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Relating Electrolyte Leakage to Shelled Corn Storability¹

¹Published with the approval of the director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, manuscript 97089, and the director of the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University, West Lafayette, manuscript 15510. Mention of a commercial name does not imply endorsement by the University of Arkansas or Purdue University. ²Assistant professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701. Corresponding author. Email: bpm1@engr.uark.edu ³Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.

Corn from three growing seasons was harvested, dried, and stored in small bins. Samples taken at harvest and after various periods of bin storage (up to 77 months) were evaluated by two primary tests: carbon dioxide evolution during accelerated storage at ≈20.5% moisture content and 26°C and electrolyte leakage from bulk (100 g) samples soaking in deionized water. The initial (t < 72 hr) slope of carbon dioxide evolution rate curves (SLOPE72) was used as a base measure of storability (i.e., potential for safe storage without significant mold invasion). In electrolyte leakage tests, both test temperature and initial sample moisture content influenced results. Additionally, water conductivity after 10 min was correlated (r = 0.79) with SLOPE72, implying that electrolyte leakage has the potential to provide rapid information regarding future storability.