Cultivation

Barley silage and haylage

Hordeum vulgare L.

The use of barley in forage production is based on strict adherence to harvesting stages: before heading for silage or during the milk-wax maturity stage of grain for high-moisture grainlage.

In the reference 20 varieties crop Barley, where this is mentioned in the description.

For silage production, barley is harvested no later than the heading stage, when the plant biomass contains sufficient levels of sugars for high-quality fermentation. High-moisture grainlage is harvested between the milk and wax maturity stages, which allows for the production of feed with a high starch content. Unlike oats, barley has a more predictable maturation cycle, and compared to rye, it benefits from a more favorable grain-to-straw ratio.

The harvesting technology requires moisture control: when producing high-moisture grainlage, harvesting is often conducted without wilting at 55–60% moisture, whereas for conventional haylage, the mass is wilted to 45–55%. An important requirement is chopping to a fraction of 0.7–0.9 cm. From an agronomic perspective, barley is valued for its high adaptability to arid conditions; however, when using cultivars with long awns at the wax maturity stage, the risk of injury to livestock must be taken into account.

General information about the subject — on the page Silage and haylage.

Sources8

Varieties of Barley mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.