The Effects Of Planting Techniques On Maize Grain Yield And Silage Production

This thesis is a comprehensive analysis of the effects of seed orientation, row direction and planting population on grain yield, kernel composition, and silage yield and composition. Producers are striving to increase profit by efficiently using their available land area to maximize crop production. However, little research is available testing the effect of seed orientation on grain or silage production. Quantifying the impacts of seed orientation and row direction on grain and silage is essential for maximum crop production. Dissemination of the results should benefit grain and silage producer. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of manipulating seed orientation at planting. In the first experiment, maize yield and kernel composition characteristics were evaluated during the 2011 growing season. The first experiment supported yield increases from controlled manipulation of kernels into the soil. This experiment did support that through alternative planting methods, grain and silage yields can be increased compared to the conventional planting methods that are currently practiced. In the second experiment, maize grain, kernel composition, silage yield and silage composition were evaluated to observe differences from controlled planting methods compared to conventional planting methods during the 2012 growing season. Researchers observed increases in maize grain and silage yield from controlled planting methods compared to conventional planting methods. Differences were observed in direction of leaves in the canopy between planting treatments indicating that plants are able to change the orientation of leaves due to competition of neighboring plants. These studies suggest controlling seed orientation at planting can increase grain and silage yields with no additional changes to production practices. Additional research is warranted to evaluate differences during different growing conditions of different years and to evaluate hybrid differences for planting treatments