Farmers’ perceptions of climate change and its implication on livestock production in mixed-farming system areas of Bale highlands, Southeast Ethiopia; Challenges and extents of Soil and Water Conservation measures in Guba-Lafto Woreda of North Wollo, Ethiopia; Evaluation of milk production performance of lactating Fogera cows fed with urea and effective micro-organisms treated rice straw as basal diet.

E3 Journal of Agricultural Research and Development

E3 Journal of Agricultural Research and Development Vol. 8 (1) pp. 014-020, March 2018; © E3 Journals; ISSN 2276-9897
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18685/EJARD(8)1_EJARD-18-012


Effects of variety and stage of grain maturity at harvest on the yield and quality of maize stover

Ashenafi Mengistu 1
1 Department of Animal Production, College of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia Email: mengistuashenafi@gmail.com

Accepted 2 January 2018

Abstract

A study was conducted to examine the effects of variety and stage of grain maturity at harvest on the yield and quality of maize stover obtained from 15 varieties sampled from three locations. There were significant vatrietal differences in the yield and quality of maize stover. However, there was no significant varietal effect on grain yield. On the other hand, the yield and quality of maize stover markedly deteriorates with increasing stage of grain maturity at harvest. The observed variations between the varieties in the measured feed related parameters but with no significant variation in grain yield indicate the possibility of manipulating some traits in the effort to improving the yield and quality of maize stover through breeding and/or selection without significantly affecting grain yield. Therefore, there is a need to work with animal nutritionists in the process of maize technology generation when targeting the mixed crop-livestock system of agricultural production. On the other hand, as the yield and quality of maize stover deteriorates as the stage of grain maturity increases, employing applicable system of feeding livestock on stover before the last stage of maturity is advisable.

Keywords: Maize, stage of harvest, stover quality, stover yield, variety

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