Farming smarter with technology
The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry professionals from across the country.
Following research carried out at the University of Osnabrück in Germany, the results showed a beneficial effect on maize silage quality, with a 7.9% increase in metabolisable energy and 5.4% increase in biogas production.
The research used a large-scale trial plot. Yield and quality was measured for three different sowing rates of seven, eight and nine seeds/m² (70,000, 80,000 and 90,000 seeds/ha) using the staggered twin-row DeltaRow technique on the Lemken Azurit 9 precision drill. Compared to single-row systems, improvements were recorded in each scenario, with the greatest improvement at the rate of eight seeds/m², where yields increased by 4.5%.
Researchers suggested that this technique offers plants roughly 70% more room to grow with improved access to moisture and nutrients.
