Maize Watch: crop shows robustness in tough conditions
The last week has seen a lot of activity in maize fields as harvest progresses in challenging field conditions, reports Neil Groom, technical director for Grainseed.
“The silage harvesting teams should be congratulated in getting crops harvested in what has become the wettest season on record.”
Although yields on many farms have been suppressed due to lower levels of sunlight and cooler temperatures, the maize plants have still produced a normal sized cob and laid down starch in the grain.
“It’s important to get your silage analysed,” comments Mr Groom. “Do not assume it’s 30% dry matter and 30% starch content because there is a much higher cob to stem ratio in many crops and analysis will be different.”
Maize has really expressed its robustness this season, but also highlighted the fact we all have to become more professional at growing the crop and focus on soil structure, crop nutrition and weed control.
“Most livestock farms have good fertile soils which support the growing of excellent forage crops, but timeliness to meet field conditions has been the key to success,” says Mr Groom.
Having cut his last plant sample for Farmers Weekly, Hugh McClymont looks back at the season at SRUC Crichton Royal Farm in Dumfries. “I have been fortunate that being close to the sea I haven’t been badly frosted and still have green leaf.
“We will finish harvest this week. I have left the crop longer to increase our starch levels because I know from experience that higher maturity will increase the milk in the tank”.
“We know cultivations are critical and an area cultivated using a min-till machine looks interesting and had a deep enough tilth for us to plant our maize under plastic. As a result, I’ll be experimenting on a field scale with that next year.
“We will also be using more early maturing varieties to ensure I get the starch content needed, particularly if it allows a September harvest and a grass re-seed in the autumn.”
| Site | Drill date | Height above sea level (m) | Crop dry matter 25 October (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petworth, Sussex | 18 April | 50 | Harvested |
| Harleston, Norfolk | 4 May | 30 | Harvested |
| Crediton, Devon | 5 May | 118 | Harvested |
| Ticknall, Derbyshire | 12 May | 67 | Harvested |
| Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire* | 4 May | 32 | 28.6 (+0.7) |
| SAC, Dumfries, Scotland (plastic) | 26 April | 45 | 24.4 (+3.2) |
| SAC, Dumfries, Scotland | 26 April | 45 | 21.8 (+2.0) |
* Variety Es Picker, all other sites are Es Ballade. Variety under plastic Es Marco | |||
* Maize Watch is a weekly series looking at maize progress throughout the harvest period. Information is provided by Grainseed.
Further information can be found at www.fwi.co.uk/maizewatch
Read more on how the 2012 maize harvest is progressing on our dedicated maize watch page