Maize
Harvesting
7.1 Maturity sign
- When maize is mature, the cob turns into a brown/khaki colour and in some varieties the dry cob drops down.
- Do not delay harvest beyond this to avoid losses due to insect and bird attack.
7.2 Stalking
- Involves cutting the plants at the base and leaning them against each other for further drying.
7.3 Stripping
- Involves detaching the cob from the rest of the plant. The maize can be put in storage (Nkhokwe) and can stay for a longer period if treated by Actellic EC.
7.4 Shelling
- This is the process of removing the grain from the cob. This is done using hands or an appropriate sheller – most small holder farmers use hand
- After this, winnowing is done using a traditional winnower or a machine especially for commercial farmers
7.5 Storage
- Maize can be kept in corbs in a granary
- It can also be kept in Sacks after shelling.
- Treat with Actelic to control damage by weevils at the rate of 40g per 90kg bag