Device and method for measuring moisture in corn on ear

A corn interface for operatively coupling a spectrometer to an ear of corn for measuring an amount of moisture in the corn, the interface comprising:

• a spectrometer interface configured to attach to the spectrometer;
• and
• a compressible gasket supported on the spectrometer interface,
• wherein the compressible gasket is configured to conformingly engage the ear of corn when pressed against the ear of corn to form an optical seal between the ear of corn and at least one of a radiation source and a radiation detector of the spectrometer.

A moisture meter for measuring moisture in corn, the moisture meter comprising:

• a hand-held housing;
• a corn interface mounted on the hand-held housing and having a thickness the corn interface being configured to operatively couple to an ear of corn to form an optical seal around between the ear of corn and the corn interface to inhibit ambient light from passing between the corn interface and the ear of corn;
• a radiation source supported on the hand-held housing and configured to convey radiation through to the corn when the corn is operatively coupled to the moisture meter;
• a detector mounted on the hand-held housing and configured to detect a radiation spectrum passing and to generate a signal representative of the detected radiation spectrum;
• and
• a measurement processor configured to receive the signal from the detector and to determine an amount of moisture in the corn based on the signal.