No, they will not handle corn husks and stalks. They are designed for large DRY leaves such as eastern maple and work reasonably well. IMHO, you are better off blowing the leaves into a pile and hand bagging.
I find the easy start feature a nuisance, the rope needs to be pulled out to almost it's full length before the engine starts, not an easy feat for people with short arms.

Thanks canguy, I was hoping to be able to vac up corn husks. Still wonder if it would handle corn husk's as they aren't that much different than leaves but the stalks are tougher.

Is it worth the money for the stihl? I would like to keep the price around 200 or less and the husky fits the bill there. Never owned any of their equipment before.

For the most part you get what you pay for in any lawn equipment. One's more expensive for a reason(s) which may or may not be important to you. In my opinion Stihl is a more Home Depot type name although Husky is now appearing there also. 70.00 more really isn't that much more for an added feature or two. Both are reasonable names which will last with care.

Just found this little article and thought it would be useful, with the Autumn just around the corner. I know how trying it can be trying to shop around for a leaf blower. Took me an age, although i finally settled on a Ryobi i've got a rather big plot though with loads of, chestnut trees.
Hope its informative.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf Blower Suggestions

You will regret it if you underbuy. Your gonna sit there and blow and nothing will move. Underpowered leaf blowers should be called noise makers. That's all they do. Get the biggest one you can afford. The job will get done quicker. I have a Husky 165BT and its real powerful. Cost $380.

You mentioned that your wife will be using it mostly, so on that note I would suggest a strong electric blower.

I've found that a good lawn mower will chop and bag leaves and pine needles pretty darned effectively. Use it in combination with a steel tined leaf rake to get leaves out of crevices and gardens. I think that corn husks and stalks would be a challenge for any vacuum. You could just turn them under with a tiller. Otherwise they should be be raked and bagged pretty quickly.