Technology of cultivating corn for silage, harvesting, varieties and yield

DN Full House

The domestic mid-late hybrid has a universal purpose; therefore, the crop in question is used both for obtaining green fodder and for growing for grain.
In the latter case, the potential yield of the variety is 16 tons per hectare. The hybrid is resistant to lodging and many diseases, including fusarium and smut, and is not affected by the corn moth. Thanks to these qualities, the crop can be grown in regions with strong winds and even in regions located on the sea coast. The height of the plant is between 3-3.2 meters, the cobs are large, up to 25 centimeters in length. Grain moisture content during harvesting is within 23-27%.

Silage corn varieties

When choosing seed material, they are guided by indicators such as drought resistance, yield, cold resistance, nutritional properties, ripening time, resistance to lodging, resistance to diseases and pests.

There are significantly fewer fodder types of maize than grains, however, in the modern assortment there is still something to choose from.

There are many varieties of corn

Sterling. The height of the plant reaches 2 meters 60 centimeters. During the development process, it “swings” for a long time, beginning active growth only after the appearance of 3-4 leaves. The stem has numerous foliage, which is highly valued in varieties of this type. The cereal is resistant to spotting, powdery mildew, spider mites and other pests and diseases. Reacts well to foliar nitrogen and urea fertilizers.

Dnepropetrovsk 247 MV. Mid-early hybrid. The length of the stem sometimes approaches 3 meters. Doesn't lie down. High-yielding and cold-tolerant crop. Six hundred centners per hectare is the average green mass for this species.

Partisan. A variety of corn widely used and valued by farmers and livestock breeders. The powerful stem rises approximately 200 centimeters into the sky, has a juicy, uniform structure and contains a large amount of fat and starch. Silage from such maize has high nutritional qualities and is easy to digest, which makes Partizanka a sought-after variety.

Ossetian. Inexpensive hybrid silage crop. Agronomic properties make it possible to grow cereal not only on an industrial scale, but also in summer cottages. Adapted for central Russia. Grows well without additional fertilizer.

Krasnodar 4. Very productive hybrid variety. It is used both in grain crops and for silage. The height of the plant reaches two and a half meters, the length of the cobs is about 30 cm.

Excellent seed germination, responsiveness to fertilizing and high nutritional value have made this corn widely known.

To increase green mass, forage varieties of maize are planted together with other silage plants. The ideal option for such a neighbor is soybean. This combination allows you to get up to one and a half tons of harvest per hectare.

Corn for silage - growing features

The high feed value of silage corn is determined by suitable climatic conditions, soil characteristics and strict implementation of the necessary agrotechnical measures. The technology for cultivating corn for silage, as a rule, involves the use of modern combines and high-quality equipment; manual labor is not required.

The technology of cultivating corn for silage, as a rule, involves the use of modern combines and high-quality equipment

If it was possible to achieve high corn yields without compromising feed value, then all measures were carried out correctly. Feed value is determined by indicators such as:

• suitability of corn for silage;
• dry matter content;
• proportion of grain and cobs;
• energy concentration based on the ratio of starch units per kilogram of dry matter;
• good digestibility of silage by livestock.

Video about corn for silage

Crop rotation

For corn intended for silage, the best predecessors are grains and legumes. It is better not to plant corn after sugar beets and sunflowers, since these crops lead to drying out and depletion of the soil, and sugar beets take a lot of zinc from the ground, which is necessary for corn. As a result, the corn plant after such predecessors is stunted in growth, the leaves show a pale yellow color along the veins, and the cobs are deformed.

The soil

Corn does not like compacted soil, so special attention is paid to tillage at different depths. Wide-cutting and combined units are used to generally reduce soil compaction; subsoilers are used to reduce the density of subsoil layers; field work is carried out only on ripe soil

In the fall, when the grain is harvested, the stubble is peeled, and two weeks later the soil is plowed to a depth of 25 cm. In the spring, the soil is harrowed to a depth of 5 cm in order to cover the water, and the soil is cultivated to a depth of 8 cm.

Corn varieties and hybrids

Seeds are calibrated and treated with acceptable preparations

When choosing varieties and hybrids, be sure to pay attention to the following indicators: feeding qualities, resistance to pests, diseases, drought, frost, yield, ripeness group and resistance to lodging. Seeds are calibrated and treated with acceptable preparations

Sowing time

Corn cultivation can begin when the soil at a depth of 7 cm warms up to +10 degrees. If the sowing time is very early or the weather conditions are not very favorable, the seeding rate is increased by 10%.

