How to Harvest Corn

Contributor

By eHow Contributing Writer

Corn harvesting is more than just cutting down stalks of the vegetable. It means months of hard work and maintaining the fields so that the bounty will be plentiful. When it is time to bring in the grain crop, these are the steps to a good yield.

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Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Mature Corn
Combine machine

Step 1

Check your corn before beginning to harvest it. It will be mature between 90 and 110 days, depending on which breed you have. The corn will be ready for cutting once a black layer develops where the grain attaches the cob.
Step 2

Drive your combine through the field to cut the corn at the right length. The machine will separate the stocks from the grain for you.
Step 3

Dry your corn right away. This will ensure easier shelling. It can be done through sun drying for 2-3 days or mechanical drying for 6-8 hours.
Step 4

Dry the shelled grain for more moisture content, which will also give you better storage.
Step 5

Store in a clean and dry place that has adequate ventilation so the corn harvest will not sustain damage from the sun, rain, insects, or rodents. You usually would do this in a silo, but is not required.

Tips & Warnings

Make sure any insecticide used is approved by the appropriate govenment agencies.
It may be necessary to spray some safe insecticides to keep insects from eating your crop. This includes the corn weevil which can do the most damage to your corn crop.

Resources