Bumper year for maize crops in most regions

Recently released results from the Pioneer maize hybrid evaluation programme show it was a bumper year for maize crops in most regions.

Pioneer research technicians worked alongside local farmers and contractors to harvest 1963 silage and 2229 grain plots. The national average silage yield was 24.58 tDM/ha while grain produced an average of 15.21 t/ha.

Closer to home, many Waikato maize crops delivered spectacular results.

"We harvested a total of 14 Waikato silage plots which yielded more than 30tDM/ha and six grain plots which yielded more than 19t/ha," says Barry McCarter, maize product manager for Pioneer brand products.

"Two grain plots topped the scales at more than 20t/ha which is a phenomenal result."

The highest yielding maize plots were distributed across the country and across a range of Pioneer brand maize silage and grain hybrids of varying comparative relative maturities.

"While it is exciting to see full maturity hybrids like P0891, P1253 and P0725 produce top yields in warmer districts such as the Bay of Plenty. Hawkes Bay and Gisborne, it is even more thrilling to see very short maturity products like P9241, P9911 and 38V12 produce more than 19 t/ha grain or 30 tDM/ha silage in Taranaki, the lower North Island and the South Island."

While a climatically kind season is partially responsible for the high yields, Mr McCarter believes new, higher yielding hybrids and improved agronomic practice have also made a significant contribution.

"Maize breeders have placed huge emphasis on breeding hybrids which will reliably produce a good sized cob on every plant even when planted at higher densities" he says.

"This has allowed growers to lift established populations and yield expectations".

Research has shown there is no significant difference in the starch or energy content of maize silage hybrids planted at higher populations.

While a paper presented at the recent New Zealand Society of Animal Productions conference in Adelaide shows average New Zealand maize silage feed value is 10.8 Megajoules of Metabolisable Energy (ME) per kgDM with a starch content of 30.4 per cent and 7.7 per cent protein, Mr McCarter says this season produced some very high quality maize crops.

"We have seen a lot of maize silage analysis where the ME was over 11MJ/kgDM and some where it was even over 12 MJME/kgDM," says Mr McCarter.

The high starch content of maize silage is good news for dairy farmers who are struggling to make a dollar in a low payout environment, according to Pioneer brand products forage and nutrition specialist Raewyn Densley.

"Feeds like maize silage, which contain high levels of starch drive milk protein percentage, while feeds like PKE where most of the energy comes from digestible fibre, drive milk fat percentage" says Mrs Densley.

"Since milk protein is worth a lot more than milk fat, farmers can afford to pay about 20 per cent more on a drymatter basis for maize silage than they can for palm kernel".