Agriculture Business Week

If harvesting is delayed and the physiological maturity has been exceeded, the corn ear will tend to droop. This drooping helps prevent intrusion of water into the ear. Early maturing variety or hybrid can be harvested in 90-100 days from planting, while full season hybrid may be harvested in 105-120 days, depending on the hybrid, field condition and elevation, and climatic condition. In certain cases, early harvesting is recommended to

1. reduce risks of delay in harvesting due to rainy weather;
2. avoid excessive loss of grains in the field due to mechanical handling;
3. prevent kernel germination due to water-soaking caused by excessive rains;
4. prevent further development of ear rot fungi;
5. reduce pest damage such as insects and rodents;
6. prevent dropped ears and lodged plants.

Preshelling drying
A good practice we’ve noted in Central Luzon is the drying of ears prior to shelling. This is something that can maintain grain quality as well as minimize losses due to damaged or injured kernels caused by shellers. The following are some recommended preshelling operations for growers:

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This article was co-authored by Nelson Paraguison, one of Pioneer Hi-Bred’s district agronomists based in Northern Luzon. In this issue, we discuss the right way of harvesting and storing grains. This will help farmers in reducing postharvest losses to maximize their returns, from corn production.

By the time this article comes out, farmers may have already harvested their corn particularly in Luzon. But in some areas in Mindanao, harvesting may start in a few weeks from now. It has been observed that planting is staggered in this region due to the weather and the farmers’ access to better farming technologies. Production technologies have steadily improved in the past 10 years, thanks to the benefits of modern biotechnologies and the breeding and agronomy efforts of seed companies. With increased yields, farmers are happy and happier when they are able to sell their harvest at a good price.

Good storage helps
The problem on the fluctuating grain prices has been around for as long as I can remember in my several years in the corn seed industry. Certainly, there were years that farmers were able to sell at a very satisfactory price but these were mostly confined in the “off-harvest” months-a good reason for some to plant also in the off-season.

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Founded as a nutritional ingredient manufacturer in 1961 by R. WW and Mary Nelson, Kemin Industries, Inc., is a private company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. It produces ingredients and invents processes that provide nutritional and health solutions for humans and animals.

Grain Storage Practices (GSPs) is the primary mechanism developed by Kemin Industries to control and reduce hazards in cereals. All GSPs recommend the use of suitable and approved preservatives (e.g. Myco Curb range of nutricines) to prevent heating and mold growth.

Grains are seeds from cereal plantsmembers of the grass family, Gramineae. They constitute the bulk of the high-energy (carbonaceous) feeds. Some contain as much as 85% carbohydrate (starch) and 6% fat. Most harvested feed grains have relatively little moisture, about 10%, and are not as variable in composition as forages. Representing more than 60% of the total tonnage of concentrate feed, corn is, by far, the most widely used high-energy feed in the United States and elsewhere.

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