Silage maize

Maintaining soil fertility despite intensive forage maize production?

Whoever practices an intense forage maize crop rotation has to keep an eye on humus content, soil structure, erosion and nitrogen output. However, it is still possible with an intensive maize rotation to achieve a healthy soil and a good nutrient balance.

Where to grow (which) early varieties?

Maize has comparatively low expectations in respect to soil and nutrient requirements but a relatively high temperature requirement. It only reaches crop maturity at harvest date if corresponding crop heat units and day time length demands are fulfilled. Maize product manager Henrike Wulfmeyer thinks that therefore in some regions only early varieties should be grown.

Avoid drought stress on dry, sandy sites

In comparison with cereals, maize as a C4-plant needs relatively less water per kilogramme dry matter. As the main growth however takes place in summer, maize reacts very quickly to a lack of precipitation. This means that one has to pull out all the stops to successfully grow maize on the sandy soils of southern Brandenburg with their low levels of precipitation.

How meaningful is the “biogas yield”?

Everyone is looking for the suitable biogas variety for optimal plant operation. But from today’s point of view, shouldn’t one preferentially ask for the optimum biogas variety for a specific plant type? What role does the biogas yield of a variety play here?