i live in FL and we have some corn that is growing very happily, but 3 rows of it have some odd things happening.
the plan was pushing out the "flower", if you will, but down inside the place was FILLED with aphids and ants...from what i have read these are "peas in a pod" but i also have noticed that the whole top of the stalk is rotting off now (on the ones that are infected) i also read that there is something else in the presence of these 2 nuisances and it bores down and kills the corn stalk, any idea as to waht it is and how i can organically get rid of it?
how would i clean my soil so it's usable next year for something else?
This is hard to prevent, as the ants 'farm' the aphids, protecting them from enemies and moving them around. I think the best preventative is to give the corn a good, slow, constant source of nitrogen. (Aphids seem to be especially attracted to plants which are flush with a quick burst of N.)
This is the sort of thing that if you know to scout for it, you can treat it before it gets so advanced that the corn is 'burned.' Soap spray into the whorl, FOLLOWED BY A RINSE shortly after (done sometime other than in the heat of the day) will kill aphids without harming the plant.
If you see holes in cornstalks with a wet sawdust material coming out of each hole, you have corn borers.
Corn borers come with or without the aphids. It is the larva of a moth. The best preventative is to treat the top of the plants with a Bt that's been specially formulated to deal with corn borers. (It is a granular bait made using ground corn.) Regular Bt, applied regularly to the corn whorls would be the backup option.
The next most important thing is cleanup. Chop and hot compost your corn stalks as soon as harvest is over.
Give it a good application of compost. Avoid quick-acting organic N sources (chicken manure, blood meal) for slower-acting sources (alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal). Be sure your corn has plenty of potassium.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.