Density of sowing corn for silage

How densely the seeds should be sown is determined depending on the varieties and hybrids of corn. Most silage can be collected at a density of about one hundred thousand plants per hectare. Between corn seeds in the rows, 70 cm is maintained; pneumatic seeders with high operating speed are used for precise sowing.

Fertilizers

Modern technologies imply the mandatory application of organic and mineral balanced fertilizers according to the needs of corn plants. On heavy soils, nitrogen fertilizers are applied one time before sowing, and on light soils, nitrogen is applied the first time before sowing, and the second time after sowing, a month and a half later. The soil is fertilized with humus in the fall, during plowing, and in the spring, immediately before sowing, compost is embedded into the ground 10 cm deep.

Humus is used to fertilize the soil in the fall, during plowing.

Herbicides

Cultivation of corn for silage is not complete without the use of herbicides aimed at destroying perennial weeds. Continuous herbicides are applied after the previous crop has been harvested. During the growing season of corn, herbicides such as Titus, Meister, Primextra Gold, Dialen, Basis, etc. are used to control broad-leaved weeds.

Diseases and pests

The focus is on wireworm control through careful eradication of wheatgrass, crop rotation and insecticide treatment of seeds. To prevent common corn diseases, grains are treated or disease-resistant hybrids are used.

Diseases and pests

If seed dressing does not give a positive result and the plant is infected with a fungus that causes loose smut, the corn is treated with Vincit. When bacteriosis develops, Sternifag is used. The affected plant is removed from the site, and the area is treated with Planriz. This field will not be considered for planting corn next year.

The reason for poor stem growth, waviness of leaves and rudiments instead of seeds on the cob is a deficiency of micronutrients. The disease is called helminthosporiosis, and is eliminated by adding potassium salt in two doses with an interval of 21 days.

Of the parasitic insects that affect the crop:

• turtle;
• wireworm;
• scoop;
• aphid.

Corn grown for silage is not recommended to be treated with pesticides. To eliminate pests, bioinsecticides “Bitoxibacillin” or “Actofit” are used.

3. Height of laying and compaction work in the silo trench

The latest generation forage harvesters (600-700 hp, 10-12 rows) are technically capable of harvesting over 50 tons of dry matter or up to 3 hectares of corn silage per hour. It is also not a problem to ensure the required speed of delivery of this mass to the trench due to an increase in the number of vehicles. But our weak link will be the compaction process in the silo trench.

Well-compacted corn silage should have a bulk density of at least 220, and preferably over 250, kg of dry matter per cubic meter. Finely chopped stock (less than 10 mm) can be compacted using rolling equipment with additional weight (minimum weight 6-8 tons) and high tire pressure at a rate of 20-25 tons of dry matter per hour. This corresponds, depending on the yield, to 1.2-1.5 ha per hour. At the same time, you need to remember the low speed of the tamping equipment - 2.5-3 km/h.

The weight of the compacting equipment should be 1/3 – ¼ of the hourly productivity of the stacking height in tons of fresh mass. From this it quickly becomes clear that with a productivity above 1.2-1.5 hectares per hour, two silo trenches need to be laid in parallel, or, if the trench is large, several units of equipment must be involved in compaction at the same time.

Characteristics of silo trenches such as length, width, wall shape or drive-through capability can also influence whether compaction is good or bad. With the length of a silo trench up to 40 meters and the use of large machines, the fresh layer of mass is often too thick (more than 30-40 cm). And in order for two machines to work in parallel, the minimum width of the silo trench must be over 7 meters.

6.Minimum silage removal speed

The size of the silo trench should be planned so that the weekly minimum excavation rate is 1-1.5 meters in winter and 2-2.5 meters in summer. If the harvesting speed is slower, the silage will begin to heat up, with accompanying energy losses and reduced feed intake by the animals. In this case, the livestock, the composition of the rations and the area of ​​excavation from the silage trench must correspond to each other.

Special attention to grain

The lower gross grain harvest this year will have to be made up for at the expense of corn, which will make it possible not to reduce the growth rate of livestock production noted this year. But this should not be planned for those farms where there is already a clear shortage of grass feed, because when harvesting for grain, up to 30% of the grown energy contained in the leafy stem mass and rods is missing.

