08/05/07
Farmers facing a shortfall in forage following a light-yielding
first cut could still turn to an additional late-drilled forage maize
crop to bolster supplies, says British Seed Houses’ Paul Billings.
Maize drilling
|
New ultra early varieties that produce a mature maize crop from
a shortened growing season could be drilled as late as the first
week of June in some areas and still be ready in September.
“Maturity class 11 varieties such as Scimitar, Camelot and
Revolver do offer a new approach to growing maize, and could be used
as an extra source of forage this year,” he says.
“The shorter growing season does offer the opportunity to
drill after grass has been grazed or cut for silage in the spring,
and indeed still leave time to drill grass again following the maize
harvest in some situations. We are really talking about growing maize
as a “catch crop”, without sacrificing crop maturity
or yield.
“Such an approach really is maximising the forage acres available
and should be good practice under any circumstances, but in a year
such as this when forage may well be in short supply, it has particularly
pertinent advantages.”
Revolver is currently the earliest maturing variety on Descriptive
Lists, and offers yields comparable with many of the leading Maturity
Class 8 varieties.
Future Farmers of Wales Visit Shitake Mushroom Enterprise
Crops, Climate Change and Computers
Crop
Market Update from Gleadell |