FREMONT – Nothing says "summer" more than a fresh ear of sweet corn.
For years, researchers with Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and Ohio State University
Extension have helped growers choose the best varieties for the northern half of Ohio and southeast
Michigan with the Northern Ohio Sweet Corn Evaluation trials. Now, growers and the general public are
invited to OARDC’s North Central Agricultural Research Station, 1165 County Road 43, south of Fremont,
where the trials are held, for the first-ever Northern Ohio Sweet Corn Field Night.
The event is July 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. and admission is free.
"We want to show the plots, the whole nine yards, and have the researchers there to talk about the
trials," said Mark Koenig, OSU Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources who will be
leading tours of the 2009 plots. "We want to give growers the chance to give us feedback on the
trials, to see if there’s anything more we should be including."
The field night’s focus is for commercial growers, whether they’re growing sweet corn for farmer’s
markets or for shipping and packing, said Matt Hofelich, manager of the research station, but the
general public is welcome, too. Koenig and Hofelich co-manage the annual trials.
Other topics to be discussed at the field night include:
¥ Insect update, led by Dan Pavuk, Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources, and Celeste
Welty, entomologist with OSU Extension.
¥ Weed control update, led by Doug Doohan, OSU Extension and OARDC.
¥ Wildlife control, led by a representative of U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Blackbirds and raccoons are some of the biggest pests in sweet corn," Hofelich said. The
presentation will offer methods to reduce damage in sweet corn plots by these animals and other
wildlife.
For information, contact Koenig at (419) 334-6340 or Hofelich at (419) 332-5142.
On the Net
Northern Ohio Sweet Corn Evaluation trials
www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~vegnet/