The effects of different plant densities and silage corn varieties on silage yield and some yield parameters in no-till seeding

Abstract

In this study, the possibility of growing silage corn, which is used as an important nutrient in livestock and whose production is increasing in recent years, by no-till seeding method under Erzurum conditions was investigated. For this purpose, three silage corn varieties (DKC-5783, Prestige, and ADA-9510) suitable for Erzurum’s climatic conditions in terms of vegetation period were selected from a large number of silage corn seeds widely grown throughout Turkey and their development conditions under no-till seeding conditions were investigated. A precision vacuum no-till seeder with double disk type furrow opener was used for silage corn seeding. Based on three different intrarow seed spacings (10, 15, and 20 cm), physical properties of soil, plant emergence, yield, and yield parameters as well as the planting performance of the machine were examined. According to the results obtained from the study, it was determined that mean emergence time decreased and seedling emergence increased as intrarow seed spacing increased. Furthermore, it was also found that DKC-5783 had the best emergence time, the best seedling emergence percentage, and the highest emergence rate index. Where yield decreased as intrarow spacing increased, ADA-9510 had the highest yield among varieties. Generally, intrarow seed spacing of 20 cm and DKC-5783 and ADA-9510 gave the best results. © TÜBİTAK.