Corn harvest is fast approaching. This year’s corn maturity is about 5-10 days behind normal. With field dry down occurring in late September and October this year, there is the potential for a later harvest of corn at a higher moisture content. The rule of thumb has been that corn dries at a rate of 0.5 to 1.0% per day in September, 0.25 to 0.5% per day in October, and almost no drying occurring in November. Of course, these rules of thumb can change with favorable or unfavorable weather conditions.
Water loss from corn kernels is divided into two phases. The first phase is kernel moisture loss before maturity in which water loss is related to accumulation of dry matter in kernels. After black layer, moisture loss occurs through evaporation of water from the kernel surface.