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Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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Posted by ptr_hml 5 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 1, 05 at 13:55
| Does anyone know where we can get the Bt sweet corn seed? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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| http://www.rogersadvantage.com/dealers/default.asp siegers seeds has it. minimum order is 100K seeds that cost $544. |
RE: Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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ditto for RUPP seeds, they have a bicolor from syngenta
BC0805- 100k seeds @$4.95 per 1000. This works out to something like a 50 lb bag, or ~$10.00/lb. The BC0805 got good ratings for taste&texture in trials(see link below.) If anyone knows of alternate sources, especially smaller minimums, I'd be interested. They have a fairly detailed grower agreement you must sign, which says you must agree to not plant back-to-back, must till under residue shortly after harvest, must scout the field for resistant caterpillars, and let them know of any resistant noticed. It appears they are being cautious about developing resistance to the bt since the pests will be constantly exposed to it. Of course, many organic growers use bt on a constant basis already, so there's not much difference really, unless you are simply a purist against biotech, or fear the bt for some reason. I'm not sure the $5/lb premium per 1000 seeds would be competitive against the labor of hand application of bt.
One of my neighbors has had good success using bt dust sprinkled on corn silk and tassle. On first crop corn, he had few worms, but second crop had more pressure $500 sounds like a lot to pay,but works out to 1/2 cent/seed. With freezer storage, I would expect you could get good germination through 2 seasons, maybe more. |
Here is a link that might be useful: OSU 2004 corn trials
RE: Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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I am not sure about the current laws, but originally when Bt seed was developed for sweet corn, you could only get large quantities because the buffer zone was huge, and they didn't want it to be in home type gardens where it could cross pollinate easily.
Ann |
RE: Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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| PLEASE do your research quite well before considering any biotech seed. Talk to growers and rely on INDEPENDENT studies and data. This seed is not all its cracked up to be...in fact, it's much much worse. I know some random internet poster isn't going to convince anyone, but please look at www.ucsusa.org, or www.biotech-info.net, and do some google searches, talk to growers and more importantly BUYERS. No one wants this crap anyways. It'll cost you much more in the long run. |
RE: Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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Hi, Dave. I went to the union of concerned scientists page and input the word "corn". The information they had pertained to campaigns against bt corn, most of it was dated, some over five years old. The main objection seemed to be resistance development and harm to monarch butterfles. Bt corn has been around for awhile. The ucsusa din't show me any solid data on Monarch declines or resistance to bt. The resistance problem is one that the growers are watching carefully. I did some checking on Monarch butterflies, and found that their populations fluctuate greatly. In 2001 the (overwintering)population was the lowest ever recorded 29 million, but by the next year had rebounded to a "robust" 100 million. 2002 brought a snowstorm that saw 80% of that population die. However, by 2004 the population had come back to normal again.
So, no problem with Monarchs. I think they eat milkweeds anyways.. Most of my customers readily buy corn from people who spray hard-core chemicals. I already use bt spray on many of my crops. I think bt is far preferable to most other pesticides. I thank you for your concern. |
RE: Sources for Bt sweet corn seed
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Just don't forget that there's a big difference between applying Bt and engineering it into every cell of the plant. In animal feeding studies the animals have adverse reactions to the bt potatoes and corn that they don't have with potatoes and corn with Bt sprayed on them. Here's another info site
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews/sis21.php also check out http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/home.cfm |
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