Quality parameters of maize hybrids intended for silage production

Abstract

This study's primary objective was to assess the quality parameters of fifteen different genotypes of Serbian maize hybrids in order to establish whether they were suitable for making high-quality silage for ruminant feed. The study was carried out as a two-year field experiment at the Maize Research Institute in Zemun Polje, Serbia. Laboratory analyses included the yield structure of the examined maize hybrids, the evaluation of the composition of lignocellulosic fiber and the percentage of their ratios, as well as the in vitro dry matter digestibility and NDF digestibility of the whole plant samples. The Fisher's LSD test was used to statistically analyse the data, which were then reported as the mean and standard deviation of at least three independent replicates. The graphical representation of correlations among the observed parameters used the principal component analysis (PCA) method. All maize hybrids have displayed high-quality characteristics, which are required for the production of highquality silage.

Osnovni cilј ovog istraživanja bio je da se ispitaju svojstva petnaest različitih genotipova hibrida kukuruza iz Srbije kako bi se utvrdila njihova pogodnost za proizvodnju visokokvalitetne silaže za ishranu preživara. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u dvogodišnjem polјskom ogledu na lokaciji Instituta za kukuruz u Zemun Polјu, Srbija, a laboratorijske analize su obuhvatile strukturu prinosa ispitivanih hibrida kukuruza, procenu sastava lignoceluloznih vlakana i njihovih procentualnih odnosa, kao i in vitro svarlјivost suve materije i svarlјivost NDF-a uzoraka cele bilјke. Podaci su statistički obrađeni korišćenjem ANOVA analize varijanse sa Fišerovim LSD testom i prikazani kao srednja vrednost ± standardno odstupanje od najmanje tri nezavisna ponavlјanja. Analiza glavnih komponenata (PCA) primenjena je za vizuelno predstavlјanje korelacija između posmatranih parametara. Svi hibridi kukuruza su pokazali povolјna svojstva koja su preduslov za proizvodnju visokokvalitetne silaže.