How corn is grown and harvested for silage: secrets of agricultural technology from sowing to storing the crop

Ensilage is one of the conditions for creating a strong feed base for livestock farming. One of the easiest crops to silage is corn. Green corn silage has the highest energy value compared to other similar feeds. One kilogram of canned green mass contains up to 10% of the daily requirement of dairy cows for carotene, which is of great importance for health and productivity.

How to grow corn for silage, in what time frame, how to preserve the maximum benefit of green mass - you will find answers to these questions in the article.

What is silo

Silage is a succulent feed made from fresh or dried green mass.. This type of feed is obtained by fermentation, mainly lactic acid, under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions.

Properly prepared silage has fruity smell or smell of pickled vegetables, non-spreadable consistency.

Important! Slime and mold are unacceptable in succulent feed.

Silage, like other succulent feeds, contains 60-80% moisture. But this is not just water, but a living solution containing vitamins and minerals, which has a general strengthening effect on the animal’s body.

Green mass enriches the diet of livestock and accounts for about 50% of the total nutritional value of feed. Use of the product in animal nutrition satisfies the following needs:

• normalizes the functioning of the digestive organs;
• accelerates weight gain during fattening;
• increases the amount of milk production.

Suitable varieties and hybrids

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

Here are some examplesincluded in the State Register of Selection Achievements and approved for use:

1. Variety Anyutka with a medium-late ripening period, 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. Variety Donskaya Vysokoroslaya 2 admitted to the Middle Volga region. Mid-late, average yield in terms of dry matter is 151 c/ha.
3. Hybrid Ladozhsky 191MV 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. Mid-season hybrid Mashuk 355 MV 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.

How to grow corn for silage

When growing corn, its biological characteristics are taken into account. This is a heat-loving annual plant. Seed germination occurs at +10 ºС.The warmer the soil, the more active the growth. The culture can withstand short-term frosts down to -3 ºС.

At the initial stages of development, the cereal successfully copes with the lack of moisture and tolerates heat. However, exposure to unfavorable factors during the flowering period significantly reduces the yield.

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Crop rotation rules

The crop will give a rich harvest in fields where cereals or legumes previously grew. Good predecessors are potatoes and melons.

It is not recommended, especially in arid regions, to plant corn after sugar beets and sunflowers, drying out the soil to a considerable depth.

Soil requirements and preparation

Suitable for growing silage corn chernozem, loamy, sandy loam, sandy soils. The grass is demanding on the oxygen content in the soil and does not tolerate compacted soil. To prepare fields for crops, the soil is cultivated at different depths.

Autumn plowing begins after harvest from the end of August to the beginning of October. Processing depth - 25-30 cm.

In the spring, around the beginning of April, the first harrowing is carried out to a depth of 5 cm; during April, make a second harrowing of 15 cm to undermine weeds and cultivate the soil 8 cm deep.

Timing and frequency of landing

Sowing begins around the beginning of May.when the soil warms up to +12 ºС at the seeding depth (6-8 cm). On heavy clay soils, the planting depth is reduced to 4 cm.

In the fields, the row spacing of corn is 65-70 cm. Seeding rate depending on variety ranges from 70 to 120 thousand seeds per hectare; in unfavorable weather conditions, the number of grains is increased by 10%.

A week after sowing, harrowing is carried out, it is repeated after seedlings at the end of May when 4 - 5 pairs of leaves appear on the plant. The purpose of the procedure is to loosen the top layers of soil and remove weeds.

Care

For maximum yield Plants require timely application of fertilizers, control of weeds, pests and diseases.

Fertilizers

When growing corn for silage, the main attention is paid to increasing green mass. In this case, nitrogen is important.

Nitrogen fertilizers are applied before sowing, then 4 - 6 weeks after germination. Phosphorus, potassium and organic minerals are incorporated into the soil during autumn plowing.

Approximate fertilizer rates for mineral soils of average fertility:

• nitrogen - 50-70 kg/ha;
• phosphorus - 80-100 kg/ha;
• potash - 70-90 kg/ha;
• manure - 40-50 t/ha.

Herbicides

Herbicides are used to control weeds. The choice depends on the type of weed and the growing season.

