Effects of the Harvest Stage of Maize Hybrids on the Chemical Composition of Plant Fractions: An Analysis of the Different Types of Silage

Egon Henrique Horst, Valter Harry Bumbieris Junior, Mikael Neumann and Secundino López
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Egon Henrique Horst: Department of Animal Science, State University of Londrina, Londrina 86057-970, Brazil
Valter Harry Bumbieris Junior: Department of Animal Science, State University of Londrina, Londrina 86057-970, Brazil
Mikael Neumann: Department of Veterinarian Medicine, Parana Midwestern State University, Guarapuava 85040-167, Brazil
Secundino López: Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad de León, 24007 León, Spain

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: The chemical composition of plant components of three maize hybrids harvested at the beginning of six reproductive stages of maturity was compared. The hybrids evaluated included Maximus VIP3, Defender VIP and Feroz VIP, which were evaluated at each of following stages: R1 (grain formation), R2 (milky grain), R3 (pasty grain), R4 (floury grain), R5 (hard grain) and R6 (ripe grain). The advancement in maturation was linearly related to the crude protein (CP) content of the stem, whole plant, and leaves, and there was a difference among the hybrids. Between R4 and R5 stages, Maximus and Defender presented the highest CP contents for husk (6.58 and 5.42% for Maximus; 5.54 and 5.17% for Defender). The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of the leaves showed a quadratic relationship with the advancement of maturation but did not differ among the hybrids. For all the hybrids, the NDF content in the husk and cobs increased linearly during the reproductive stages (>77 and 78%, respectively, for the three hybrids in R6). Defender had the lowest NDF content of the cob in R3. The acid detergent lignin contents did not differ among stages in the stems, and showed a linear decrease throughout the whole plant, though the contents did not differ among the hybrids. Due to the differences observed, recommendations for harvest based on the maturity stage for each hybrid should be taken into consideration. There seems to be no important distinction among hybrids for harvesting and use of straw. Despite the reduction in grain yield, an early harvest for earlage or snaplage can provide lower lignin content in husk and cob, as well as higher protein content in the husk, favoring the nutritional value of the vegetative fraction (husk and/or cob).

Keywords: corn silage; earlage; lignin; snaplage; straw (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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