CONDITIONING PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON INFESTATION AND QUALITY OF CORN STORED ON KANSAS FARMS

Abstract

To determine the effects of various conditioning practices on grain quality in northeast Kansas, corn stored in farm bins of various sizes was sampled and field simulations were conducted in 3.6-m (12-ft) diameter bins. Grain quality deterioration, as evidenced by insect infestation and mold infection, was common in farm-stored corn when storage extended into the summer months. Inefficient conditioning practices were observed commonly in farm grain. Excessively long fan operation, combined with failure to remove peaks and accumulations of fine material in spoutlines before aeration often resulted in over-dried grain in lower and outer parts of the grain mass and unconditioned grain in the center. In the field simulation bins, caged adult insects did not survive the winter in grain cooled rapidly by forced air. However, adult sawtoothed grain beetles were found in March in cages placed in unaerated grain the previous fall, and adults of all species of test insects were present in cages left in the grain from binning until the following summer, regardless of whether the grain had been cooled by forced air.