Stress cracks increase the breakage susceptibility of corn during storage and handling.
Corn with a high number of stress cracks generates more dust during grinding, and is more vulnerable to insect and microbial attack during storage. However, this background level of stress cracking is greatly increased during post-harvest handling. High drying and cooling rates are the major factor in stress crack development. When moisture is removed from the kernel too quickly, the structure of the kernel fails and stress cracks form. In order to maintain quality and therefore maximize premiums, producers must strive to minimize the increase in the number of stress cracks caused by drying and cooling.