INFLUENCE OF POPULATION DENSITY AND HYBRID MATURITY ON PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF FORAGE MAIZE

1982 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. FAIREY

Nine maize hybrids, representing early, medium and late maturities (maximum 3000 corn heat units), were grown at 75 000 and 100 000 plants/ha for 2 yr at two locations in order to examine the in vitro digestible dry matter (DDM) yield and quality of whole-plant (shoot) and stover components. Early hybrids produced 90% as much DDM yield as medium or late hybrids. Comparing densities, the higher density resulted in a greater increase in DDM yield at Surrey than at Agassiz and it did not depress whole-plant dry matter (DM) content. Whole-plant DM digestibility (DMD) was 2% lower for early hybrids compared to mediums or lates. Density had no influence on whole-plant DMD at Surrey, but the higher density reduced it by 1% at Agassiz. Stover DDM yield was greater at Surrey than at Agassiz whereas whole-plant DDM yield was greater at Agassiz. Harvest index was positively, but not closely, correlated with whole-plant DMD (r = 0.28***) and was inversely correlated with stover DMD (r = − 0.45***). Thus, nutritive value of maize was only marginally dependent on the grain component. Results suggest that, in the marginal corn-growing environments of the region studied, it may be beneficial to use hybrids considerably later than those normally adapted and grow them at a density approaching 100 000 plants/ha to maximize digestible yields and quality. The harvested forage may have a DM content too low for direct ensiling, but this can be rectified by addition of dry high-protein supplements (e.g. alfalfa cubes) at ensiling time.

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Carlos Rodríguez ◽  
Juan A. Quiñones ◽  
Rodrigo Arias

The trial was conducted at the Centro de Producción Agrícola of ICfA in Cuyuta, Escuintla-Guatemala in order to generate information on the yield and quality of edible mulberry (Morus sp.) roughage treatments consisted of three harvest frequencies (6; 9 and 12 weeks and three fertilization levels of nitrogen (0.40 and 80 kg/ha). A complete randomized block experimental design, with a factorial arrangement (3x3) was used. The cutting height was 0.3 m above the ground level with two sequencies: from August 2nd to September 13 th and from September 13th to December 6th, 1990. In both cases, the 12 week frequency cutting and 80 kg of N were superior to the others (P<=0.01), yielding 6.87 and 6.15 t/ha of dry matter respectively. The yields at 9 weeks were statistically higher than those at 6 weeks. The highest protein percentage of the whole plant, leaves and stalks were produced at 6 weeks. The dry matter digestibility values in vitro showed little variability among treatments, with averages for whole plants, leaves and stalks of 65, 91 and 41 %, respectively. The preceeding data suggests that the mulberry has an excellent potential as a balanced supplement (protein and energy) for dual purpose cattle on the Southern coast of Guatemala.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 1045-1052
Author(s):  
Mateus Merlo Coelho ◽  
Lúcio Carlos Gonçalves ◽  
José Avelino Santos Rodrigues ◽  
Kelly Moura Keller ◽  
Gustavo Vinícius de Souza dos Anjos ◽  
...  

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of re-ensiling and bacterial inoculation on the quality of corn silage. The experiment was carried out in a 2x2 factorial design with or without inoculant (association of Lactobacillus plantarum and Propionibacterium acidipropionici), and with re-ensiling after 36 hours of aerobic exposure or only ensiling of the whole plant of 'BRS 1055' corn. The fermentative quality, nutritional parameters, dry matter losses, aerobic stability, and microbiological counts of silages were evaluated. Re-ensiling caused an increase of pH and in acetic acid and propionic acid concentrations, as well as in the dry matter (DM), crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber crude protein contents. Conversely, there was a reduction in the nonfiber carbohydrates concentration and in in vitro dry matter digestibility for the re-ensiled material. All changes were explained by the higher-effluent production and DM loss of re-ensiled material that was subjected to two compactions. Microbiology was not altered by the treatments. The use of inoculant altered ash content, but it did not influence other parameters. In contrast, re-ensiling after 36 hours of aerobic exposure caused a reduction in the nutritive value of corn silage and accentuated the DM losses.


