Maize variety characteristics - Spring 2021
As the new year starts, Spring plantings will be just around the corner, and Maize drilling will come around quickly.
As planning commences, it is an ideal time to start thinking about options and what you want to achieve from your maize crop.
Starting from the soil up, site selection is the first place to look. Maize needs an optimal pH of 6.8, good topsoil and drilled into a soil temperature of at least 8 degrees.
Once a site has been selected, varietal choice is the next key part. Varieties can be chosen for key characteristics, based on the final requirements.
We have picked out key characteristics from our varieties below:
Augustus
Rapid early vigour
Bold cobs
Suitable for short season production
Reason
Suitable for marginal sites
Good CWD value
Quick to establish
Picker
Suited to difficult sites or late sowing
Good cob ripeness
Tall erect plant
Artikus
High kernel content
Suits an early harvest
Good ME content
Yukon
An early grain options
Proven reliability
High in starch
Remington
Wide leaves on a bulky plant
Good resistance to lodging
Early starch lay down in the cob
Autens
Good early vigour
High DM content
High grain content for added starch
Equity
Can be grown on most sites
Good early vigour
Produces digestible silage
Lovely
High starch and ME content
Good lodging resistance
Quick to establish
Ballade
Suited to a range of sites
Consistent performance
Provides good DM yields
P7034
Fast ruminal starch degradability
Early to flower
Can be clamped last and fed first
P7326
Produces a tall plant for its maturity
High rumen degradable starch
Grows well on less favourable sites
Emblem
Good standing power
Produces a digestible forage
Early cob maturity
Legolas
High yield potential
Stay green factor extends harvest window
Good resistance to lodging