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Keywords

silage quality, milk per acre index, crude protein, starch, waxy

Abstract

Dual-purpose corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids are capturing the attention of farmers due to their versatility, as their final use can be chosen as either grain or silage. This versa­tility emphasizes the importance of understanding the yield and quality performance of these hybrids. This study compared eight dual-purpose corn commercial hybrids’ quality performance. During the 2023 growing season, a dryland field experiment was conducted in Manhattan, Kansas. We analyzed quality at two crop growth stages: before and after the silage process. Dry matter digestibility (DMD) increased after ensiling, mainly due to starch digestibility of ~85 to ~95%. The 6152D1 hybrid led in terms of crude protein (CP) levels before (9.3%) and after ensilage (8.3%). Hybrid 6235D1 showed the lowest conversion efficiency (i.e., lb/t DM) after the silage process. The waxy hybrid 6219WX showed the lowest value of undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDFD30t) before ensilage (~20%). Differences between hybrids were found regarding the milk per acre index. The hybrid 6219wx achieved the highest value after the silage process (~14 t/a), whereas the hybrid 6219 was the least productive.

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