Production efficiency of corn for forage at different growing densities and harvesting times

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at the Animal Production Center (Núcleo de Produção Animal – NUPRAN) of the Center for Agrarian and Environmental Sciences of the Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste - UNICENTRO - CEDETEG Campus, Guarapuava, State of Paraná. This study aimed to evaluate biomass production, plant physical composition, chemical composition and dry matter contents of the plant and structural components of forage corn. The experiment was carried out in 5x5 factorial with five planting densities (80, 160, 240, 320 and 400 thousand plants ha-1), harvested in 5 times (40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 days after planting). The harvesting time caused a statistical difference for all parameters, and the planting densities factor only caused statistical difference in leaf participation and dry biomass production. There was no interaction for any of the parameters evaluated. Forage corn, harvested in the vegetative stage, can be a great ally of the rural producer, since it presents high potential for food production with high nutritional value in a short period of time, and in significant amount with production of up to 14,720 kg ha-1 dry biomass reached at 80 days of cycle with 320 thousand ha-1, freeing the soil for the production of another crop.