Assessing Bt Silage Corn in Maine
2010
Jemison, John | Reberg-Horton, Chris
Over 90 percent of the corn grown in Maine is grown for silage, yet most research has focused on the effectiveness of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn as grain corn. In response to grower interest, a seven site-year-location (SYL) study was conducted across the dairy production region of Maine to evaluate the effect of Bt corn on insect feeding damage, silage corn yield, mycotoxin content in chopped silage, and forage quality. Black cutworm damage over the course of the study was generally less than 1%, and European corn borer (ECB) damage was light to moderate with stalk tunneling between 2% for Bt hybrids and 11% based on non-Bt hybrids. Although Bt significantly reduced ECB feeding in leaves and stalks, this did not lead to yield, silage mycotoxin, or forage quality differences. Based on these results, potential yield increases and reduced mycotoxins in silage would be expected only in years with greater insect pressure than that found in this study.
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