Planning for Spring Maize

With most autumn drilling nearing completion, thoughts have started to turn to spring already. Maize is a key spring crop, which can offer a useful option in an arable rotation, as well as providing a quality home grown feed.

Planning ahead creates the chance to ensure that you get your chosen variety suited to your situation. Choosing a suitable variety depends on several factors.

The end goal – if you are looking at a high yielding forage for bulk or moving towards the high quality to reduce overall area required for growing.

Site location – does it get less heat units and therefore needs a quick growing variety?

Field – are there other crops in the rotation which might inhibit when the maize can be sown or when it needs to be harvested? It also provides an opportunity to include an undersown crop or even to get a crop in post-harvest, which in turn can help with the challenges mentioned previously.

The recent weather patterns have also had an effect on variety choice, particularly where earliness is key to be harvested before the wet weather arrives or a variety that can cope with the drought prone weather that we have seen more frequently.

Our booklet gives a comprehensive guide to maize, from start to finish. This includes the varieties we have to offer, detailing the maturity, yield, and qualities of each variety, which helps to compare options when making the choice as to what suits your situation. Information from the breeder gives an insight to the variety and its key attributes as to what type of situation it is best suited to. We also include useful information on thoughts prior to drilling, taking into account environmental considerations and soil nutrient requirements, to give a whole picture when it comes to making the decision to grow maize. Once the maize is in the ground, we have some advice when it comes to harvesting to maximise its potential feeding value.