THE SUNFLOWER AS A SILAGE CROP. 15 



flowers used in the experiments of Shaw and Wright were grown at 

 Beltsville, Md. Corn grown in the same field had 68.69 per cent of 

 moisture at the time it was sufficiently mature to put in the silo. 



The average amount of moisture in sunflower silage, as shown in 

 Table 2 of this bulletin, is 77.8 per cent. This is less than that of 

 silage made from immature corn and only 6.9 per cent greater than 

 the percentage of moisture in silage made from mature corn. 



The results of Shaw and Wright also indicate that the percentage 

 of proteids in the plant steadily declines as it matures. The sugar 

 content also decreases. The greatest difference, however, is in the 

 starch content. In corn at the time it is ready for the silo 24 per 

 cent of the dry matter of the plant is starch ; in the sunflower less 

 than 1 per cent is starch. The starch and sugars combined consti- 

 tute 37 per cent of the total dry matter of the corn plant and only 

 11.2 per cent of the sunflower plant. 



Shaw and Wright conclude from their chemical data that the best 

 time to cut sunflowers for silage is when the ray flowers have become 



'*^'^i<!^''^''^^!iz:'^^i^'S^ 



Fig. 5. — ^Low flat-topped wagons save much hand labor in loading sunflowers to be hauled 



to a silo. 



dry and are partly fallen. Judging from the limited information now 

 available regarding the use of sunflowers for silage, it is best to cut 

 the crop before the seeds have reached the hard dough stage. Most 

 writers advise harvesting sunflowers for silage when only 50 to 60 per 

 cent of the plants are in bloom. Decision regarding the best stage of 

 maturity at which to cut will depend somewhat on location, espe- 

 cially as to rainfall and atmospheric humidity. In dry climates the 

 plants can be harvested at an earlier stage of maturity than in humid 

 climates. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



For hauling the sunflowers to the silo low flat-topped wagons, 

 such as are used for hauling corn silage, are desirable (fig. 6). The 

 ordinary silage cutter can be used for sunflowers, but one with a 

 wide throat is desirable in order to accommodate the large heads. 

 The knives should be adjusted to a quarter- inch cut and bolted on the 

 cutter securely, because the stalks of the sunflower are somewhat 

 liard and woody. 