Specialists from agricultural organizations will have to examine all corn crops and determine those suitable for harvesting for grain. As of September 1, they must be in the phase of milky-waxy grain ripeness

Taking into account the lag in the development of plants compared to recent years, one should expect a higher moisture content of the grain, and this greatly increases its cost during drying. In those organizations where they count money, they use silage rather than drying, because growing 1 hectare of corn requires an average of about 200 liters of diesel fuel and the same amount is needed to dry the 5 tons of grain obtained from this area

In the current economic situation, it is extremely important to move away from the high-cost drying of grain and to more widely use its canning by ensiling. This technology is available to any farm that has experience in properly ensiling the entire mass of corn or other grasses

It allows you not only to quickly and in large quantities prepare high-quality concentrated feed, but also to reduce the cost of a feed unit by 15–18%. It is especially beneficial to ensile the grain mixture (chopped cobs). This technology is widely used in the State Farm Dobrovolets UKSP in the Klichevsky district, where in 2013 more than 9 thousand tons of crushed grain core mixture were laid in trenches, and in 2014 - already 12.5 thousand tons.

We talked in detail about the technology of grain silage and grain mixture in the article “Corn for grain. Dry or ensile? (see “BSH” No. 9 for 2014).

Corn yield in countries around the world and in Russia.

Corn yield per 1 hectare by country of the world from 2005 to 2022.
and in Russia from 1990 to 2022. The absolute record for the entire period of observation belongs to Israel - 338.2 c/ha in 2011. Corn yield

Absolute record for corn yield

The highest corn yields in the post-Soviet space as of 2022.

Lowest corn yields by country in the world as of 2022.

Comparison of corn yields of the three superpowers as of 2016.

Table of corn yields by country from 2005 to 2016.

(actual harvest of corn centners per 1 ha)

A distinctive feature of this crop is, among other things, the ability to collect large quantities of grain. In the world, in terms of this indicator, corn is currently superior to wheat by 1.7 times, and rice by 1.2 times. In Russia, unfortunately, this plant is not given as much attention as we would like.

The average corn yield in the Russian Federation for 2022 is 35-45 c/ha. For example, for wheat this figure is 60 c/ha. First of all, the low yield of this crop is due to the fact that it is usually not irrigated on farms in the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, artificial irrigation using almost any cultivation technology can raise the corn yield to 100-110 c/ha. Sometimes, provided that they are irrigated during the growing season, farms achieve even greater results.

Harvest dates

Determining when to harvest grain corn is very easy. It is necessary that the stems are absolutely dry, and the cobs do not have any moisture from the inside. You can use moisture meters - devices that accurately indicate the relative humidity of the grain mixture.

• If the humidity does not exceed 14%, the crop will be suitable for storage for a long time.
• If it is higher than 14%, then it can break after 3-4 weeks of being in the pile.

It is much more difficult to determine the exact time to harvest silage. To do this, several factors must coincide:

1. The humidity of the crop should be the highest in order to significantly reduce losses when harvesting with a combine (or with a scythe, if the area is small). It is also necessary to take into account that too dry mass may go to waste, since it is not preserved in the pit.
2. The output of energy units should be as large as possible, that is, this is the period when the plant accumulates starch and sugar for further fruit formation.
3. It is necessary to choose humid weather so as not to dry out the mass during harvesting - it adds up to 5% to the yield.

If you follow all these recommendations and take into account the peculiarities of cultivation, then you will certainly get a decent harvest that will delight you and bring considerable profit!

How to store the harvest?

The harvested crop must be properly stored to prevent spoilage and loss of nutrients. Here are the most popular ways to store grains, taking into account their purpose:

Industrial or feed corn grain should be stored in bulk in warehouses, bunkers or elevator silos. The height of the embankment can be determined by the capabilities of the storage room. It must be comfortable for normal maintenance of raw materials and quality control. Feed raw materials can also be stored in metal silo towers. In this case, you will need to constantly monitor the temperature of the raw materials.

Particular attention will have to be paid to the upper and lower layers of the embankment to prevent condensation from appearing in them. This often happens when the temperature in the towers changes

Grain on the cob should be kept in a dry and well-ventilated area, the humidity in which is very low and does not exceed 15%. The optimal height of the cob mound is up to 1.5 m. Before storing them, you need to carefully sort them out, remove all the leaves and dry them to a moisture content of 13-14%. Keep grains in plastic containers, cardboard boxes or fabric bags. In the latter case, you need to ensure that the fabric is not saturated with moisture, otherwise the seeds will lose their ability to germinate. Grain in this form can be kept in an unheated room for up to 24 months. Its humidity should not exceed 13%. At home, corn can be stored in the refrigerator. First you need to clean it well, soak it in salted water and acidified with lemon juice, and then put it in bags and throw it in the refrigerator, but it will need to be consumed within 10 days. To store the cobs in the freezer all winter, you need to alternately dip them for 2-3 minutes in ice and hot boiled water, and then dry them and wrap them in cling film.

