Changing weather patterns have impacted significantly on the yields and quality of forage maize crops grown in the UK.
Results from the past three years confirm that 2022 was a high water mark in terms of crop performance.
Since then, however, it has been very much a downward shifting story with late planting dates and cool summer temperatures severely impacting on maize crop performance.
Agronomists now see climate change now being a real factor in the forage maize development story. The future will be very much focused on the growing of early maturing varieties.
There is also a growing recognition that wetter areas in the west of the UK and the island of Ireland could become even more marginalised, form a maize perspective, even with the use of plastic films, if weather patterns continue to change.
These were some of the main themes discussed at a Maize Forum event, recently hosted by agri-business marketing company, ABC Communications.
Forage maize
Bob Fabri, Eurofins’ International Forage product manager, took part in the event.
He has crunched the numbers on hundreds of maize silage tests, revealing that starch and dry matter (DM) have hit a five-year low.
“Maize crops need high levels of soil moisture to establish well after planting. Beyond flowering, it is a combination of high sunshine levels that will drive crop performance.
“None of these factors came into play during the 2024 growing season: hence the very disappointing levels of crop performance achieved,” he said.
The Eurofins’ representative discussed the significance of sugar content and starch values within a maize crop and the subsequent levels of animal performance that is achieved.
The ratio of cell wall to the more soluble interior cell content of maize plants is also important in this context
Fabri explained that sugar content will directly determine metabolisable energy (ME) values while starch – specifically bypass starch – will pass into the small intestine, thereby becoming available as a direct source of utilisable energy for animals.
Maize silages with high ME values contain commensurate levels of soluble sugars. As a result, the risk of acidosis is increased when forages of this type are included within ruminant rations that also contain considerable levels of concentrates.
Significantly, weather conditions play a key role in determining the sugar: starch ratio in forage maize crops at time of harvest.
Lack of sunshine or lack of minerals will create higher sugars. In addition, trials have confirmed that boron availability is critically important in securing high levels of performance from maize crops.
