Selection of maize variety for silage

The development of this system is funded by Promilleafgiftsfonden for Landbrug and

This tool is developed for selecting the best maize varieties for silage maize suitable for different parts of Denmark. The tool includes varieties tested in the Danish National Field Testing Systems (Landsforsøgene) for the last two years. The selection of varieties is based on results from trials conducted under different weather conditions. You can choose between cold conditions, warm conditions or the entire country. The trials conducted under cold conditions are on four locations in the northern part of Jutland. The trials conducted under warm conditions are on three locations in the southern part of Jutland and on the islands Funen and Sealand. The trials defined as the entire country are the trials conducted at all of the trial sites.

The tool calculates the probability of a variety reaching maturity in a chosen location based on climate data, sowing date, harvest date and preferred dry matter content. Based on the probability of maturity and selected yield and quality traits, it is possible to select a group of varieties for further information of yield, forage quality and variety traits. Data shown as index is correlated to the average of the four varieties in the reference mixture used in the variety trials in the latest trial year. On the final page of the program, there is a link for calculating net profit of a given variety based on information of diet composition for dairy cows.

The tool is based on data from the variety trials in the Danish National Field Testing Systems and climate data from the Danish Meteorological Institute. The model for calculating the probability of a variety reaching maturity at a given location with inputs of sowing and harvest date and preferred dry matter content is developed by Aarhus University. The tool is updated each year in December, when new data is available.

SEGES cannot be held responsible for any loss of profit using this tool.