Baseline information on agricultural practices in the EU ... - Europabio

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6 Harvest and post-harvest land use 6.1 Harvest The harvest timing depends on the purpose of the crop, the maturity class and the climatic conditions of the site (Table 22). For silage maize the right time to harvest is determined in function of the optimal feed uptake, utilisation (digestibility) by the cattle and energetic value (DM content about 30- 35%). Grain maize needs to be fully mature. Harvesting maize for grain usually occurs after the kernel moisture is below 25%. Kernels need to be dried to 16% moisture within 24 hours after harvest. Several organisations give directions to determine the optimal harvest time (e.g. Maïshandboek, GNIS). Maize is generally harvested between late August and early December. Silage maize is harvested mechanically using a maize silage cutter / header. The length of the pieces depends on the dry matter content; dryer plants are chopped in shorter pieces. Chopped maize is packed in a horizontal silo or bunker for partial fermentation under anaerobic conditions. To remove all the air from the silo the maize silage is compacted by driving a tractor after each load and over and over until the surface is firm. Finally the silage is sealed with a plastic cover to prevent air returning. Silage maize is predominantly used on-farm for dairy cattle. Specific inoculants (lactic acid bacteria, enzymes) can be used to improve fermentation quality and reduce energy and dry matter losses. Grain maize is mechanically picked using a combine / maize sheller that cuts the maize plants and shells and threshes the maize cobs in one operation. Traditionally the maize cobs are hand harvested and threshed. Also small handheld or powered machines are used for threshing. The remaining plant parts are used for ruminant feeding. This practise is still applied on small farms in central and southern Europe. Manually picked maize cobs are commonly stored in their unhusked form. To improve their drying the husks are removed from the cobs. Grain maize for trade is usually immediately transported to the trader and dried for storage. Corn-cob-mix is harvested at a grain DM content of 55-60%. The cobs are picked mechanically and cobs and grains are grinded on the field or transported and chopped at the silo. The mix is immediately ensiled similar to whole plant silage. The mix is used mainly for feeding pigs. Table 22: Harvest date (Sources: a Maizeurop; b Bayern, Sortenversuch Silomais / Körnermais; c Maïshandboek; d Ministry of Agriculture (MADR); e FSE; f EuropaBio member companies) Zone Member State Use Harvest date A North B Centre Denmark a Estonia e - Finland - Latvia e - Lithuania e Sweden - Austria - Belgium Silage September – mid-October Czech Republic - Germany Silage b Mid-September – October b Hungary e Grain b October b Ireland - Luxembourg - the Netherlands Silage c September – mid-October c - - - Page 56 of 64
Zone Member State Use Harvest date C South Poland - Romania Grain September – October d Slovakia Slovenia - the United Kingdom -: no data available - Not specified August – November e Bulgaria - Cyprus - France Silage a October a Grain November Greece - Italy - Portugal Grain f Spain Grain f 6.2 Intercropping October to November Silage f September to November From September (South Spain) to early March (North Central Spain) Silage f September to November Sowing grasses (e.g. Italian ryegrass) into established maize stands can reduce the amount of residual nitrate in the soil at the end of the vegetation period. Alternatively, a catch crop (winter wheat or rye) is sown after harvest to catch the nitrate still present in the soil. Intercropping is also a remedy against weed growth thereby reducing the amount of herbicide sprayed in fields and preventing herbicide contamination of the groundwater. It also decreases soil erosion in winter time since it maintains the soil covered. Some examples are presented in Table 23. Table 23: Post harvest management - intercropping with green manure crop (Sources: a Maiskomitee; b Maïshandboek; c Anpromis website; d EuropaBio member companies) Zone Member State Use Sowing date Intercropping B Centre C South -: no data available Germany Not specified Sowing July-August summer intercrops a Not specified September winter intercrops the Netherlands Not specified Summer Intercrop b Not specified October Green manure crop mandatory on sand and löss Portugal Not specified Recommended c Recommended Not specified Summer d Spain Not specified Winter/spring d Beans growing jointly with maize (very small surface) Lolium (before planting maize) Page 57 of 64
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Baseline i
Page 3 and 4:
1 Introduction Under the current Eu
Page 5 and 6: 3 Maize cultivation in Europe 3.1 C
Page 7 and 8: Figure 3: Grain maize production by
Page 9 and 10: Zone Member State Maize type 2010 2
Page 11 and 12: Zone Member State Number of holding
Page 13 and 14: Zone Member State Main weed species
Page 15 and 16: Zone Member State Main pest species
Page 17 and 18: Figure 4: Distribution of Diabrotic
Page 19 and 20: 4 Preparation 4.1 Seeds Breeding go
Page 21 and 22: Table 7 provides an overview of mat
Page 23 and 24: Insecticides are included in seed t
Page 25 and 26: Table 10. Page 25 of 64
Page 27 and 28: Zone Member State Use Tillage B Cen
Page 29 and 30: • In Germany the Fertilisation Or
Page 31 and 32: Zone Member State Use Sowing dates
Page 33 and 34: Table 14: Chemical weed control (pr
Page 35 and 36: Zone Member State -: no data availa
Page 37 and 38: Zone Member State Use Insecticides
Page 39 and 40: Zone Member State Main pest species
Page 41 and 42: Integrated pest management (IPM) pr
Page 43 and 44: Figure 5: European Irrigation Map (
Page 45 and 46: Table 20: Irrigation of maize in Bu
Page 47 and 48: Zone Member State Region grain maiz
Page 49 and 50: Table 21: Irrigation methods and so
Page 51 and 52: Irrigation methods Zone Member Stat
Page 53 and 54: Irrigation methods Zone Member Stat
Page 55: The main overall objective of EU wa
Page 59 and 60: 7 Consulted sources The following t
Page 61 and 62: Křístková M., 2010, Experience w
Page 63 and 64: Bayerischer Bauernverband; http://w
Page 65 and 66: Wageningen UR Livestock Research ht
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Baseline information on agricultural practices in the EU ... - Europabio

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