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Harvesting your Maize Silage : Optimize Timing for Superior Quality
Two out of three farmers do not harvest at the right date – here’s how to get it right.
Harvesting at the Right Date
60% of farmers miss harvesting their silage maize at the right time, either because of hot and dry weather conditions in august and september or because of difficulties estimating the right stage.
The best stage to harvest silage maize is between 32 and 35% dry matter. The variation in moisture is a compromise between yield, plant composition, ease of silage production, silage conservation ability and desired ingestion level by the animal.
Undertanding Dry Matter Evolution
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Determining the Best Stage for Harvest
Observing the grain fill level is a good way of determining the plant stage in the field.
Monitoring Dry Matter Evolution for Harvest Planning
Regional Harvesting Recommendations
When monitoring your forage maize for harvest here are the general number of days to lose 1 pt of moisture (22°C base 6).
Number of days to gain one point of silage DM from august to october
| In fodder, number of days allowing to win 1 pt (22°C base 6) | France (Paris) | Germany (Munich) | Poland (Poznan) | Belgium (Brussels) | Austria (Vienna) | Czech Republic (Prague) | Hungary (Budapest) | Romania (Bucharest) | Italy (Milan) | Spain (Madrid) | Bulgaria (Pleven) | Ukraine (Kiev) | Russia (Krasnodar) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From 15 to 30 August | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| From 1 to 15 September | 2.0 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 1.9 |
| From 16 to 30 September | 2.5 | 3.4 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| From 1 to 15 October | 4.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 10.0 | 4.7 |
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Our local teams visit farms and distributors on-site to give you the best advice for your location. Find your local MAS Seeds® consultant by visiting a country website or fill out our contact form here.
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