ITHACA, N.Y. — Margaret Smith, a professor of plant breeding at Cornell University, has developed a new variety of organic corn that is designed for Northeast growing conditions. Blue River Hybrids, a national distributor of organic seeds based in Kelley, Iowa, has been granted a license for the hybrid called D2901.

Organic corn seed normally is developed and tested in the Midwest, where the soil and climate is more forgiving than in the Northeast. The parent seeds of D2901 are hybrids themselves. They are resistant to many diseases, have bigger seed ears and shade the ground early, which may help control weeds.