Precision Sowing Technology: The Core Foundation for High and Stable Yield of Forage Maize

In modern agricultural production, forage maize serves as the core raw material supporting the development of animal husbandry. With the rapid expansion of the large-scale breeding industry, the demand for standardized and refined maize cultivation keeps rising. Scientific and standardized precision sowing is the primary step to achieve high yield, superior quality, and high efficiency of maize, and also a key technology widely promoted in current large-scale maize planting. Compared with traditional extensive sowing methods such as broadcast sowing and shallow sowing, precision sowing can significantly improve seed utilization rate, seedling emergence uniformity, and field growth consistency, laying a solid foundation for the high yield of forage maize from the very beginning. It is especially suitable for maize planting patterns dominated by dry seasons.

For maize cultivation, the selection of sowing time directly affects seedling emergence. Sowing should be arranged in the early morning or late afternoon as much as possible to avoid intense high-temperature exposure at noon, which may scald seed germs and reduce the germination rate due to excessively high surface soil temperature. For supplementary sowing in rainy seasons, weather forecasts shall be checked in advance to avoid continuous heavy rain, so as to prevent seed rot caused by hypoxia from waterlogging in soil and ensure full stands with one sowing.

There are strict standards for sowing specifications and depth control in precision sowing. Single-grain precision sowing is mainly promoted at present, with a uniform sowing depth of 3–5 cm, which is the most suitable depth for maize seed germination. Excessively deep sowing will hinder seed sprouting and easily lead to weak seedlings, while excessively shallow sowing will result in unstable root growth and vulnerability to drought stress. The row spacing in the field is maintained at 60–70 cm, and the plant spacing is controlled at 20–25 cm according to variety characteristics to ensure rational close planting. This layout not only improves field ventilation and light transmission conditions to reduce the occurrence of diseases and pests, but also adapts to small and medium-sized mechanical operations, cutting labor input and enhancing planting efficiency.

Seed pre-treatment and seed-fertilizer synchronous application are important supporting measures of precision sowing technology. It is recommended to treat seeds with special seed coating agents before sowing, which can effectively prevent underground pests such as cutworms and mole crickets, as well as common diseases including stem basal rot and seedling damping-off, greatly improving seed stress resistance and stabilizing the seedling emergence rate at over 95%. Meanwhile, seed-fertilizer synchronous application is implemented, with slow-release NPK compound fertilizer as base fertilizer. A reasonable interval is kept between fertilizer and seeds to avoid seed and seedling burning, enabling seeds to absorb nutrients immediately after germination and achieve "early emergence, strong seedlings and uniform seedlings".

For forage-oriented maize cultivation, precision sowing delivers outstanding economic benefits. This technology can reduce seed consumption by more than 30% and cut labor costs for subsequent seedling thinning and supplementary planting. Uniform plant growth in the field contributes to fuller grain filling at the late growth stage, and the grain yield and crude protein content better meet the standards for feed processing. In general, precision sowing technology is simple to operate, low in input and quick in effectiveness. It is fully adaptable to the climatic conditions and planting patterns of major maize-growing areas, making it a core fundamental technology to boost forage maize production capacity and ensure the supply of raw materials for animal husbandry.