Effect of different nitrogen doses on silage and quality characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars

This study was carried out in the experimental field at Salihli district of Manisa Province in 2015, aiming to determine the effect of different nitrogen doses (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 kg N / da) on silage and quality characteristics of maize cultivars (C-955, TK-6063 and Colosseus).The field experiment was designed in a Randomized Complete Block (RCBD) with three replications. The effects of nitrogen doses on the silage yield components showed statistically significant differences. According to the results of the study; the effect of different nitrogen doses on plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, number of ear, ear length, ear diameter, ear ratio (%), herbage yield (kg/da), dry matter content (%), dry matter yield (kg/da) and crude protein yield (kg/da) were statistically significant. However, the effect of different nitrogen doses on the first ear height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf ratio (%), stem ratio (%) and crude protein content (%) were not found statistically significant. The average value of plant height of maize genotypes varied between 248,2 and 299,4 cm; stem diameter between 2,4 and 2,7 cm; number of leaves per plant between 11,4 and 14,3; number of ear between 1,0 and 1,3, ear length between 20,9 and 24,0 cm, ear diameter between 4,956 and 5,189 cm, ear ratio between 27,1 % and 31,0 %, herbage yield between 7406,0 and 8880,1 kg/da, dry matter content between 33,3 and 35,8 %, dry matter yield between 2607,0 and 3174,7 kg/da, crude protein yield between 235,2 and 295,6 kg/da. Among the nitrogen doses used in the experiment, the optimum nitrogen dose in terms of sillage yield was determined as 20 kg/da. Keywords:Nitrogen doses, Maize, Silage yield