STORRS Agricultural Experiment Station STORRS, CONNECTICUT A COMPARISON OF EARLY, MEDIUM AND LATE MATURING VARIETIES OF SILAGE CORN FOR MILK PRODUCTION The feeding of silage has now become common practice, especially among dairymen, and in humid United States, corn is the standard silage crop. There are, however, two distinct types of farm practice in growing silage which distinction should be made clear at the outset. In the corn belt and adjacent sections, the problem is one of handling the corn crop in the most economical way. Experience and investigation have shown that the silo fills this need. On the other hand, in sections where dairying is a highly specialized industry, the problem is that of securing enough roughage, the concentrates being Largely purchased. This is especially true in the northeastern states, but also holds for many other northern regions. In sections where tillable land is limited, this problem becomes even more acute. It was from the second point of view that this study was undertaken. Under such conditions, many farmers have chosen late varieties of corn that do not mature before frost, thus securing large tonnage, but little grain, the corn being of low dry matter content. The weight of opinion among college and station workers has been against this practice and in favor of varieties that would mature or nearly mature. Several carefully conducted investigations, notably that of Jones and Huston (1), furnish conclusive evidence that a given variety produces the maximum dry matter at about maturity. From the corn belt standpoint as defined above, therefore, the question would seem to be settled. Where crop production and dairying are not intensive, the standard grain varieties should probably be grown for silage, and "cut when the husks begin to dry." *Resigned, November, 1923. |