Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello Everyone,
I'm a new so apologies if I do anything wrong! I get the magazine delivered although it is usually late, or the seeds are missing.

This will be my 2nd year of veg gardening in SW France after 3 years near Cambridge. I learned a lot last year. I have searched high and low but cannot find the pest that decimated my mid/late season sweetcorn. I had 'Lark' and 'Zenith'. my early corn was lovely but something got into the top of the cobs and nibbled the corn leaving messy dark bits, I didn't see any grubs. I had seen some bright green beetle like things about the size of my little finger nail but as all my books didn't list any sweetcorn pests I didn't realise what they were up to!some of the silks were eaten too. I also had smut so burnt those plants. I try to be as chimical free as possible but would derris to the trick? I know some of you have experience of gardening in France so hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction??

Hi Berlioz and welcome

Were the cobs opened up and eaten or did you only find the damage once you'd picked the cobs?

Chantal,
I didn't notice anything until I peeled back the husks after the silks had gone brown to check they were ready to eat.

In that case I can't help you, sorry. A lot of mine were nibbled but it was rats/mice/squirrels that had peeled and munched. I know you can get soot on sweetcorn but I know nothing about it.

Over to the experts.

One of our forum members "cevenol jardin" might be able to help you.

You can also have a look at her website, which may give you some other ideas to try:
http://www.masdudiable.com/

All the best,

Colin

Dear Berloiz
Try looking on American websites for something I think is called a corn borer. I can't be any more specific than that but I think it is a major pest in the US.
Regards Sally Wright.

Sally & Colin thanks for the advice. I sent a PM to cevenol jardin. I also looked up corn borers on google. Possibly my pest but also the corn rootworm beetles look very much like my baddies and are apparantly spreading over europe and have arrived in the UK too.
I will do a bit more research into getting rid of them as they cannot have overwintered as my garden was new last year from scrub/grass/weeds. They must have arrived from corn growing about 1 mile away.

Just sent you a personal message. I had a problem with large grasshoppers about 12 cm long green thing who eat the tassles and tips of the corn cobs. I posted a pick of them on a pest and diseases bit on August 2007 garden log - have you seen any of those around?
http://www.masdudiable.com/fluxit/mdd.n ... august.htm

Thanks, I have sent a PM.

I did see some but not on the corn much, perhaps I had two different baddies!