YIELD AND QUALITY TRAITS OF SOME SILAGE MAIZE CULTIVARS

The research was carried out under Kirsehir ecological conditions in 2016 and 2017 vegetation period. The experimental layout was randomized blocks with three replications. In this study, 10 hybrids and one composite maize cultivars were evaluated for some yield and quality characteristics. Important yield and quality characteristics green herbage yield (tons ha(-1)), dry matter yield (tons ha(-1)), crude protein yield (tons ha(-1)), ADF (%), NDF (%), ADL (%) digestible dry matter ratio (%) and digestible dry matter yield (tons ha(-1)) were determined. Significant differences were found between cultivars in terms of yield and quality. The two-year mean values of dry matter yield, crude protein yield and digestible dry matter yield indicated that Kerbanis, Karadeniz Yildizi and Samada-07 were the high yielding cultivars. The ADF, NDF and ADL ratios which are the quality indicators, of high yielding cultivars were also low. The results revealed that the high-yielding cultivars are also prominent in terms of important quality criteria. Kerbanis, Karadeniz Yildizi and Samada-07 cultivars are suitable for silage maize production considering the yield and quality characteristics and can be recommended for Kirsehir and similar ecologies.