BASIC GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION OF CORN SILAGE HYBRIDS

To produce silage and milk profitably, corn hybrid selection is very crucial. You may manage risk and improve silage quality, production, and overall economic return by carefully selecting your silage hybrid.

Selection of Hybrids for corn silage

Longer-season hybrids typically generate more silage per acre. In general, hybrids planted for silage should be five units more mature than hybrids planted for grain. However, if one wants to harvest silage early or have the choice to harvest corn for grain rather than silage, longer-season hybrids might not be the best option.

Choose several hybrids of different maturities to increase the harvest window. Silage that is custom harvested quickly could need a smaller range of maturities to minimize harvest moisture variance. Widening the pollination window by choosing hybrids of different maturities also lowers the likelihood that a whole crop will be pollinated in hot, dry circumstances.

Harvest when the crop is properly wet. If overlooked, this can counteract the advantages of wise hybrid selection.

Since corn silage is a source of energy for cattle, take into account both silage quality and productivity. Milk per acre and milk per ton, both of which are computed using the Milk 2006 corn silage evaluation system created by the University of Wisconsin, are the two main factors that dairy producers should take into account. Once you’ve found a viable hybrid group, make your choice based on specific agronomic and forage quality characteristics. To make sure hybrids will have the required nutritional content, you should also speak with a livestock nutritionist.

Include other agronomic aspects like standability, dry down, pest and herbicide resistance, and tolerance to disease and drought. Due to the early harvest date, standability is less crucial for silage hybrids than it is for grain hybrids. Avoid hybrids with high stay-green ratings because they will have too much whole-plant moisture when harvested based on kernel stage.

Performance of Silage hybrid

Because it is impossible to foresee the growing circumstances for the following year, consistency of performance over numerous trials with various soil and weather conditions is essential.

A hybrid with strong performance in several conditions will likely continue to do well the following year. Dairy farmers should choose hybrids that are effective over a variety of sites in an area for this reason.

The lifespan of a typical corn hybrid is only a few years, thus it is no longer feasible to analyze the performance of a certain set of hybrids across a number of years at a specific area. Producers should choose different hybrids based on data from a variety of sources, including universities, seed firms, and commodities associations, to minimize risk. Results from studies with many hybrids from various manufacturers that are independent and repeated are very crucial.

How to select a high quality silage hybrid

Consider the following when choosing hybrids based on milk per ton and milk per acre:

Choose hybrids with high milk per ton and milk per acre values. These hybrids are the most productive and yield high-quality feed and silage.
Low milk per ton and high milk per acre hybrids provide a lot of milk with below-average quality. These hybrids’ silage can be more suitable for animals with less nutritional needs than lactating dairy cows.
High quality and below-average output are characteristics of hybrids with high milk per ton and low milk per acre values. Because quality improvements are unlikely to make up for output declines, these hybrids will not be profitable for dairy producers who cultivate their own silage.

Stay away from hybrids that have poor milk per ton and milk per acre values. They produce substantially less and of lower quality.

Base additional selection within this hybrid group on specific agronomic and forage quality qualities once you’ve found a hybrid group with high values for milk per acre and milk per ton.

Higher values for CP, starch, NDF digestibility, and in vitro digestibility often represent higher performance potential, however higher values for NDF values generally indicate lower intake and animal performance.

Even while even modest variations in fodder quality can have a major impact on milk production, a difference of less than 5% between hybrids in any one quality parameter is probably not statistically significant or cause for concern, especially when milk per ton summarizes forage quality overall.

Agronomic and Transgenic Traits

It’s crucial to keep in mind that transgenic insect resistance features do not boost yield potential when choosing hybrids. Instead, when the target pest is present, they defend yield potential. When transgenic insect resistance is not required, it is more expensive, which lowers the economic return.

However, you should take into account the necessity for herbicide resistance characteristics and transgenic resistance to European corn borer in your fields and cropping system.

Agronomic Considerations

The ability of a crop to withstand disease and drought is another crucial agronomic factor. If you have dry soil, live in a dry environment, or live in a region with minimal rainfall, choosing a hybrid with a high rating for drought tolerance may be helpful. This is especially true if the moisture in the soil has been drained by an earlier crop of alfalfa.

Due to the early harvest date, standability is less crucial for silage hybrids than it is for grain hybrids.

Deciding the best way to source your maize silage is a complex decision. A large number of factors including seed variety, crop production, disease control, crop yields, plant to grain ratio, harvesting stage, chopping equipment, inoculant quality, packing/baling technique influence the quality of silage. So, the production of your herd depends on the quality of silage you are feeding.

It’s essential to provide the energy necessary to maintain body condition and the energy necessary for each cow to reach its milk production potential. Silage is an important nutritional tool for achieving those targets and dairy cows require lots of energy to preserve body condition and maximize milk yields. High quality Dasan silage is an abundant source of energy, protein and fibre that aids rumen health. Dasan silage increases and maintains cow condition, extends its lactation, it overcomes fodder deficiency and maximize pasture utilization.

We maintain multiple factors including seed variety, crop production, disease control, crop yields, plant to grain ratio, harvesting stage, chopping equipment, inoculant quality, packing/baling technique while making Dasan silage.