Production performance and quality evaluation of three silage maize varieties in dryland of Qinghai

In order to select the suitable silage Zea mays varieties for popularisation in the dry land of Qinghai, we introduced three varieties and conducted comparative experiments at an altitude of 2 040 m in the dry land of Qinghai. The results showed that the comprehensive characters of Yuyu 22 were outstanding, with a plant height of 314.80 cm, single plant fresh weight of 1 148.67 g, single plant dry weight of 257.96 g, green leaf number of 13.60, and fresh yield of 121 066.95 kg·ha-1. The fresh yield increased by 44.70% than that of Jinsui 3, and by 6.74% than that of Jinkai 3, and the hay yield increased by 11.42% and 11.09% than that of Jinsui 3 and Jinkai 3, respectively. The crude protein content of hay was 6.94%, the crude fat content was 13.87 g·kg-1, and the calcium content was 3.82 g·kg-1. Yuyu 22 can promote cultivation at the dry land of Qinghai.