMT -5
BT, or bacillus thuringiensis, a natural bacteria that kills larvae
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Post by cornishwoman on Mar 29, 2010 14:19:39 GMT -5
When I was a kid I was told oiling the ears of corn stopped it squeaking ,but then again that was the same person who told me I was found under a gooseberry bush,and I believed that for quite some time.
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