I don't have a link for this handy, but I thought it a bit strange that no one had mentioned it so I thought I would! This past Friday I read an article and heard a radio report regarding the oldest strain of wild corn in Mexico mountains-very remote- showing that it had cross pollination with genetically modified corn. Neither report said which type of GM was the culprit.

Thought it might be a good heads up for everyone.

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), December 03, 2001

Answers

Hi Doreen, I have read this bit of info as well. Not much surprise, since it has gotten out of hand. Corn is wind pollinated and blows EVERYWHERE, so BT corn is showing up where it wasn't planted, etc. I think no one wants to mention it in mainstream because stopping it is almost impossible. It is blowing farther than they thought it would, etc.

Here is some help I found in a seed savers book. If you want to save your O/P Corn seed, and you have other varieties close by, then plant a short season crop (time it so they pollinate at different times than field corn) then you can put a bag over the tassels and ears when they start to show. Seal the bag on the corn with staples or something. This will insure that your corn silks do not collect other pollen. (Can contaminate if there are corn crops miles away)

Shake the tassels when they are starting to pollinate and gather it in the bag you sealed it in. Then take the tassle bag and shake the contents over the ear silks. Recover the ears with bags and seal them again so they do not get cross pollinated. Remember to keep everything covered when you are not pollinating! They suggest a special bag that is a little waxy so rain will not ruin it so fast.

I have some corn from several years ago that I was thinking about planting in a greenhouse or something, just to generate new seed. Corn pollen can get through so many things though.

I'm still using a fake email, so I will look here for other comments.

-- notnow (notnow@blabla.com), December 03, 2001.

I heard Barbara Simpson talking about it on Coast to Coast AM. She said there were two different types of genetically modified materials showing up in the corn. One is definitely the type that makes its own insecticide. I agree the reason we are not hearing more about this is because the cat is out of the bag, and there is no way to put him back in.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), December 03, 2001.

I heard it last week on N P R.

The genetics are ( make that have been) so pure, that seed companies have used them to produce their hybrids.

-- Rick (Rick_122@hotmail.com), December 03, 2001.

I'm happy that I am not a huge corn fan, but this is definitely going to jump up and bite us all in the butt. The cat is way out of the bag.

I think a greenhouse would be a help for other crops, but corn really requires so much room for what it produces that I don't think it could even possibly be considered for a greenhouse. Glad you guys had heard about it and thanks much for the instructions on covering the corn.

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), December 04, 2001.

My Msc.'s subject is "identification of better pollination times (as day and hour) on different corn varieties.

-- Asist. Prof. Ahmet Duman (dumanahmet2000@yahoo.com), January 11, 2002.

Sorry, no answer, but I have a question! There's a story in our family about a couple of girls who planted popcorn in a sweet corn garden--a couple of rows of sweet corn, a row of popcorn, etc. According to the tale, the resulting corn in the popcorn rows wouldn't pop, and the corn from the sweet corn rows wasn't fit to eat! Is this likely, or is it just one of those family legends that loses no fat with the telling??? Sounds to me like someone out there should know the answer. Thanks.

-- Mary Catherine Johnson (johnsoncat@hotmail.com), January 22, 2002.

Corn is happy to cross pollinate and the story is not far fetched. If you want to plant popcorn and sweet corn you need to seperate them by distance and planting dates of at least two weeks or you end with corn that won't pop, and corn that tastes bad.:)

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), January 23, 2002.

Thanks! Love having the old tales vindicated! M. C.

-- Mary Catherine Johnson (johnsoncat34@hotmail.com), January 23, 2002.