Evaluation of silage performance of some corn varieties grown as a second crop in Kayseri province

Abstract

This study was carried out in the experimental fields of Erciyes University Agricultural Research and Application Center in 2014 and 2015 growing seasons, in order to investigate the possibilities of second crop silage maize production in Kayseri province. Twenty-four corn cultivars were evaluated for silage performance. In the evaluation, all measured parameters differed significantly, except the number of ears per plant. According to the two-year average results; cultivar Hido had the the shortest emergence period and while cultivar PR31D24 had the longest emergence period. The BC5610, BC8605 and Hido were the earliest cultivars to reach the silage maturity through forming ear and tassel silkings. On the other hand, the PR31D24 and PR31G98 were the latest cultivars to reach the silage maturity. While the cultivars DKC-5783 and Hacibey had the highest number of ear per plant, the cultivar Oran (0.7) had the least number of ear per plant. In the present study, the highest number of leaves was obtained from Korimbos and Hacıbey cultivars, and the least was obtained from KWS 6565 cultivar. The highest herbage yield was obtained from cultivar Oran with 53681 kg/ha, and the lowest herbage yield was obtained from KWS 6565 variety with 33174 kg/ha. In line with these results, Hido, BC 5610 and BC 8605 were the earliest cultivars for silage maturity, however, in terms of herbage yield, number of ears and leaves per plant, Oran, DKC-5783, Hacıbey and Korimbos cultivars were the most promising cultivars under second crop conditions in Kayseri and similar ecologies.