Abstract #W196

# W196
Late season forage yield, quality, and digestibility from mixed cropping of organic certified corn and soybean hybrids at different seeding rates.
Ishwary Acharya*1, David Casper1, 1Dairy Science Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.

The production of forage resulting from the mixed cropping of corn and soybeans at planting has the potential to yield greater quantities of digestible nutrients to meet the nutrient requirements of lactating dairy cows. A field plot study was laid out using a completely randomized design to evaluate 2 organic corn hybrids [Normal (N) and MasterGraze (MG)] with 2 soybean hybrids [Regular (R) and Vining (V)] at 4 seeding rates (R1 = 65:35; R2 = 55:45; R3 = 45:55, and R4 = 35:65 of corn and soybean) having a 2 × 2 x 4 factorial treatment design replicated 3 times. Forage was hand harvested 93 d after planting during the 2014 growing season, inoculated, packed into buckets, weighed, and ensiled for 60 or 90 d. Buckets were then re-weighed, opened, and forage samples collected and submitted for nutrient analysis (Analab, Inc., Fulton, IL). Yield of DM (6.74 and 7.65 T/ha for N and MG, respectively) for main effect of corn was similar (P > 0.05), while V yielded greater (P < 0.05) than R (6.13 and 8.27 T/ha for R and V, respectively) for main effect of soybean, while seeding ratio main effect was similar [(P > 0.05); 7.91, 6.29, 7.81, and 6.77 T/ha for R1, R2, R3, and R4, respectively]. Yield of fresh digestible DM (DDM; 4.40 and 5.06 T/ha) and CP (1.04 and 1.22 T/ha) were similar (P > 0.05) for corn, while V yielded greater (P < 0.05) DDM (4.03 and 5.43 T/ha) and CP (0.97 and 1.29T/ha) than R and seeding ratios were similar (P > 0.05) in yield of DDM (5.20, 4.15, 5.08, and 4.50 T/ha) and CP (1.14, 1.05, 1.25, and 1.07 T/ha). A significant interaction (P < 0.05) was detected for corn × soybean × seeding ratio for ensiled DDM yield at 60 and 90 d, while no other significant (P > 0.05) interactions of main effects were detected. The combination of MG seed corn with V soybean hybrids at the ratio of 67:33 resulted in the greatest yield of DDM after 60 and 90 d of ensiling the forage. The mixed cropping of corn and soybeans holds great potential for increasing the production of forages to meet the nutrient requirements of lactating dairy cows.

Key Words: corn, soybean, yield