1976 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. WHITE ◽  
K. A. WINTER ◽  
H. T. KUNELIUS

Corn (Zea mays L.) for silage was harvested at approximately 10-day intervals between 5 September and 15 November in 1973 and 1974 at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Dry matter (DM) yields of the whole plant and of grain increased up to first frost which occurred in late September. Following frost, the DM yields of the whole plants declined, while DM yields of grain remained essentially constant or increased slightly. In vitro DM digestibility and in vitro digestible DM yields were highest and the cellulose content was lowest at the time of first frost. Nitrogen and K contents of the whole plant declined significantly with time after frost. The total amounts of N, P, and K harvested in the crop also declined after frost. It is recommended that silage corn in the Maritime Provinces be harvested prior to or immediately after being frozen to obtain maximum yields and quality.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
J. Hakl ◽  
R. Loučka ◽  
J. Jirmanová ◽  
V. Jambor

Abstract Maize genotype selection represents a practical tool influencing forage yield and quality. The main objective was to investigate the contribution of genotype, site, and year to variability of maize yield and quality in the environment of Central Europe. Totally 63 maize genotypes at 11 sites over a 7-year period were evaluated for dry matter yield (DMY), dry matter content (DM), starch, cob, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), in situ digestibility of stover NDF (NDFD), and organic matter (OMD). The genotype showed the highest variability from all factors where stover NDFD varied from 261 to 529 g kg-1 and stover OMD from 376 to 609 g kg-1. In contrast to the whole-plant, variability of stover traits was more closely related to NDF than the DM content. Under standardized plant DM, all tested factors were significant and allowed interpretation of 70 and 60% of total variation of yield and quality for stover and whole plant, respectively. The average contributions of genotype, site, and year were 30, 7, and 5%, respectively. For variability in plant productivity and nutritive value, the importance of maize genotype selection was more than two times higher than the contribution of environment.


1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59
Author(s):  
P.C. Struik

Differences in digestibility of plant parts from 5 forage maize hybrids are described and related to the differences in whole plant digestibility of crops grown under different conditions. Plant parts differed greatly in digestibility, and the proportions of the DM of the total plant were variable due to numerous physical, chemical, biological and genetic factors. Whole-plant digestibility, however, was fairly constant and predictable. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)


1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 807-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. FULKERSON

Midas marrowstem kale (Brassica oleracea L.) was grown in different row width associations with United 106 corn (Zea maize L.) in two studies and ensiled in different moisture blends with corn stover in another. Highest dry matter yields were obtained where a single row of kale was grown at 30 cm to the side of a corn row. This combination also provided the lowest moisture content feed and the highest in vitro digestibility and crude protein content. Changing the corn row width had no significant effect upon yield, plant height, in vitro digestibility, kale leaf or corn ear content. Blending kale with corn stover to provide a silage of about 70% moisture increased the digestibility and protein content of the feed and provided a silage that kept well in storage.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
William Sánchez-Ledezma ◽  
Carlos Hidalgo-Ardón

In the area, there are no selected maize materials for forage production, tall and long-cycle creole maize varieties are used, there are overturning problems that make management difficult. The study was conducted in the dairy highlands of Costa Rica at an altitude of 2200 m, between 2008 and 2009. This study was made in order to compare the forage production and the nutritive value of nine maize hybrids (Zea mays) with local oats (Avena sativa) in a randomized design of complete blocks and three replicates. Harvesting took place at grain stage called milky-doughy (4 and 6.5 months for oats and maize hybrids). Oats had a dry matter yield (14 t/ha) and dry matter digestibility (8.7 t/ha) higher (P<0.0001) than hybrids (7.8 and 4.9, respectively). Although hybrids showed a higher (p<0.05) percentage of dry matter (mean 19.2) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (mean 63.2), oats had percentages of 16.7 and 61.9 within the same order. The percentage of crude protein in oats (14.2) was higher (p <0.05) than maize hybrids (mean 10.9). The creole oat variety showed a higher forage resource than the evaluated hybrid maize.


