Harvesting
The maize grains of high yielding varieties mature even when the plants are green. The cob sheath dries and becomes brownish. Grains having moisture content below 30% can be harvested and should not be allowed to stand in the field any more to avoid the damage by birds or animals. The cobs after separation from plants should be dried, shelled and the dried seed, upto the moisture content of 15% can be marketed. The green or semi-dried plants of maize can be fed to cattle as fodder. Practically, there is no harm if plants are harvested with cobs, dried, stored n small bundles and threshed afterwards due to lack of time any other reason. |