Harvesting corn involves a number of rules and features, depending on whether it is collected for silage or grain. The difference lies not only in the harvesting process, but also in the principles of determining the optimal timing of work and the units used.

Further storage

The seeds are cooled before storage. Cold stops the activity of microorganisms, which allows you to preserve grain for a long time. Corn storage facilities include silos, bunkers, warehouses, and hangars. The grains are placed in bulk in the areas and the humidity and air temperature in the room are monitored. Optimal conditions for grain storage:

• temperature +8-10°C;
• indoor humidity 55%.

Commercial grains are stored for 1-2 years at a seed moisture content of 10-12%. If the moisture in the product is more than 17%, then the maximum shelf life is 1 year.

Storing corn grain in warehouses

Fact! Agronomists have experimentally proven that grains that were stored without access to air and at low humidity have the maximum percentage of germination even after decades.

When the humidity of corn is high (23-27%), the grains can be stored at a temperature of +4°C for no more than 2 months, and at -1°C the period increases to six months! Therefore, in order to keep raw materials in a salable form, the storage temperature is often lowered to negative levels.

Harvesting corn for silage

In corn, there are 4 stages of grain development: grain formation (lasts two weeks from the beginning of fertilization), milk and milk-wax (these two stages last about 10–12 days), wax (about 15 days) and full maturity.

Harvesting corn for silage begins from the moment the grain reaches milky-waxy maturity. When pressing on the grain, a light liquid and a thick mass are released. At this stage, the grains contain an average of 46% moisture, the leaves 34%, and the stems 80%. Harvesting continues until the waxy ripeness phase is reached.

Mowing is carried out with special agricultural equipment (forage harvester) to a height of 12–15 cm. By observing the timing and rules of harvesting, you can obtain healthy and high-quality food for pets.

Suitable varieties and hybrids

Hybrids and varieties of corn intended for silage must have high productivity , suitability for mechanized harvesting, and be suitable for cultivation in a particular region.

Here are a few examples included in the State Register of Selection Achievements and approved for use:

1. The Anyutka variety with a medium-late ripening period is recommended for cultivation in the North Caucasus and Lower Volga regions. The average yield of normalized dry matter is 79-98 c/ha, depending on the region. Resistant to helminthosporium. Moderately affected by cob bacteriosis and bubbly smut. Susceptible to fusarium and stem borer.
2. The variety Donskaya Vysokoroslaya 2 is approved for the Middle Volga region. Mid-late, average yield in terms of dry matter is 151 c/ha.
3. Hybrid Ladoga 191MV is intended for cultivation in the Volga-Vyatka, Central Black Earth, Middle Volga, Ural, and West Siberian districts. Early ripening, yield ranges from 54 to 106 c/ha depending on the district. Diseases of bladder smut, bacteriosis, and fusarium are not observed in the cobs. Resistance to corn borer damage is average.
4. The mid-season hybrid Mashuk 355 MV is recommended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth region. The average mass yield in terms of dry matter is 150 c/ha. Resistant to southern helminthosporium, susceptible to bacteriosis and fusarium of cobs. Severely damaged by stem borer.

choosing a silage hybrid and determining the optimal timing for harvesting corn for silage

Checking the quality of silage

Important! If there are a large number of large pieces, the quality of silage storage may suffer. Yes, and cows chew it poorly

To check, you need to take a 10 liter bucket and fill it with silage. Next, take a vibrating grid and pass the silo through it. Since the quality of silage storage depends on the size of the pieces into which it is cut, you need to make sure that there are few large pieces in it. This is exactly what a sieve is for.

Pass 10 liters of silage through the first grate, collect the remaining large pieces in a glass. If you get one glass of 200 ml per 10 liters, then this is 1% of the total silage harvest. And this figure is the norm.

Next, pass the same 10 liters through the second grate. If you get 10 glasses of 200 ml of the remaining pieces per 10 liter bucket, which is 10% of the total harvest, then everything is done correctly. This means that the silage will be well stored and the cows will chew it easily.

Next, the silage is loaded into storage, pressed using heavy equipment, and covered with two films. The first layer is a 40 micron film to avoid the appearance of air pockets. The second layer is a denser film, 100 microns, to protect the storage from moisture, debris and animals.

