Mechanical harvesting effects on maize kernel quality for agro-industrial reception and processing

Abstract

In Venezuela, maize is the most important cereal for food safety. Each year, thousands of hectares are cultivated with white and yellow maize, which in a high percentage are destined to food processing industry for human and animal consumption. The major maize-producing areas are dominated by mechanical harvesting, whose effects and parameters of efficiency are not well documented. In orther to reduce this lack, a research was conducted in Portuguesa and Yaracuy States, Venezuela, during 2016 rainfall season, to determine the effects of mechanical harvesting on grain quality parameters of commercial and experimental maize hybrids.. Moisture content, foreign materials (IMPZ), and grain quality indicators as broken grains (GPAR), kernel with damaged germ (GGRD), and kernel damage caused by microorganisms (GDMO) were assessed. Grain moisture content at harvest (16,8% + 1,7 for yellow hybrids and 20,9% + 1,1 for white hybrids), and IMPZ (0,3% + 0,3 for yellow hybrids and 0,3% + 0,3 for white hybrids) were under the tolerance limit for industry (24% for moisture content and 5% for impurities). The mechanical harvesting had effects on grain quality parameters evaluated, in both  white hybrids and yellow hybrids, showing its great impact in broken grains (GPAR) and kernel damages caused by microorganisms (GDMO), also affecting innocuousness  and the grain ranking for industrial processing.