Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest will feature farms and locations in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Washington counties as part of a corn-themed episode airing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
The episode features a segment on Fighting Back Against Bugs (in Anne Arundel County), including the corn earworm, which can cause massive damage by devouring crops. Farmers have a weapon to fight back and University of Maryland Entomologist Galen Dively will explain how Bt Corn is genetically engineered to produce a suite of toxins that kill the earworms but are harmless to humans and livestock.
From test plots at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, viewers learn how some pests are evolving resistance to Bt Corn and learn how scientists are working to stay one step ahead of the bugs.
New episodes of Maryland Farm & Harvest air on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and livestream at mpt.org/anywhere/live-stream-mpt/. Encore broadcasts are available on MPT-HD Thursdays at 11 p.m. and Sundays at 6 a.m. Each episode also airs on MPT2/Create® on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.