How to choose a maize variety

The main factors for choosing a maize variety include maturity, yield potential and feed quality. Read our tips on what to look out for when choosing a variety.   

The main factors to consider when choosing a maize variety include:

• Maturity
• Yield potential
• Feed quality

Choosing a variety when growing under degradable film

There is limited independent UK data on variety performance under degradable film. Use local knowledge to identify varieties that work well and consult the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) Forage Maize Descriptive List. Also, look at the Recommended Lists for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as they test varieties sown in this way. Use varieties that have proven to work well in your area on 80% of the cropping area, and try out new, promising varieties on the remaining 20%.

The primary factor to consider when selecting a variety is maturity.

Early maturing varieties need less heat than those that mature later. Maturity is determined by the whole plant DM content (%) at a set harvest date. The higher the DM at harvest, the earlier a variety will be mature.

In the example table, Variety 2 is the earliest to mature at 36.8% DM content at harvest. Early maturing varieties have a shorter growing season than later ones, so their total yield is lower, but the risk of poor harvest conditions is reduced. Early maturing varieties that reach 34% DM or above at harvest are recommended for growing in most areas of the UK. Farms situated below a line running from the Wash in the East to the Severn estuary in the West can also grow later-maturing varieties successfully.

Table 1. Characteristics of some example maize varieties 

*9 = good, 1 = poor

Source: BSPB Forage Maize Descriptive List

Maximising forage maize yields spreads the fixed costs of growing the crop. Yield variation between varieties within the same maturity class can range between 6–8%. For example, a grower aiming for 34.9% DM at harvest may be more inclined to choose Variety 3 rather than Variety 4 (from the table) for its greater yield.

For feed quality, factors such as starch content, energy and digestibility vary less between varieties.

To order a hard copy of the Growing and feeding maize for better returns manual, please contact publications@ahdb.org.uk or call 0247 799 0069.