Satellite Symposium 2: Silage
Description
Some dairy producers in the north-eastern USA adopted narrow row (0.38 m) maize forage production in the mid-1990s because of its 5% dry matter (DM) yield advantage (Cox et al., 1998). These dairy producers, however, continued to plant forage maize at high plant densities (125,000 plants/ha) under high N fertility (225 kg N/ha), despite research that indicated that forage maize had optimum DM yields and forage quality when planted at the recommended 100,000 plants/ha under 175 kg/ha of N fertility (Cox & Cherney, 2001). We evaluated forage maize at 0.38 and 0.76 m (conventional) row spacing under recommended vs. high plant densities and N fertility on a large dairy farm in New York. The objective of the study was to demonstrate to dairy producers that narrow-row forage maize does not require high plant densities and N fertility for optimum DM yield and forage quality.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Evaluation of Narrow-Row Forage Maize in Field-Scale Studies
Some dairy producers in the north-eastern USA adopted narrow row (0.38 m) maize forage production in the mid-1990s because of its 5% dry matter (DM) yield advantage (Cox et al., 1998). These dairy producers, however, continued to plant forage maize at high plant densities (125,000 plants/ha) under high N fertility (225 kg N/ha), despite research that indicated that forage maize had optimum DM yields and forage quality when planted at the recommended 100,000 plants/ha under 175 kg/ha of N fertility (Cox & Cherney, 2001). We evaluated forage maize at 0.38 and 0.76 m (conventional) row spacing under recommended vs. high plant densities and N fertility on a large dairy farm in New York. The objective of the study was to demonstrate to dairy producers that narrow-row forage maize does not require high plant densities and N fertility for optimum DM yield and forage quality.
