Corn plant arrangement and its effect on silage quality

• Published in: Revista brasileira de zootecnia Vol. 43; no. 3; pp. 114 - 119
• Main Authors: Fernando Reimann Skonieski, José Laerte Nörnberg, Julcemar Dias Kessler, Diego Bitencourt de David, Eduardo Bohrer de Azevedo, Gilmar Brüning, Concepta Margaret McManus Pimentel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia 01.03.2014
• Subjects: carbohydrate fractionation; nutritional value; protein fractionation; row spacing
• ISSN: 1806-9290

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of the row spacing between corn plants on silage quality. Different spacing between corn rows (40, 60, and 80 cm) was used, but the population of plants was maintained around 65,000/ha in all treatments. Analysis of variance was carried out and means were compared by Tukey's test at 5% of probability. A reduction in row spacing provided better spatial distribution of plants, but did not alter morphological composition or dry matter production. The corn with most equidistant spatial distribution (lowest row spacing) showed an increase in lignin concentration, neutral detergent fiber, and total carbohydrates, and showed a decrease in total digestible nutrients when compared with 80 cm row spacing. However, the organic digestibility matter was not affected by the treatments. The content and quality of protein were higher for 80 cm row spacing compared with the other levels; also, protein content was reduced as the spacing between rows became smaller. The only mineral affected was calcium, which had the lowest value at higher levels of spacing. Although differences were detected for many variables, the most appropriate spacing between rows should also take into account economic and practical aspects when choosing the best plant arrangement.