Today I went down a few corn rows looking for ready ears and found six but they're smaller than usual. I also found some deformed ears where the ears seem to be splitting the husks and bending.
24.07.12 Banana ear problem #1, stink bugs.JPG
24.07.12 Banana ear syndrome #2, stink bugs.JPG
Off to the internet to troubleshoot! I found a great website from Ohio State U showing a ton of corn ear deformities. I had no idea there were that many! It seems the problem is called by several names; Banana, Cowhorn or Boomerang ears. It's caused by brown or green stinkbug damage. And those little bastiges are everywhere. Them and the leaf footed bugs. Not many last year but lots this year.
So, in case anyone needs this great corn ear diagnosis site the addy is:
GoDawgs wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2024 12:45 pm
Today I went down a few corn rows looking for ready ears and found six but they're smaller than usual. I also found some deformed ears where the ears seem to be splitting the husks and bending.
24.07.12 Banana ear problem #1, stink bugs.JPG
24.07.12 Banana ear syndrome #2, stink bugs.JPG
Off to the internet to troubleshoot! I found a great website from Ohio State U showing a ton of corn ear deformities. I had no idea there were that many! It seems the problem is called by several names; Banana, Cowhorn or Boomerang ears. It's caused by brown or green stinkbug damage. And those little bastiges are everywhere. Them and the leaf footed bugs. Not many last year but lots this year.
So, in case anyone needs this great corn ear diagnosis site the addy is:
You expect me to believe that a stinkbug (the nose) has something to do with bent corn (the ear) ?
I say there's something in the water...
Re: Corn Ear Abnormalities, Diagnostic Site
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:58 am
by GoDawgs
From the OSU site:
"Feeding injury on small developing ears before silking can deform ears into “cow horn”, “boomerang”, or “banana” shapes, resulting in total ear loss. Stink bugs probe plants with their beak-like mouthpart and inject enzymes into the plant tissue before removing plant juices. Significant ear damage is likely when ears are less than 3/4 inch long. The shuck will also stop developing, exposing the grain to weathering and other pests."
"Where stink bugs sting into the ear during early ear development, the cob will not develop on that side and it will continue growing on the back side giving the ear a characteristic banana shaped appearance. The shuck will also stop developing, exposing the grain to bird and insect damage."
Re: Corn Ear Abnormalities, Diagnostic Site
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2024 11:48 am
by Tormato
You should see some of my experimental corn. When the number of rows and size of kernals are both too large for the narrow cob, guess what happens at the milking stage?