1975 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Bunting

SUMMARYResults are presented from four experiments in which comparisons were made between isogenic sterile and fertile plants of maize to study the effects of grain content on yield and quality of shoot dry matter. In two experiments comparisons were made over a range of densities, extending from 5 to 25 plants/m2 in 1972 and 5 to 20 plants/m2 in 1973. The other two experiments, grown in 1974 at a density of 10 plants/m2, were sampled 30, 60 and 90 days after flowering.In 1972 and 1973 yield of shoot dry material was about 10% higher in fertile plants at the lowest density, 5 plants/m2, but grain formation had a negligible effect at higher densities. In 1974, at 10 plants/m2, the yield advantage for fertile plants was 6–7%. These results are in line with other European data, but show a much smaller effect of grain formation on shoot dry matter yield than is normally recorded in USA trials. The discrepancies probably reflect differences in environmental conditions.Absence of grain had little effect on contents of nitrogen, ash and in vitro digestible dry matter, and increased content of pepsin soluble material and hot water soluble carbohydrates. Percentage content of dry matter in the shoot was higher in fertile plants in 1973, and during the later stages of crop development in 1974.The results suggest that the importance attached to high grain content as an essential requirement for yield and quality in forage maize is exaggerated, and that the restriction of maize breeding and testing programmes to assessments of grain production, in the belief that the best grain varieties will also be best for forage, can no longer be justified in northern European countries.


Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Egon Henrique Horst ◽  
Secundino López ◽  
Mikael Neumann ◽  
Francisco Javier Giráldez ◽  
Valter Harry Bumbieris Junior

The study aimed to examine the effects of harvesting three maize hybrids at different maturity stages on the ruminal fermentation kinetics, fermentation end-products (volatile fatty acid, ammonia and methane) output, and digestibility of maize plant fractions, as well as the degradability of the resulting silage. Three hybrids were compared (Maximus VIP3, Defender VIP and Feroz VIP) harvested at three grain maturity stages (milk (R3), dough (R4) and dent (R5) grain), while silage samples were collected only at the dent grain stage (R5). Grain digestibility tended to decrease as the maturity stage progressed (p < 0.05), while the whole-plant digestibility increased with increasing maturity for the three evaluated hybrids (p < 0.05). The gas production of whole-plant at 24 h of incubation was higher for the Maximus hybrid than for the others (p < 0.05), with average values of 188, 196 and 207 mL g−1 dry matter at stages R3, R4 and R5, respectively. For the in situ ruminal degradation kinetics of silage, instantly degradable dry matter and fiber potential degradability were greater with Maximus maize forage than with the other two hybrids. From the perspective of in vitro results, the Maximus VIP3 hybrid seems to be the most suitable for silage production when harvested between the dough and the dent grain stage of maturity.


1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
RH Slarke ◽  
WK Mason

At Kyabram, Victoria, the effects of growth stage at cutting on dry matter (DM) yield and quality of lucerne was determined during the warm season haymaking period for cultivars with contrasting winter dormancy characteristics. Growth stages at cutting were pre-flower bud, flower-bud, 10% bloom and full bloom. Cultivars were winter non-dormant CUF 101 and Pioneer Brand 572, semi-winter dormant Pioneer Brand 581 and winter dormant Pioneer Brand 545. Cultivar responses or interactions between cultivar and growth stage at cutting were not significant (P>0.05) for dry matter yield, crude protein or in vitro digestibility. Cutting of the pre-flower bud stage, compared with cutting at the 10% bloom stage, reduced DM yield by 18% (16.4 v. 13.5 t/ha), but increased crude protein content of the lucerne from 19.3 to 24%. The total protein yield per hectare was not affected by cutting stages from pre-flower bud stage to 10% bloom. Cutting lucerne at the flower bud stage rather than at 10% bloom gave increased protein content and digestibility with only a moderate yield decline. However, more frequent cutting was unsatisfactory as it decreased the density of the stand and increased the proportion of weeds and so could not be recommended.


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