7. Silage cutting area

With high extraction rates and good aerobic stability of the silage, the type of technique with which the feed is removed from the silage trench plays a secondary role. A smooth cutting area and uniform excavation over the entire area (using a cutter) although have a positive effect in terms of impact on reheating, but ensuring sufficient excavation speed is much more important. If it is not in order, the cut area can be stabilized by treating it with special products containing propionic acid.

Checking the quality of silage

When corn ensiling is completed, its quality can be checked before storing.

Important! If there are a large number of large pieces, the quality of silage storage may suffer. Yes, and cows chew it poorly

To check, you need to take a 10 liter bucket and fill it with silage. Next, take a vibrating grid and pass the silo through it. Since the quality of silage storage depends on the size of the pieces into which it is cut, you need to make sure that there are few large pieces in it. This is exactly what a sieve is for.

Pass 10 liters of silage through the first grate, collect the remaining large pieces in a glass. If you get one glass of 200 ml per 10 liters, then this is 1% of the total silage harvest. And this figure is the norm.

Next, pass the same 10 liters through the second grate. If you get 10 glasses of 200 ml of the remaining pieces per 10 liter bucket, which is 10% of the total harvest, then everything is done correctly. This means that the silage will be well stored and the cows will chew it easily.

Next, the silage is loaded into storage, pressed using heavy equipment, and covered with two films. The first layer is a 40 micron film to avoid the appearance of air pockets. The second layer is a denser film, 100 microns, to protect the storage from moisture, debris and animals.

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Density of sowing corn for silage

The seeding rates for corn for silage are determined by the following indicators:

• ripeness of the grain,
• soil moisture,
• varietal characteristics.

With a good harvest, the average planting density in the garden is 6-8 plants per square meter

When sowing corn for silage, it is important to obtain the required amount of high-quality green mass. In this case, the higher the bush stretches and gains more green mass, the better.

The soil will retain more moisture. The stems and leaves will quickly gain the required amount of nutrients.

To obtain high-quality green food, the plant density is ensured by sowing according to the pattern: 40 cm x 60 cm. In the garden, it is permissible to place plantings in a square-cluster manner: 40 cm x 40 cm.

Corn grown for animal feed must have time to gain green mass during the growing season. This cannot be achieved without the application of mineral and organic fertilizers.

The area for silage crops begins to be prepared in the fall. The soil is dug up with the simultaneous application of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. They can be purchased separately, or you can purchase a package of autumn complex fertilizers. The manufacturer indicates application rates on the packaging.

During spring digging, it is recommended to re-lay the mineral complex. To avoid excess minerals in the soil, you should strictly follow the manufacturer's instructions.

It is impossible to obtain a good silage harvest without fertilizing the soil with nitrogen. The first time you should apply rotted manure or three-year-old compost before planting corn. It is laid when digging to the depth of a spade bayonet.

The second time the plantings are fertilized with nitrogen at the seedlings. Give foliar feeding from mullein infusion or chicken droppings diluted in a ratio of 1:5 (1:8).

It is recommended to carefully monitor the condition of the plant. If the leaves are excessively green, you should feed the crop with phosphorus. Potassium deficiency is determined by yellow, drying leaves. With a small amount of nitrogen, the growth and development of the plant stops.

Cultivation of corn is impossible on clogged soils. The plant is easily suppressed by harmful plants. It does not receive enough light, moisture and nutrients. The crop will not produce enough green mass.

It is not always possible to clean the soil by weeding alone. Gardeners have to resort to the help of the chemical industry. Manufacturers offer two types of herbicides:

• for processing unplanted soil,
• to remove weeds from existing shoots.

The first type includes: “Aurorex”, “Erodican”, “Reglon”. For these drugs, the consumption rate is 8-10 l/ha. More aggressive assistants in weed control: Harnes, Roundup. They are applied at the rate of 3 l/ha.

After germination, corn for silage is treated with solutions of the following preparations: “Ballerina”, “Milady”, “Adengo”, “Dialen”, “Turbin”, “Desormon”, “Luvaram”. The working solution should be prepared and used strictly according to the manufacturer's instructions. The recommended application rate is 2 l/ha.

Proper use of herbicides allows you to obtain feed units per hectare that are 10-15% higher than the traditional amount.

Fertilizers

To get a good harvest of corn intended to feed herbivores, you need to apply fertilizers on time. Corn responds equally well to both mineral and organic fertilizers.

