Cereal Chem 59:9 - 14. | VIEW
ARTICLE
Fungal Growth and Dry Matter Loss During Bin Storage of High-Moisture Corn.
L. M. Seitz, D. B. Sauer, H. E. Mohr, and D. F. Aldis. Copyright 1982 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc.
Carbon dioxide, ergosterol, aflatoxin, percent of kernels with fungi, moisture contents, and temperatures were monitored during storage of freshly-harvested, high-moisture (22.9-25.6%) corn in 1978 and 1979. The corn was stored in two 100-bu bins and aerated from the bottom at 0.17-0.66 m3/min/t. Fungal invasion was highest at the top and lowest at the bottom of the bins. The tests showed that 1) fungal invasion and aflatoxin content could be unacceptable before the grain lost 0.5% dry matter, and 2) the initial amount of inoculum, particularly Aspergillus flavus, on the grain significantly affected the extent of fungal invasion during storage. Standard visual inspection procedures did not adequately reveal the fungal contamination in samples of the corn when surface mold was removed by agitation in a stream of air.