SHELLED CORN CO2 EVOLUTION AND STORAGE TIME FOR 0.5% DRY MATTER LOSS

Abstract

Following harvest, corn raised for grain is subject to infection and deterioration due to storage fungi. Laboratorystorage studies done on yellow dent corn in the 1960s established dry matter loss, as estimated by CO2 evolution duringstorage, to be a usable indicator of corn deterioration during storage. As a result of these studies, equations were developedto predict CO2 evolution of stored corn as a function of moisture content, temperature, and mechanical damage level. Laterresearch has added information on genetic hybrid resistance to fungal growth and fungicide effects. This article assemblesthe original equations derived from 1960s studies, plus relevant results from later research, into a comprehensive set ofequations to predict CO2 evolution and dry matter loss for corn stored at 15 to 35% moisture content (wet basis) andtemperatures from 0 to 49C. Effects of mechanical damage, genetic resistance to fungi, and fungicides are considered. Atable of predicted shelled corn storage times for 0.5% dry matter loss and a table of multipliers for other dry matter loss levelsare presented.