Milk Line and Black Layer

As we are nearing harvest, we are getting machinery ready, scouting fields and making a plan for harvest. When scouting fields, we look at ears of corn for the yield and where the milk line is on the kernels.
After the kernels on the ear are at full dent, a distinctive line forms adjacent to the dent end of the kernal. This is the milk line. The milk line separates the solid starch from the milky starch in the kernel itself. Over a three week period, the line moves toward the cob as the kernels fill to their final grain weight. Once the milk line reaches the cob, a black abscission layer forms at the kernel tip. At this moment, the starch movement into the grain ceases. The black layer signals physiological maturity and the final grain weight has been achieved. Plant stress or defoliation after the black layer has no effect on yield. Corn moisture at the black layer is typically around 30%. From that point, kernel drying is entirely due to evaporative moisture loss and the moisture can drop from a half a point to a point a day.
Currently the milk line is about three fourths of the way towards the cob, which means harvest is still few weeks away.

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