Something killing corn seedlings - Ask Extension
I am finding 1" seedlings cut on the surface of the raised corn beds. I am having little or no successful emergences so I assume some must be get...
Knowledgebase
Something killing corn seedlings #869882
Asked May 24, 2024, 8:30 AM EDT
I am finding 1" seedlings cut on the surface of the raised corn beds. I am having little or no successful emergences so I assume some must be getting damaged below the surface as well. I do see some depressions where the seeds were. Cutworms? Birds? Other?
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Hello; Thanks for submitting your garden and landscaping questions to the University of Maryland Ask extension Service.
It may be that corn seedlings are being damaged by black cutworms. Please see this UMd Extension webpage: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cutworm-vegetables/.
First, keep weeds away from your garden beds as this is where many insect pests go before they find their way to your vegetable garden. Always rotate where you grow your vegetable crops from one year to the next to prevent overwintering insects from invading nearby host plants, and occasionally hoe around the base of your corn and tomato seedlings to disturb any black cutworms that may be lurking beneath the soil surface.
Chickens and sometimes crows may find corn seedlings a place where they might look for bugs and worms, and disturb seedlings in the process, but the seedlings would be tossed aside.
Suggestion: Visit Farmer's Markets and ask venders there what they think is the problem and what they do to control the problem.
Good luck with your garden and landscaping projects. Thanks; Christopher
It may be that corn seedlings are being damaged by black cutworms. Please see this UMd Extension webpage: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cutworm-vegetables/.
First, keep weeds away from your garden beds as this is where many insect pests go before they find their way to your vegetable garden. Always rotate where you grow your vegetable crops from one year to the next to prevent overwintering insects from invading nearby host plants, and occasionally hoe around the base of your corn and tomato seedlings to disturb any black cutworms that may be lurking beneath the soil surface.
Chickens and sometimes crows may find corn seedlings a place where they might look for bugs and worms, and disturb seedlings in the process, but the seedlings would be tossed aside.
Suggestion: Visit Farmer's Markets and ask venders there what they think is the problem and what they do to control the problem.
Good luck with your garden and landscaping projects. Thanks; Christopher
Think your advice was wrong. I have 2' diameter pits around the cut seedlings. I suspect birds are hunting for seeds. No bug would leave a pit. There is no debris nearby for bugs to hide and the soil has been recently tilled to kill the cutworms. It is clear that crows will cut the seedlings and just eat the seed. Found that multiple places online from farmers.
Hi, we suggest lightly tilling the bed, replanting the corn, and covering the bed with a row cover to exclude insect pests and wildlife. The row cover can be removed once the corn plants are well established.
Jon
Jon
