HERMETIC STORAGE OF WET CORN IN LINERS WITH AND WITHOUT EVOH BARRIER

LEANDRO CARDOSO; RICARDO BARTOSIK; CLAUDIA CASTELLARI; MARÍA BERNADETTE ABADIA; DIEGO DE LA TORRE; HERNÁN TAHER

Nueva Delhi

Conferencia; 10th International Conference on Controlled Atmospheres and Fumigations; 2016

CAF Permanent Committee

Due to cold and wet weather conditions during fall, corn has to be harvested wet in many regions of Argentina. Most farms do not have grain dryers and they store wet corn in silo bags during 2 to 9 months. Storage of wet grain leads to quality loss due to biological activity which, in some extent, is reduced by the modified atmosphere generated. This study investigated the incorporation of an O2 barrier in the plastic liner (EVAL TM, EVOH, Kuraray) (Barrier) on the degree of modification of the interstitial atmosphere and its benefit in preserving quality parameters of wet corn in comparison with the standard silo bag plastic liners (Standard). The results show that the bags with Barrier resulted in a greater modification of the interstitial atmosphere and that quality parameters were, in general, less affected than in the Standard bags. The incorporation of O2 barriers to plastic liners could be a cost convenient technology for improving hermetic storage conditions of quality grain or seeds.