When growing corn for animal silage, the emphasis is on green mass development, so nitrogen is of great importance in the early stages of corn development. In case of its deficiency, the growth and development of the plant slows down. Calculate approximately 25 kg of nitrogen fertilizer per hectare. After 3–4 weeks, fertilization is repeated.

With a lack of potassium, the leaves become dark green, the growth of the green and root parts of the plant slows down, then the leaves begin to curl, turn yellow and dry out.

Throughout the growing season, corn needs phosphorus. The crop especially needs this microelement after germination, as well as during the flowering and grain formation phase. With its deficiency, the formation of grains in the cob slows down, the leaves become dark green with red-violet veins and gradually die off.

It is recommended to apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in the fall. Unlined manure is especially useful for corn silage. It is useful to apply nitrogen fertilizers between rows before sowing.

Technology of cultivating corn for silage

Using the technology of growing corn for silage, farmers and livestock owners receive environmentally friendly roughage that promotes better growth and milk yield of cattle.

Crop rotation

Compliance with crop rotation is the main parameter for obtaining a high-quality harvest. It is undesirable to sow silage crops after sugar beets and sunflowers: they dry out the soil and “take away” a lot of useful substances. Legumes and grains are the best precursors for corn.

Suitable soil composition

Moisture and warmth are important factors for good growth. Cold and too wet soil negatively affects the germination and growth of grain crops. The best soil is black soil with good zinc and nitrogen capacity. Moistened clay soils contribute to medium and high yields with proper fertilization; silage corn grows well on sandy and sandy loam soils. The pH value is desirable from 5.6 to 7.2: higher acidity reduces yield by up to 50%, below 5 - by 30%.

Density and seeding rate

Corn seeds will have high germination rates at a soil temperature of +10°C at a depth of 7 cm. The sowing rate depends on the crop variety and the growth characteristics of the hybrid. The optimal quantity is 100 thousand plants per hectare. In case of bad weather conditions - strong winds drying out the soil, possible drop in temperature - the norm is increased by 10%. The row spacing is 0.7 m.

High speed, uniform sowing and optimal depth are provided by modern pneumatic seeders, which make it possible to regulate the depth of seed placement in the soil and the distance between grains, and also have the function of soil rolling.

Watering

After sowing, “dry watering” is carried out - the soil is harrowed, loosening the surface; At the same time, the maximum amount of natural moisture is preserved. Repeated, real watering is carried out when there is insufficient rainfall at the eighth leaf stage, which gives a good start for the growth of green leaves and strong plant stems. Agricultural sprinklers of different configurations and water supply strengths are used, depending on the area and location of the corn field.

With enough rain, corn does not require additional irrigation; natural moisture is sufficient to obtain a good harvest. Until the 10th leaf appears, regularly, once a month, mulch the soil, preserving natural moisture at the roots of the plant.

Fertilizer application

Fertilizing the soil to get a good harvest:

• humus is added before autumn plowing;
• a month before sowing: urea, ammophos;
• in the phase of 4–6 leaves - urea;
• in the 8-leaf phase - “EleGum-Zinc”, “Adobe-Zinc” mixed with urea: 10 kg per 200 l.

Disease and pest control

Regular inter-row weeding helps to destroy weeds such as creeping wheatgrass and sow thistle. This preventive measure also helps prevent the appearance of wireworms.

Treating seeds before sowing and using herbicides that are resistant to pathogenic diseases of corn will reduce the possibility of the spread of known diseases: bladder smut, loose smut.

Harvesting time and storage rules

When milky-waxy ripeness in late varieties and waxy ripeness in early and mid-ripening varieties becomes noticeable, this means that it is time to harvest.

Harvesting the mass for silage occurs when the leaves and stems of the plant are still green.

The crushed green mass is placed, compacted tightly, into prepared trenches. If corn silage is prepared for cattle on a farm, it is better to locate the trenches at a distance of 1-2 km from the livestock complex, which will reduce transportation costs.

Approximate corn yield for silage

Correctly chosen timing of harvesting corn for silage makes it possible to obtain the maximum amount of green mass for laying silage:

• mid-season varieties (Captain, Emilio) yield up to 80–85 t/ha;
• late-ripening varieties (Amaros, Carifols) - up to 90 t/ha.

The soil

For sowing corn for silage, chernozem, loamy, sandy loam and sandy soil with normal acidity is best suited. To cultivate corn, you need to carefully prepare the soil.

If the soil is prone to waterlogging and high acidity, then cultivating the crop will not work. It is recommended to lime acidic soils 1–2 years before sowing.

