Sweet Corn Succession Planting
June 18, 2020 | By Rupp Seeds
Sweetcorn is a favorite among many visitors to roadside stands. Having fresh sweetcorn all season long is a great way to create repeat business for your market. However, as the season progresses, there are more demands on your time, which can make crop management more challenging. Managing timely sprays for insects and disease can also be a challenge for growers, but the good news is there are varieties available with traits that growers can use to their advantage for later succession plantings.
Rust
Common rust can result in serious losses in yield or quality of sweet corn. Common rust of sweet corn is commonly spread when conditions are moist with a high relative humidity of 95% or higher and mild temperatures of between 60 and 77 °F. Spores land on foliage and within 3-6 hours of optimal conditions, they’ll germinate and infect the plant. Even light dew will allow spores to germinate. The typical staggered planting schedule of sweet corn contributes to a high concentration of fungal spores originating from earlier planted sweet corn fields, just when the late planted fields contain susceptible young plants. You can reduce the incidence of corn rust by planting varieties that have resistance to the fungus. Resistance is either in the form of race-specific resistance or partial rust resistance.
Sweet corn varieties in our lineup have a rust resistant rating. We offer several varieties that are resistant and more that have moderate resistance. Some of our favorites are: Aces, Allure, American Dream, Anthem XR, Cameo, Enchanted, Providence, Signature XR, Summer Sweet SS2742, and 7143.
Insects
Everyone enjoys insect free corn. Corn earworm is potentially the greatest threat to sweet corn production for our customers. High insect counts have proved challenging the last few years. Insect protected sweet corn varieties such as Syngenta’s Attribute and Attribute II insect protected corn and the Performance Series from Seminis should be considered as they will allow the grower to decrease the number of sprays that need to be applied. While these products have a built-in resistance to some insects, they do not eliminate the need for insect scouting and occasional spraying. Using these varieties in combination with a reduced spray program will lead to much greater results. The extra investment in seed cost pays off in reduced spray and fuel costs as well as less time in the fields, making insect protected varieties a viable alternative.
Attribute®, 
Attribute® Plus and Attribute® II traits from Syngenta provide a viable crop strategy for sweet corn growers throughout the country. Attribute sweet corn varieties provide a high level of above-ground protection against European corn borers and corn earworms throughout the growing season. With Attribute sweet corn, growers have an option for producing high-quality sweet corn that meets market needs. When managed following the recommendations outlined in the stewardship agreement, Attribute sweet corn can be a valuable addition to your crop management strategy for many years to come.
Attribute® Plus sweet corn varieties further extend the high-yielding potential for sweet corn growers with an additional gene that enhances insect control, providing a high level of above-ground protection against European corn borers and corn earworms, along with fall armyworm and Western bean cutworm. In addition to this improved insect control, Attribute Plus also features tolerance to glufosinate herbicide, providing growers with an in-crop weed management option.
The Attribute® II trait builds on the robust insect control of Attribute Plus and adds another weed control option. Glyphosate herbicides can be applied in-crop, giving growers multiple options for managing yield robbing weeds in their fields.
Top Attribute II varieties include: Remedy, Milky Way, & Pursuit, and Patriarch is a leading Attribute Plus variety.
Performance Series® 
sweet corn has the same great Roundup Ready® technology that row crop farmers are already familiar with and adds protection from select above and below ground insect pests.
Whether your family has been growing sweet corn for generations or you are starting a new tradition, when you plant Seminis® Performance Series® sweet corn, you will enjoy a great-tasting ear that you can eat fresh from the field.
Some of our favorite Performance Series varieties include: Obsession II, Passion II, SV9010SA & SV9014SB.
With proper scouting and crop management both conventional and insect protected varieties can work well in succession planting. Team up with Rupp to select the best varieties for your market and have great tasting sweet corn all season long.