Breeding Disease And Insect Resistant Supersweet Corn
The Australian sweetcorn industry is udnergoing a phase of significant expansion. From 1997 to 2001, population increased by 70% from 70,000 tonnes to 120,000 tonnes and has probably exceeded that in more recent years. To supply this burgeoning market, the area under production has expanded. These more intensive production practices have the potential to increase the intensity of diseases and insect problems because of the inoculum build-up factor. With this in mind, the project was undertaken to develop and select supersweet corn populations with improved insect and disease resistance. The project also aimed to extract elite inbreds from the populations and to identify hybrids with the potential for commercial use.