Influence of maize hybrids on silage quality

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important silage crop due to its low buffer capacity, high amount of dry matter and optimal concentration of soluble carbohydrates. Silage of maize is a process of anaerobic preservation by lactic acid fermentation, which reduces the possibility of loss of nutrients from harvest to consumption of animal feed. By silage maize, they try to preserve and maintain for a longer time the nutrients of the maize fresh biomass, without significant changes. In this study, the following maize hybrids were examined: H1- AS 160, H2- Pionir 1535 and H3- NS 6000. The quality of the green biomass of the examined maize hybrids was analyzed: content of protein, content of water and percentage of dry matter. The test results show that the percentage of crude proteins in the examined sample was the highest (2.72%) in hybrid H1, a slightly lower percentage (2.66%) in H2, and the lowest percentage of crude proteins was measured in hybrid H3. The percentage of dry matter in the tested sample was the highest (36.56%) in the NS 640 hybrid, slightly lower (35.05%) in the percentage in the AS 160 hybrid, and the lowest (33.80%) crude protein percentage was measured in the Pionir hybrid 1535. The percentage of moisture in the tested sample was the highest (66.20%) in H2, the slightly lower (64.95%) percentage of moisture was in hybrid H1, and the lowest (63.44%) percentage of moisture was measured in hybrid H3. Different hybrids have different levels of various maize plant components' quality.The results show that the hybrid had a significant impact on the examined quality parameters.