New crimped grain maize variety provides a solution to the yield versus maturity trade-off
18 February 2009 | Mark Britton
NK Falkone, a grain maize variety that delivers very high yields with the added benefit of an earlier harvest date than similar-yielding varieties, is catching the attention of arable and livestock farmers.
NK Falkone is likely to be a popular option this season for the increasing number of farmers who are choosing to grow grain maize for crimping.
Crimped maize is grain maize that is combined moist, crimped and then ensiled. It has tremendous nutritional benefits and has seen a recent surge in popularity with both livestock farmers, for use as home-grown forage, and with arable farmers who are growing it to sell off-farm. “Expansion of grain maize in the UK has traditionally been restricted by a long growing season and high drying costs,” explains contractor Frans de Boer, “drilled in mid-April to early May it can be late October or even late November before moisture content drops to an acceptable level for harvest. Grain maize grown for crimping is harvested at 30-35% moisture and ensiled with a preservative. It’s a more preferable option for arable farmers interested in grain maize as a spring cropping option to fit the crop rotation.”
Frans started crimping grain maize in 2000 after first growing forage maize in the 1980s. He harvests at 30-35% using a combine with a maize stripper header. The grain is then crimped before ensiling. Livestock farmers, particularly dairy farmers, are attracted by the high energy feed with a dry matter of up to 70%. Crimped grain maize is high in starch, easy to feed and to digest and is excellent for milk proteins and fertility. “The crimped market is an established industry that is growing tenfold every year. We were involved in 2,000 ha last year, but I would estimate that more than10,000 ha are grown for grain in the UK,” says Frans. The typical price of moist grain ex-combine is £100/t uncrimped and untreated: with high yielding varieties producing around 10 t/ha, that equates to £1,000 t/ha.
NK Falkone, bred by Syngenta Seeds specifically as a grain maize variety, has the ideal characteristics for the UK crimped grain maize market according to Will Miller, key account manager for NK, the Syngenta Seeds brand for maize in the UK. “Often there is a compromise between yield and earlier maturity when choosing a maize variety. NK Falkone bucks the trend of ‘earlier maturity equals lower yield’,” says Will. “It produces massive grain yields and has a five-year mean of 114% of controls in NIAB trials. This was considerably higher than other varieties with a similar maturity and without the delayed harvest of varieties with comparable yields. Getting high yielding varieties harvested early has been a particular issue for growers after the wet summers of recent years,” explains Will. NK Falkone has performed consistently over the past few years in both NIAB and independent grain maize trials.
It was significantly earlier in NIAB trials than Harvi CS. Lodging is one of the greatest risks to the grain maize crop so standing power is vital. NK Falkone has a great standing power score, showing no signs of lodging in trials. Jack Torrens, trials manager for David Bright Limited, has been monitoring the performance of NK Falkone in his trials and is confident that it will make a good crimping variety. “NK Falkone was the highest yielding grain maize in the trial, and always looked good with nice cobs. It achieved 12.1 t/ha fresh weight, 0.6 t/ha more than Harvi CS.”
