In our climate, maize sowing usually takes place between 20 April and 5 May. Usually by this time, the soil is already sufficiently warmed up by the sun and there is much less likelihood of night frosts. How do you prepare a field for sowing maize? Please read our article.
A well-chosen pre-sowing agro-technology is the basis for a satisfactory maize yield. The soil should be well loosened to facilitate the development of the root system and at the same time compacted enough to avoid excessive evaporation.
Let’s start at the beginning, i.e. by harvesting the pre-crop. Assuming that the pre-crop for maize was cereals, the first step should be to eliminate volunteer seeds by shallow cultivating the field 2 or 3 times. The next step should be deep loosening of the soil in autumn. Maize has a very high water requirement due to its enormous green mass. Deep tillage increases the water holding capacity of the soil, improves air-water conditions and facilitates the development of maize roots. The last step, which should already be carried out in spring, is to level the field as much as possible and compact the topsoil just before sowing.
What about fertilisation? When to liming under maize?
Maize yields best on neutral to near-alkaline soils (pH 6-7), and on light soils at pH 5.5-6.5. We recommend liming maize as early as possible, i.e. after harvesting the previous crop. Lime, due to its low mobility in the soil, should be thoroughly mixed into the soil profile at a depth of about 15 cm. Phosphorus and potassium fertilisation (whether natural or artificial) is also recommended in late autumn, possibly early spring. This gives us plenty of time to convert the elements into plant-available forms. Nitrogen fertilisation can be applied shortly before sowing or directly at the time of sowing (using a reseeder). Nitrogen, due to its high mobility in the soil, does not need as much time to move deep into the soil to the root system. However, it is important to choose the right form of nitrogen. For pre-sowing fertilisation, we recommend the amide (slow-acting) form, which will become more readily available to plants as the soil temperature rises. For post-sowing fertilisation, we can use the nitrate form.
Tillage under maize – machinery
With these recommendations in mind, let’s talk about the selection of machinery for maize agro-technology. AGROLAND is a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, mainly tillage machines. The range includes machines for both shallow and deep cultivation to prepare the field for maize sowing.
Starting from the beginning, we recommend TITANUM STANDARD or TITANUM HEAVY disc harrows for mixing in crop residues, destroying volunteer grain and mixing lime into the soil, depending on the tractor you have. The 2-beam (RAPTOR) and 3-beam (KRYPTON) stubble cultivators also perform well in this role. Deep cultivation should be carried out at least 10 cm below the depth of the deepest cultivation (e.g. ploughing). For this, we recommend using the TYTAN PLOW subsoiler or the MAHIT chisel plough. Both machines can successfully work at depths of up to 60 cm. Moving smoothly into spring for levelling the field for sowing, we suggest using a COBALT cultivating unit equipped with spring-loaded working tines that can work at depths of up to 20 cm. The use of such an agro-technique guarantees a good start for the maize and proper development of the root system, including easier uptake of water and nutrients.
