Abstract
According to the estimation of leading experts, the maize utilisation for the production of silage from the whole plant, wet ear and wet grain should be one of the most important forms of its application in animal nutrition. Maize a major forage crop, because the highest accumulation of solar energy per area unit is accomplished by maize production and ensiling. At the Maize Research Institute, Zemun Polje, selection, testing and evaluation of silage maize. The aim of this study was to draw attention to this extremely significant field of science and studies on the utilisation of the whole maize plant (biomass) in feeding of domestic animals, primarily ruminants. This paper presents and discusses previous results and achievements of long-term scientific researches on the improvement of maize plant utilisation in making good-quality silage not only in our country but also in the world.
Highlights
According to the areas of cultivation and produced quantities, maize is a major field crop in Serbia
Dry matter yield of the whole maize plant Depending on genetic yielding capacity and agroecological conditions silage maize yields vary from 12 tonnes to 25 tonnes of the total dry matter per hectare at physiological maturity necessary for ensiling with a dry matter content of 35-42 %
Results on the evaluation of silage mass of certain maize hybrids show that there are differences even among standard grain hybrids of the same FAO maturity groups when they are used as silage plants
Summary
According to the areas of cultivation and produced quantities, maize is a major field crop in Serbia. The greatest part of maize produced in both, our country and the world, is used as processed or unprocessed product in domestic animal feeding. The development of new silage maize hybrids and studies on the effect of silage on animal feeding have been increasingly gaining in importance world-wide (Coors and Lauer, 2001). Many agroeconomic factors contribute to the fact that maize is a forage crop with no competitors in a large number of countries in the world. The following ones are the most important: possibility of obtaining high and stable yields by selection of hybrids greatly adaptable to specific conditions of each region, quality of maize biomass with a great proportion of fermentable carbohydrates and costs, i.e. the price of nutritive units achieved per hectare, are usually significantly lower than costs of achieved nutritive units of other crops (Bekrić, 1997)
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