Preparations such as “Eradican”, “Alirox” are incorporated into the soil before germination. If a single treatment does not bring results, it is allowed to spray the plants in the phase of 3-5 leaves with Titus, Basis or others.

Pest and disease control

Corn is most often affected by fusarium rot., cob bacteriosis, bladder smut, southern helminthosporium. Various fungicides are used to combat diseases. As a preventive measure, crop rotation, pre-sowing preparation of seeds, control of weeds that are reservoirs of infection are used, and resistant hybrids and varieties are planted.

The plant is under attack Swedish fly, corn borer, cutworm, wireworm. Insecticides help eradicate parasites. The choice depends on the type of pest.

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Features of growing corn for silage

Corn is a high carbohydrate crop and has some features when ensiling. To obtain a balanced feed, plant supplements with a high protein content are necessary. To do this, corn is grown in a mixture or striped with legumes (alfalfa, soybeans, lupine, faba beans).

Harvesting corn for silage

Harvesting corn for silage has its own characteristics. The main thing is not to delay the timing of food preparation.

Term and its definition

Nutritional value, composition, and silageability depend on the moment at which the green mass is collected.

Corn has four stages of ripeness:

1. Dairy begins 15-20 days after fertilization. When pressing on the grain, white juice is released.
2. At the wax stage The endosperm initially resembles soft dough, then gradually becomes denser. Occurs approximately 26 days after the start of pollination.
3. Vitreous — the grains dry out and have a crumpled appearance. The stage lasts from 36 to 48 days from the moment the seeds begin to form.
4. Full ripeness characterized by hard grains with bright colors. The leaves and integument of the cob turn yellow. It usually occurs 2 months after pollination.

The most valuable properties are silage made from corn collected at the end of the milk stage and before the end of the wax stage. ripeness of the cobs. During this period, the grain moisture content is 65-70%. The sugar content is already sufficient for the feed to have optimal acidity.

Important! When harvesting late-ripening varieties, it should be taken into account that freezing worsens the quality of silage.

Cleaning technology and equipment used

The field is prepared before the harvest: make swaths along the edges and turning strips. Next, determine the width of the paddocks (6-12 times less than the length of the paddock). The number of pens is a multiple of the number of harvesting units. When the length of the headland is more than 1000 m, transverse transport routes are mowed every 500-600 m.

Trailed forage harvesters are used for harvesting silage corn. KS-1.8, KSS-2.6 and self-propelled KSK-100. The operating principle of the machines is similar.

The cutting device cuts the plants, the reel tilts the stems and places them on a conveyor that feeds the raw material into the chopper. The finely chopped mass is unloaded through a silo into the back of a nearby car or tractor trolley.

Agrotechnical requirements

The quality of silage harvesting must meet these requirements:

• stem cutting height - no more than 0.1 m;
• loss of green mass behind the combine - no more than 1.5%;
• degree of grinding - at least 70% of the particles must have a size of 2-4 cm;
• Contamination of green mass with soil is not allowed.

Further storage and use

Trenches and mound storage areas are used for ensiling corn.. Before laying the feed, the bottom of the structure is lined with straw. The green mass is loaded into a trench or onto a mound, mixed, leveled and compacted using a bulldozer. The thickness of the daily laid layer must be at least 0.7 m. Filling the structures with green mass lasts 5-7 days. The height of the silage layer in the middle part is 5 m, after settling during storage - at least 4 m.

After storage, the storage facility is hermetically sealed.. Most often, the green mass is covered with a polymer film, covered with a layer of earth 5-8 cm high and straw 50-60 cm thick is laid. Silage ripening lasts 15-25 days.

Silage is collected using vertical cuts., which prevents contact with air and precipitation. Storing succulent feed in heaps in the barnyard is unacceptable. Within a day, due to spoilage, it cannot be fed to animals.

Conclusion

Juicy, nutritious corn silage is the basis of the livestock diet in many livestock farms. Growing silage corn is not difficult. Plant the seeds in well-loosened soil after the threat of frost has passed. Care consists of timely application of fertilizers, control of weeds, diseases and pests. The collection of green mass is carried out at the stage of waxy ripeness of the grains.

The food prepared during this period is the most nutritious. Properly prepared “green canned food” will definitely please your animals.