After harvesting the maize, you have to shell, sort and dry the maize properly until you can sort it.
When maize isn‘t stored the right way, it becomes unusable faster. If stored maize is moist, the grain sprouts and moulds can develop easily. This leads to more pests attacking the harvest.
Shell, sort and dry
After removing the husk, lay the maize ears on a tarpaulin or clean surface for pre drying it. Don‘t leave it there for too long, because otherwise the maize will break in further processes.
Continue with separating the grains from the crob. If you‘re doing this step manual it will take time, but less grains are going to break.
Now you can lay the grains on a tarpaulin to clean them from dirt and remove the broken grains. Always make sure that the tarpaulin is clean. Let it heat from the sun and keep animals away.
The drying process takes about 4 hours and should be done by clear sunny weather between 11 am and 3 pm.
It is important to turn the maize regularly to see if the grains dry evenly. To check the state you can always grab some grains and shake them in your hands. Then you hear wether they sound dry or not. Another way is to bite on a grain to proof if it is dry. If the maize is dry, you can let the grains cool down at the fresh air and afterwards start storing it.
