For a high yielding maize crop at harvest it is essential to get off to a good start. Maize should be knee high by 4th July and good early vigour is essential in achieving this, says Limagrainâs Graham Parnell. âIn Mole Valley Farmersâ maize trial site near Street in Somerset, new Limagrain variety Yukon is showing excellent early vigour, reaching 70cm tall by 4th July which is well above knee height. Itâs visibly higher than the other varieties in the trial,â he adds.
Mole Valley Farmers run three trial sites in the south of England each with different growing conditions for maize; Dorchester which is intermediate, Launceston which is marginal, and at Street which is favourable. This year 21 maize varieties are being evaluated.
MVF forage specialist Clive Bethell explains: âThe trial was drilled at the beginning of May and although all of the varieties emerged at the same time, Yukon clearly demonstrated excellent early vigour and just took off so much quicker than the others.
âYukon has been grown in MVF trials for the past 3 years and has always outperformed the others. It is quick to fill out the gap between rows and has big leaves that maximise photosynthesis, thereby further increasing the bulk yield of the plant. By 9th July it was over 90cm tall, which is over a footâs growth in less than a week. Right now, it literally stands head and shoulders above the other trial varieties.â
Mr Parnell adds: âYukon is a tall, high-yielding early variety with superb starch of 6.33t/ha on the 2013 NIAB List for favourable sites, this is 8% above the control.â
For more details about Yukon maize, email Limagrain UK at: enquiries@limagrain.co.uk or visit www.limagrain.co.uk