Revista Brasileira de Milho e Sorgo (Dec 2005)
YIELD AND PRODUCTION COMPONENTS OF CORN (Zea mays L.) FOR SILAGE AS A RESULT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZATION
Abstract
The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of forage nitrogenfertilization levels on the yield and components of corn (Zea mays) for silage. The treatments were: T1 : 0 kg ha-1 of N; T2 : 45 kg ha-1 of N; T3 : 90 kg ha-1 of N and T4 – 135kg ha-1 of N. The regression equations for dry matter contents (DM) of bract components(35,0633 + 0,15667N – 0,00098N2) and corncob (35,8133 + 0,15778N - 0,00084N2)showed points of maximum DM with the application of 79.9 and 93.9 kg ha-1 of N,respectively. For the components stem (24.2100 + 0.0240N) and plant (38.2000 +0.0289N) there was an increase in the levels of dry matter (0.024% and 0.029%respectively) whereas for grains (52,7267 - 0,0380N) there was a decrease in DM contents(-0,038%) for each kg of nitrogen applied. It was observed a linear behavior(24.3967 +0.0422N) rising in 0,042% the participation of grains in the plant structure for each kg ofN applied. The participation of grains increased significantly, from 23,7% (0 kg ha-1 ofN) to 29,9% (135 kg ha-1 of N). The data, when submitted to the regression analysis,adjusted linearly to the level of 135 kg ha-1 of N for dry matter production (15219 +58.9493N) and green matter production (39979 + 112.9629N) demonstrated that eachkg of fertilizer increased the production by 58.95 and 112.96 kg ha-1, respectively.