Performance of drought‐tolerant maize for silage or grain in conventional and Kura clover perennial groundcover cropping systems

Abstract Drought‐tolerant (DT) maize ( Zea mays L.) hybrids have demonstrated better performance than non‐DT hybrids when drought events are present. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of three DT maize hybrids for whole‐plant dry matter (DM) and grain yield and forage nutritive value under conventional or Kura clover ( Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) perennial groundcover (PGC) cropping systems. This study was conducted for 3 years at two locations, Arlington and Lancaster, WI. Three DT and one non‐DT maize hybrid were no‐till sown into killed Kura clover (conventional) and living Kura clover that was suppressed with herbicides (PGC). Whole‐plant maize, as for silage, was harvested at 50% kernel milk line, and grain was harvested at physiological maturity. Whole‐plant biomass was analyzed for forage nutritive value. There was no cropping system × maize hybrid interaction for any of the measured yield or nutritive value parameters. Maize hybrids in the Kura clover PGC system yielded 3.0 Mg ha −1 less whole‐plant DM and 1.5 Mg ha −1 less grain than in the conventional system, but whole‐plant forage digestibility was slightly greater with the PGC system. DT hybrids yielded slightly less than the non‐DT hybrid over both production systems. The DT hybrids demonstrated no advantage relative to a non‐DT maize hybrid in a Kura clover PCG system.