Very Early Varieties

At marginal sites, such as south west England, the north and north west of England and Wales, and Scotland weather conditions are cooler and less sunny. Variety choice is limited to those that have the ability to mature relatively early. Only ‘Very Early’ maturing varieties should be selected, as later maturing may fail to reach maturity by harvest and DM and quality yields will be compromised, resulting in lower DM intakes at feeding.   Growers in marginal areas tend to have limited suitable land for growing maize and consequently feed less maize silage in the ration.  Within the ‘Very Early’ banding, earliness (DM content) plus starch yield / content are the main quality criteria for growers to consider.  Good early vigour is also an important agronomic characteristic to consider.