Grain Maize Grows In Popularity

As a result, growers across England and Wales are expected to plant a record 6000-8000ha of the crop this spring, producing nearly 50,000t of high energy feed.

According to Francis Dunne of Field Options, five years ago, we didn’t think it would be possible to get a viable crop even in the south.

Now, growers are achieving some good yields and a valuable crop even in difficult years as far north as Yorkshire.

Mr Dunne stresses that the key is to grow varieties that are quick to dry down and hence can be harvested in good time without the need for excessive drying costs.  “Because we are against the calendar clock it is important to get ahead and stay ahead,” he says.

Last season, forage maize crops in north of England were at least two weeks later maturing than in the drier, hotter summer of 2006.  As a result we feared for the following grain maize crops.

However, while many in the south gave up and decided to ensile whole crops for forage instead, in the north specialist early varieties such as Kaukas and Campanero, were very quick to dry down, with the result that most grain maize crops were cut as normal in November.

As a rule of thumb it costs £1/t for every percentage moisture point you need to dry out of the grain after harvest.  So if growers are combining at 30% moisture and looking to dry down a 6t/ha crop to 14% moisture, then costs can soon approach £100/ha.

Around a third of the current UK crop is combined & then dried, the rest though is crimped.  These crops are cut at the same stage or slightly earlier and crimped by a roller in mobile machines using an organic acid or bacteria based additives, prior to ensiling in pits or Ag-bags.

Mr Dunne points out that maize grain varieties need to have very high starch contents, very high grain yields and be very early ripening.

Other key characteristics when selecting varieties is to ensure that the crop stands upright through to November.  And in this respect it is important to reference grain maize rather than forage trials as the crop can be in the ground for a month more.

Resistance to fusarium is also an issue.  Varieties with an open, unsheathed snout end at maturity are easily infected with fusarium.  This could lead to mycotoxin issues in feed particularly if the crop is dried down over a longer period and used as whole grain.

Robin Rank of Yorkshire based, Argrain suggests that given a normal year, maize can do 8.5t/ha in Yorkshire.  Last year though, best yields were around 11.0t/ha, but where the crop had stood in water, yields could be half this.

Despite this, increasing local interest in grain maize from livestock growers and compounders means the crop is proving to be an increasingly important local source of high energy, high quality feed.

Robin supports Francis Dunne’s variety selections.  “This year crops in South Yorkshire were later to harvest – primarily down to drilling dates and the use of older now superseded varieties.  In our experience, Kaukas is as good as any, and Companero an alternative on the lighter, earlier ground.”

Looking to the future, both men were impressed by the new coded variety KXA5011. This was extremely vigorous and turned out even earlier than Kaukas, but only trials seed will be available until its launch in 2009.

Alongside variety selection, Mr Rank stresses the need to drill early.  “We start as soon as the soil temperature hits 8 degrees C.  If that’s the first week of April, and soils are workable, then so be it.”

Agronomically, Mr Rank suggests that growers should treat grain maize in similar fashion to forage maize.  They require similar fertilizer and weed control programmes

The main difference is that grain maize seed rates should be around 94,000 plants/ha compared to 105,000 plants ha which is more the norm for forage maize.

It is also important with grain maize to minimise any overlaps at the end of each drill run.  “Dense crops cause harvesting problems and while you could rotovate out any double-drilled areas, these then open up the crop to birds,” he says.

While last year crops struggled to get going in the hot, dry May, they picked up again in June.  However, with over 5” of rainfall in one day and the cool damp conditions that prevailed, average yields were never going to reach the highs of 2006.

Mr Rank reports that the bulk of what is grown in his region is crimped.  With the diesel price as high as it is, crimping post-combining is likely to be the favoured treatment.

It is also important to have a known market tied up before planting.  Here, Mr Rank has a number of outlets in his region looking for more grain maize as a stock feed.

“A picker type header is important on the combine and these machines and crimpers are available locally in Yorkshire.

“As a result, a number of growers are actually ensiling their grain maize alongside their forage maize and feeding the two in tandem to beef stock as high energy replacers,” he says.