Sweet corn

Queensland's sweet corn industry

Queensland supplies the fresh markets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and a freezing and canning plant in Brisbane. Approximately half of Queensland's sweet corn production is processed. In the year to 30 June 2002, Queensland produced 30,226 tonnes of sweet corn worth about $28.8 million. This represents about 38% of the Australian production (80,467 t) and 55% of its value ($52.7m). Queensland's crop was grown on 2,719 hectares of Australia's total of 6,956 ha under sweet corn (Source: ABS).

The processing plant is supplied from the Lockyer Valley, which also supplies the fresh market, and harvests between November and June. The other main production regions are around Bowen (May to November) and Bundaberg (April to July and October to December).

Most sweet corn is sold on the Australian domestic market, but there is increasing interest in the export markets of south east Asia. Japan takes over 90% of our export sweet corn with the rest going to New Zealand and Singapore (Source: Austrade). Any growth in production will depend on access to export markets. Because of the high capital costs involved, a small number of large growers produce 80 to 90% of production. 

Research and development information

Projects currently and recently managed by DPI&F include:

Current projects

Improved IPM systems in the Australian sweet corn industry (VG05035)
This project aims to improve Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems currently used in the Australian sweet corn industry to manage a range of 'secondary pests,' whilst maintaining or improving heliothis management. Project updates will be made available as milestones are completed. The following links provide information on some outputs so far:

• reactions of commercial sweet corn varieties to turcicum leaf blight and common rust

Recent projects

Insect pest management in sweet corn (VG97036)
This national project on integrated pest management in sweet corn was recently completed. This site provides information and updates from the project. 

Crop information

Enterprise management
This page contains business information, including buying a farm, producing vegetables for market, chemical use and drought information. 

Growing sweet corn: Before you start
This DPI&F Note is a checklist of the things you need to know before you start. It will help you make the right decision about growing sweet corn.

Growing sweet corn: Common questions
This DPI&F Note contains answers to the most common questions asked about growing and marketing sweet corn in Australia.

Pests, diseases & beneficials 

Egg parasitoids of heliothis
This DPI&F Note discusses Trichogramma and Telenomus wasps as important biological control agents of heliothis, how to detect and monitor them and how best to conserve them.

Heliothis in sweet corn
This DPI&F Note discusses heliothis (Helicoverpa armigera), also known as corn earworm, the most important pest of sweet corn. 

IPM: Using NPV to manage helicoverpa in field crops
This page discusses nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV), how it works, how best to use it and what you can expect it to do. 

White collared ladybird predator in vegetable crops
This DPI&F Note includes pictures and discusses the lifecycle and effectiveness of this aphid predator.

Industry links

The sweet corn industry is represented by AUSVEG, who support the DPI&Fs sweet corn research and industry development projects.

There are many other industry groups representing the horticulture sector, visit our industry links page for links to many of their websites.

External references

The following web sites are external to the DPI&F site but contain information our sweet corn specialists consider would be of interest to Australian growers. 

The Australasian Biological Control web page provides links to commercial suppliers of bio-control agents and lists the products they sell.

The Australian Government Agricultural Portal has been created to provide access to information and service requirements for a large and diverse clientele. It includes Resource management; Products & industries; and Agribusiness.

Growing sweet corn is a useful publication produced by New South Wales Agriculture, part of the NSWDPI.

How a corn plant develops published by the Iowa State University of Science and Technology is a good explanation of the botany and growth of corn.

Purdue University has a page of useful sweet corn links.

The University of California's IPM Online web site provides information on a wide range of insect, mite, disease and weed pests.

VegetableIPM is a site being developed to assist growers and consultants who want to reduce chemical use and manage pests more cost effectively.

DPI&F information and services

• To access DPI&F's information and services, Queensland residents can contact the DPI&F Business Information Centre on 13 25 23 for the cost of a local call, from 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). E-mail callweb@dpi.qld.gov.au. Non-Queensland residents phone (07) 3404 6999.

• Current national information on agricultural chemicals registered for use on all crops is available on the Infopest CD-ROM. Write to DPI&F, GPO Box 46, Brisbane, Qld 4001, E-mail infopest@dpi.qld.gov.au, visit the Infopest web page, or phone (07) 3239 3967 for further information.

 

Last updated 24 February 2009