Is the Integration between Corn and Grass under Different Sowing Modalities a Viable Alternative for Silage?

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Silage production to meet the nutritional demands of ruminant animals in times of forage shortage may present certain limitations, and the adoption of production strategies associated with environmental conservation is of great importance for improving resource utilization. Corn silage is one of the most important components in ruminant feed, since its plant provides a large volume of palatable, highly digestible, and energy-rich feed, which has excellent potential for animal production. In addition, crop–livestock integration also presents itself as an attractive strategy for being promising yield alternatives in the global reality of agriculture production and cattle-raising. The strategy of intercropping is oriented towards silage of better nutritional quality, in addition to helping to maintain sustainable agroecosystems and providing benefits in economic, environmental, and social aspects. Thus, this experiment found that corn silage intercropped with tropical forages in different sowing modalities can be recommended as appropriate for the production of silage to supply livestock with feed, allowing a sustainable intensification of the production system. ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate the fermentation pattern and dry-matter losses in corn (Zea mays L.) silage intercropped with Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu and Megathyrsus maximus cv. Mombasa grasses in different sowing modalities through crop–livestock integration. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, which were arranged in a 2 × 5 factorial scheme with four repetitions. The first factor consisted of the grass cultivars Marandu and Mombasa. The second factor was the sowing modalities of grasses intercropped with corn: (1) simultaneous row sowing and inter-row corn sowing (no fertilizer); (2) simultaneous row sowing and inter-row corn sowing (with fertilizer); (3) simultaneous sowing with double grass row in the corn inter-row; (4) delayed sowing inter-row at 7 days after corn emergence; and (5) delayed sowing inter-row at 14 days after corn emergence. The forage buffer capacity (BC), silage pH and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH(3)-N) content, forage (FORDM) and silage dry-matter (SILDM) percentages, gas losses (GL), effluent losses (EL), and dry-matter recovery (DMR) parameters on the ensilage were evaluated. Only forage BC, silage NH(3)-N, and silage DMR variables differed (p < 0.05) from the control silage (monocropped corn) when the integration was carried out. The grass cultivar factors and sowing modalities for BC and NH(3)-N variables had an effect. The intercropping of corn and Marandu grass or Mombasa grass, in any grass sowing modality, did not affect the quality of the silage.