The first silage maize on the sandy soils will be ready for harvest in just over two weeks, grower Limagrain expects. The 30% dry matter limit has already been reached on their trial plots in Wouw in Brabant.
After the recent heat and drought, ripening in the south is now progressing quickly, Limagrain warns. "The maize is riper than we think," says Jos Groot Koerkamp, livestock manager. He advises growers to monitor the crop closely in the coming weeks, so that chopping is done at the right time.
Harvest moment listens closely
According to Limagrain, the optimum time for chopping is when maize has reached its maximum usable feed value yield. "That is at a dry matter content of 55 to 60% in the cob and 24 to 27% in the plant. That gives a total dry matter content of about 36%," says Groot Koerkamp. "Chopping too early or too late results in a loss of the usable feed value that maize can provide, and growers will notice this immediately in their feed costs and yield."
Harvesting too early can lead to sap losses, acidification of the silage, reduced intake and a lower VEM due to a lower starch content. On the other hand, if you put your maize in the silage too late, you may have to deal with reduced starch utilization, a lower digestibility and a greater chance of overheating. "That is exactly why the harvesting time of maize for silage is so important," continues Groot Koerkamp. "You can only get it right once!"
Monitor ripening
On average, silage maize dries in at this time of the year 1% dry matter per three growing days. "That is subject to weather conditions and possible harvest risks (alloy, drought damage) where it may be wise not to wait any longer," says Groot Koerkamp. "It is also the case that modern maize varieties such as LG 31.205 can really upset growers: the crop still looks nice and green and that image does not match with an already quite ripe cob that growers are not aware of."
Unpredictable changeable weather
Because the historically long and intense August heat wave will come to an end this weekend, it is not obvious that the ripening of the silage maize next week will be faster than the aforementioned 1% dry matter per three days. From next weekend there will be a transition to changeable autumn weather with a lot of rain, especially in the coastal areas. According to the KNMI, it will also remain unstable in the longer term.
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