Little by little, the sandy soils have already been chopped, but from today the maize harvest will most likely really get going.
Figures from livestock feed cooperative Agrifirm and seed breeding company Limagrain show that very early and early maize varieties have reached or will reach the harvest-ready stage of 35-36% or more this week. This is also apparent from the plots participating in the roughage tour van Boerenbusiness.
On average, 2-3% dry matter percentage is added per week, at this time of the year. That was the case last week, despite the changeable relatively cool weather. And also this week there will probably be another 2 to 3%, no more and no less. The weather maps for this week show a persistently variable picture, with average temperatures for the time of year. It will probably be late summer from next weekend.
Ultra early maize 40%
Maize with an extreme earliness (FAO score of 190) in the south of the Netherlands was ready for harvest last week, with dry matter percentages around 40% on Agrifirm's trial fields. These figures show a clear relationship between the FAO number of the different varieties tested and the dry matter content. It is not for nothing that it has been chopped here and there. The FAO number says something about the earliness of a variety. The earlier the breed, the lower the number. The number is related to the required number of growing days and hours of sunshine.
This not only concerned corn that was overripe or had been damaged by the wind, but also fields that were really ready to be chopped, says Jos Groot Koerkamp of Limagrain. But the FAO number and the dry matter content figures do not explain all the variation. Other factors such as sowing date, soil type and irrigation also have a major influence on the dry matter content. On Agrifirm's trial field in Princepeel, Brabant, where irrigation has taken place 5 times this year, the dry matter content of the tested varieties still fluctuates around 25% on average.
Also plays the amount of precipitation which has fallen since the end of July, showing a clear dichotomy between the coastal areas and the interior. So far this month, this picture continues.
Many more (very) early varieties
Compared to last year, many more early and very early maize varieties were sown. At least three quarters of the maize seed sold at Limagrain this year is from early or very early varieties. According to Groot Koerkamp, this can be explained by the catch crop regulations.
Last year, oversowing or overseeding was often done, after under-sowing was first applied in June. But that undersow did not get much done because of the drought. By growing maize very early, there is only a small chance that the crop cannot be chopped in time in September and sown with grass or green manure. "Why not opt for a very early maize variety? A yield of 22-23 tons of dry matter per hectare is quite possible, thanks to genetic progress."
Very different in the Northern Netherlands
In any case, this year it seems that very early but also early varieties can be harvested well before the date of 1 October with a dry matter content of 35-36%, at least on the sandy soils in the south and east of the Netherlands.
Traditionally, the difference with the Northern Netherlands is also large this year. At the Agrifirm trial fields in Ommen and Biddinghuizen, the dry matter percentage fluctuated around 25% at the end of last week. This often concerns clay soil where no catch crop obligation applies after cultivation with silage maize.
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