Corn needs good aeration, especially during the germination stage. The embryos absorb a lot of oxygen, and a good harvest will only occur if there is about 20% oxygen in the soil air.

In the fall, the area is dug up to a depth of 25–30 cm. When weeds appear or after rains, harrowing is carried out. At the same time, you can add organic fertilizers, such as manure. In the spring, harrowing is carried out to a depth of 5 cm, after which the soil is cultivated to a depth of 8 cm.

The best predecessors for corn for silage are winter and spring grain crops, buckwheat, potatoes, and legumes. It is not recommended to plant after beets, millet and sunflower, as these crops lead to a deficiency of microelements in the soil and a lack of moisture.

Corn growing conditions

Soil that previously grew winter crops, potatoes, pumpkins, cereals and legumes is suitable for corn. After them, the soil does not remain dried out and depleted. It retains many minerals that are an important part of the plant diet, such as zinc and phosphorus.

Important! Precursors such as sugar beets or sunflowers leave the soil dry, taking all the nutrients from it. Therefore, it is very important to fertilize the soil before planting corn, as well as neutralize it from possible future pests.

Corn is threatened by:

• corn borer,
• wireworms,
• swedish fly,
• fall armyworm,
• bread fleas,
• aphid,
• leafhoppers.

To ensure the safety of the plant in a timely manner, protective equipment is used. They are used in the form of spraying solutions, preparations placed under the roots, and insecticides when planting grain.

Are you here

Silage corn in the Central Chernobyl Region is often cultivated using grain technology. This increases the nutritional value of the silage due to grained cobs and makes it possible to remove silage corn for grain if necessary. However, there are some peculiarities in silage production.

In field crop rotations, silage corn and corn harvested for green fodder are usually placed after spring grains and are often used as a precursor to winter crops. Near silage pits, corn is often sown on one (output) field for 2-3 years in a row, or special corn crop rotations are created, saturated with it up to 60% or more. This has become relevant in recent years. This practice is justified economically, but it violates the law of fruit rotation and creates a threat of the spread of the corn stem borer.

The yield of corn green mass increases significantly from the application of manure and nitrogen fertilizers. For silage corn, 30-40 t/ha of manure and approximately N60-90P60K40 are applied.

For the production of silage, the same or later ripening hybrids and varieties are used as for grain. They are sown at the same or later dates, at the same or higher (30-40%) seeding rate. In the southern regions of the Central Chernobyl Region, the silage harvest can be obtained using mowing (June) crops, especially with irrigation.

You can sow corn for silage - from 50-55 thousand plants per 1 ha for late-ripening hybrids to 80-100 thousand plants/ha for early-ripening hybrids. At the same time, the collection of silage mass increases noticeably, but the proportion of cobs and the quality of the silage decrease.

Corn for green fodder is sown near farms using the usual row (15 cm) or wide-row (45 cm) methods, using 60-100 or 30-35 kg/ha of seeds (300-500 or 150-170 thousand pieces/ha) on a well-fertilized background (manure, ammonia water, etc.) using herbicides.

High-protein, complete green food is obtained by row-sowing corn mixed with legumes (soybeans, peas, spring and winter vetch).

The green mass of corn is poor in protein. It is possible to increase the protein content of silage by jointly cultivating corn with legume components, the best of which are tall soybean varieties. There are several ways of such sowing (in one row, alternating rows or stripes, etc.). Good results, for example, are obtained by alternating sowing of two rows of corn with a row of soybeans. The seeding rate in the remaining rows of corn is increased from 6 to 9 grains per 1 m. Soybeans are sown at 20-25 seeds per 1 m of row to a depth of 3-4 cm (twice shallower than corn). Sowing is carried out using corn seeders. In such crops, corn and soybean plants do not oppress each other. Herbicides are usually not used in such crops, although if necessary, it is possible to use acenite 50% e.e. — 4-6 l/ha, lasso, 48% e.e. - 6.2 l/ha - before sowing or before germination, bazagran, 48% w.r. and oxazone, 48% v.r. - 2-4 l/ha - for corn and soybean seedlings (3 leaves).

Corn is harvested for silage when the grains on the cobs reach milky-waxy or waxy ripeness, the leaves are still green, and the moisture content of the mass is 70-75%. If late-ripening corn does not reach this phase, it is harvested before frost using combines KSS-2.6, KSK-100, etc. They cut, crush the mass and load it into vehicles.

