Single kernel moisture variation and fungal growth of blended corn

Corn at 29% moisture content (MC) was dried to 18% MC. Corn at 29% and at 10% MC was blended to obtain 18% MC. The dried and blended samples were monitored for single kernel MC using two single kernel moisture meters and a single kernel oven drying method. Deterioration due to fungal growth during storage was estimated based on visual observation. The mean moisture contents of dried and blended 18% moisture corn based on the single kernel oven method were not significantly different for all sampling days (days 1, 3, 7, and 14). The standard deviations of moisture content decreased over time for both dried and blended 18% MC corn samples. For the dried 18% MC corn, the standard deviation was consistently low throughout the 14-day observation period. For the blended 18% MC corn sample, the standard deviation for days 0 and 1 was significantly higher than for days 3, 7, 9, and 14. It appears that moisture equilibration was attained at day 3. Evidence of fungal growth was observed to occur one day sooner for the corn blended to 18% than for the corn dried to 18% MC.