Using foliar feeds on maize challenged by soil nutrient deficiencies and drought increased fresh weight yield by 36t/ha (14.6t/acre) at a Welsh livestock farm.
Nigel Bowyer and his family grow 8ha (20 acres) of maize at Ty Coch, Llanbadoc, near Usk, feeding it alongside grass silage in the winter ration for the Aberdeen Angus-cross dairy calves they source from Meadow Quality at 12-16 weeks.
In the 2025 growing season, as part of their work through the Farming Connect Our Farms network, the Bowyers applied foliar feeds to half that acreage to test if and how this intervention could enhance performance.
The trial, which included an untreated plot within the trial field to allow variations to be assessed, not only showed a big increase in maize yield but analysis post-harvesting confirmed that treating the crop twice during the growing season resulted in a dry matter (DM) of 41.4% compared to 37.8% in maize that wasn’t treated.
Digestibility (D-value) and ME were significantly up too – a D-value of 72% was recorded compared to 53% in the untreated acreage and an ME of 11.80 MJ/kg in contrast to 8.60MJ/kg.
Nigel also believes the treated maize is more palatable from the evidence he has seen at feeding out.
“The cattle do seem to prefer the maize silage this year, they are definitely more interested in it, although 2025 was a poorer year for producing grass silage so that could also explain why they are showing a preference for maize this winter.’’
Maize has been part of his system for 30 years – he feeds it with home-grown barley and grass silage, and bought-in protein, which is mostly in the form of beans sourced from a local grower.
In 2025 he grew the early maturing maize variety, Portabello, drilling it on 10 May in a field with sandy, silty loam soil.
Soil sampling pre-establishment showed that pH and phosphate indexes were on target, but levels of potassium and sulphur were low; there was also a deficiency of boron which can lead to maize producing small cobs and with missing kernels.
Monmouthshire-based independent agronomist Juliet Anderson, who advised on the project, says applying foliar feed can be an effective means of addressing trace element deficiencies like these.
Soil sampling ahead of establishment is always good as it will give a clear picture of what the grower is dealing with, but it can be very tricky to improve soil trace element status, she says.
“It all depends on soil type and the ability of the soil to hold onto those nutrients, but it can be quite expensive and doesn’t always improve the levels.
“Foliar feed is the best way of getting these nutrients to the plant because you are applying it directly to the plant that is growing at that time.’’
Nigel applied di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) at 124kg/ha (50kg/acre) when the seed was drilled.
No rain fell in the weeks post-establishment and this resulted in slow growth and a yellowing of the maize plants.
To determine if nutrient shortfalls were a contributory factor, a tissue sample was taken a month after establishment, when the crop was at its four true leaf stage.
That test flagged up low magnesium and boron levels, although there were good amounts of other nutrients.
To address this, the maize in the trial field was sprayed with the foliar fertiliser, Croplift Pro, which is a combination of nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, boron, iron, and molybdenum; it was applied at a rate of 5kg/ha.
Two weeks later and informed by the result of a second tissue sample, a more targeted N foliar feed, MZ 28, was applied together with a manganese and zinc product and magnesium sulphate.
A third and final analysis of a tissue sample taken a month before harvesting showed similarities in the nutrient levels of the treated and untreated plots, but with subtle differences.
Nitrogen levels in the treated crop were only slightly below the guideline, says Juliet, while they were very low in the untreated crop.
“Surprisingly, key nutrients like magnesium, manganese, and zinc were up to guideline levels in both plots, suggesting the untreated plot had improved its uptake.
“This unexpected result is assumed to be because a small amount of rain fell in August, and maturing plants have deeper root growth which would have improved the plant's ability to scavenge for nutrients from the soil.’’
The crop was harvested on 13 September when, despite the subtle tissue results, harvest data showed vast differences in yield, DM, ME and D-value.
Fresh weight yield in the treated maize was 59t/ha (23.8t/acre); in the crop harvested from the control plot it was just 23t/ha (9.2t/acre).
As the untreated plot was only around 0.08ha compared to 3.4ha of treated maize, this higher performance could in part be explained by differences in soil type within the field as well as other factors, Juliet reasons.
But she points out that the visual difference at harvesting clearly supported the yield data.
“The maize in the untreated plot was distinctly brown, light and dead while the treated crop remained green.’’
The differences in the rates of maturity were also notable, she adds.
“As the trial wasn’t replicated it is hard to draw a conclusion that it was all down to the foliar feeds, but I am sure that they played a part.’’
Nigel plans to follow a similar treatment programme in his 2026 maize crop.
His one reservation about the 2025 trial is to what extent the extreme dry conditions influenced the results.
“It stands to reason that it will be beneficial if you apply a foliar feed to replace what a plant can’t get from the soil, it might not necessarily be due to what is in the product itself.
“But I am going to try again with the treatments this year with perhaps a few changes on what nutrients we might apply to the land according to what the soil analysis shows.’’
Maize has been integral to Nigel’s system for three decades due to its high starch content - he believes it will only become more important if summers follow the current trajectory of lengthy hot and dry spells.
“If we hadn’t grown maize in 2025 and relied only on grass and barley we would have been in a real mess,’’ he admits.
- Farming Connect is holding at ‘All things maize - improving the sustainability credentials of maize’ event at Berry Hill Farm, Fishguard, on 29 January 2026 at 11am.
PANEL
Costings
First foliar feed application of MZ28 £50/ha
Croplift Pro (applied at the same time as an herbicide) £17.91/ha
Mancazin and magnesium sulphate £17.56/ha
Contractor cost of applying each feed £12 - £15/ha (£5-£6/acre)
Tissue testing – approximately £40 per test
FARM FACTS
81ha farmed
80 Aberdeen Angus-cross store cattle fattened and finished annually for Meadow Quality at 21 months
270 Aberfield and Lleyn ewes
Indoor lambing in February and March