Silage is usually placed in trenches

It is important to compact the mass well. This improves the safety and quality of silage

Corn for green fodder is harvested using the KSK-100, KS-1.8 “Vikhr” combine harvester, etc., when an economically useful harvest is achieved, first in areas sown with ordinary row crops (they must be harvested 7-10 days before harvesting), then with wide-row (45 cm, they must be removed before flowering) and dotted (70 cm) methods.

Density of sowing corn for silage

The density of corn depends on the ripeness group, variety and soil moisture. The norm for sowing corn for silage is a planting density of 55–100 kg per hectare of area. The density of plants in the garden for green mass in the garden is 6–8 plants per meter of land. In these cases, the ears are almost never set; only green mass is collected for feed. Most of the plants are in the shade, more moisture is retained in the soil - these are all the conditions necessary for growing plants for food.

When sowing seeds in the fields, maintain a distance between rows of 65–70 cm. In the garden, they are sown mainly in a square-cluster method according to a 40x40 cm pattern.

Medicinal properties and contraindications of corn silk, their useRead

5. Duration of fermentation of corn silage

Corn silage should be fermented for a minimum of 3 weeks without any intervention, and the longer this period, the better the aerobic stability of the forage at harvest. Optimal conditions at the beginning of fermentation are visible from the characteristic gas bubble that forms above the trench. It indicates that the fermentation process began quickly, and preservative carbon monoxide is actively being formed. The bubble must not be punched or released by lifting the film. This will disrupt the fermentation process and provoke rotting processes.

What diseases does corn suffer from?

If corn grains are planted incorrectly, the plants may become sick. This happens if you sow grains in cold soil. They can rot, mold and die. In an already grown state, plants and cobs are susceptible to other drying diseases. They spread by spores 40-45 melons from the beginning of growth.

Corn diseases

Also sometimes a pink, wet coating appears. This happens if the grains germinate under conditions of low temperature and high humidity.

Another problem is lodging disease.

Important! Not all corn diseases can be cured once they have already appeared in full

It is better to take all precautions when planting it.

8.Use of silage products

Corn silage is a crop that can be easily ensiled, provided that the silage management at the enterprise is at the proper level. Therefore, silage agents are used primarily when there is a risk of reheating and this problem cannot be solved in any other way. You should choose products that have been proven effective in independent studies. Agents for improving aerobic stability belong to group 2 in the table of silage agents from DLG. The current list of such products can be viewed directly on the DLG website.

Translator's note:

Here https://www.dlg.org/siliermittel.html you can see the current table, click on this image on the page that opens. If the link does not open, try copying the address and pasting it through your browser. Or simply enter the phrase DLG-Gütezeichen für Siliermittel in a search engine

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Biological features

Corn or maize is an annual plant of the Cereal family. A well-developed root system sometimes reaches one and a half meters deep, so the “queen of the fields” is not afraid of drought. The culture is thermophilic, prefers bright sunlight and fertile, light soil. The growing season is long, from 3 to 5 months. Shoots appear on 12-14 days.

Corn - annual

All representatives of the genus are tall, with narrow and long leaves. The plant has bisexual flowers: male flowers are apical panicles, female flowers are located on the stem.

In crop rotation, it is recommended to plant corn after buckwheat, potatoes, cereals and legumes. After it, it is allowed to grow almost any crop. You should absolutely not choose sugar beets as “predecessors”, because they deplete soil reserves of zinc. Without it, deformation of the cobs and stunted growth occurs. Millet and sunflower will become the same “bad guys” for the crop.

With sufficient application of organic fertilizers, maize can be continuously cultivated in the same area for many years. If fertilizing is not enough, then after 3-4 years the field is changed.

The largest domestic regions currently cultivating this cereal are the North Caucasus, the Central Black Earth region, the Lower Volga region and the southern part of the Far East. But varietal diversity allows maize to be grown in colder conditions.

The homeland of corn is South and Central America, where it was cultivated even before our era. By the way, scientists suggest that the plant began to be “cultivated” 8,700 years ago, during the times of the ancient Mayan and Aztec tribes. True, in those days the varieties were small in size.

It is believed that it was corn farming that contributed to the emergence and rise of the American population. In the religion of the Aboriginal Indians, there was even a god, Kukulkan, who was worshiped and performed rituals.

Previously, corn had a name - Turkish wheat

Christopher Columbus brought overseas culture to the European continent at the end of the fourteenth century. It came to Russia during the Russian-Turkish War after the return of Bessarabia (now the territory of Moldova and Ukraine), where maize was grown in large quantities. Initially, our ancestors called the plant Turkish wheat. Only after some time did the Turkish word “kokoroz” change into the modern “corn”.