Assessing Yield and Silage Quality of Intercropped Corn and Soybean in Different Planting Patterns and in Mardin Ecological Condition

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effect of silage on fermentation quality. The silage was produced by forage yield of mixed planting of corn and soybeans which was planted as a second crop in Mardin ecological conditions. The field experiment was carried out in a Randomized Complete Experiment Design with three replications at 7 different planting ratios [corn (C), 70% corn + 30% soybean (70C30S), 60% corn + 40% soybean (60C40S), 50% corn + 50% soybean (50C50S), 40% corn +% 60 soybean (40C60S), 30% corn + 70% soybean (30C70S) and soybean (S)]. The single (pure) and mixed yield obtained from each plot were left to fermentation in glass jars for 90 days in four repetitions. According to the results of the study, the highest fresh biomass obtained was 71 071 and 68 333 kg ha-1 respectively from 60C40S and 70C30S mixtures, and the highest crude protein yield was obtained from 60C40S, 70C30S, 30C70S and 50C50S mixtures planting ratios. As the soybean ratio in the mixture increased, the CP ratio, silage pH and butyric acid (BA) concentration increased. While the lactic acid (LA) concentration of corn silage was the highest value with 2.67% in dry matter (DM), this value has been determined as 1.04% in soybean silage. To conclude, in regions having ecological conditions of Mardin province, it is recommended to mix planting with 30% or 40% ratio of soybean plant with corn plant to increase the protein value of corn silage and improve the fermentation of soybean. © 2021, Centenary University. All rights reserved.