Gainsville, Florida
November 6, 2007
We love it fresh, canned and
frozen. It's grown in every state, and according to a recent
study published by the American
Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS), adds up to a
whopping $807 million per year industry in the U.S. In other
words, sweet corn is big business.
Fresh market production of sweet corn in the U.S. peaks in July,
with only ten percent of the annual volume marketed during
winter months. Fresh sweet corn is extremely perishable as a
result of rapid decrease in sugar content, discoloration and
risk of pathogen infection. This intricate combination of
seasonal production limitations and the perishable nature of the
vegetable sparked an interest in finding reliable methods for
predicting the timing, quality and weight of sweet corn crops.
To assist corn producers and the agricultural industry with
meeting consumer demand for this sweet, nutritrious vegetable,
researchers have developed a new tool, or "simulation model"
that has the capacity to predict the quality and yield of sweet
corn crops. Simulation models are widely accepted tools used in
research, extension and agricultural planning. Models for field
corn have been available since the mid 1980's, but no simulation
model existed for sweet corn until early 2007.
Jon Lizaso and a team of researchers from the Universities of
Florida and Georgia developed the new simulation model over a
five year period. Lizaso explained that "the sweet corn market
is based on the quality of fresh market whole ears, which is
different from the dry grain measure used in the field corn
market. We found that modifying a well known field corn
simulation model was enough to correctly simulate the growth and
production of fresh market sweet corn."
Lizaso thinks the research and resulting simulation model have
significant promise for sweet corn producers, technical
consultants, extension agents and the agricultural industry, as
well as the larger horticultural and scientific communities.
"Existing maize simulation models had limited potential to
assist sweet corn production as a result of the distinctive
nature of the marketed end product. The new simulation model can
improve the quality of sweet corn ear growth as well as
predicting fresh market yield and fresh market ear quality", he
noted.
The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS
Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
electronic journal web site:
http://journal.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/132/3/415/
Founded in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural
Science (ASHS) is the largest organization dedicated to
advancing all facets of horticultural research, education and
application. |
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