An experiment was carried out to evaluate corn grain and corn forage variety productivity and nutritive value of silage based on the performance of cattle in a feedlot. A completely randomised design was used with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement based on two breeds (Nelore and Canchim) and two corn varieties (grain and forage). The maize was harvested 120 days after sowing, when plants showed more than 2/3 of dry leaves and grains were in the dough stage. The silage was stored in 400 t silos. The experimental diet consisted of grain or forage corn silage, 7.2 liters of liquid yeast (1.5 kg of dry yeast/head/day) and 1.1 kg of ground corn (1.0 kg of dry matter/head/day). The experiment duration was 110 days, with a 20 days adaptation period and 90 days for data collection. Animals were weighed every 28 days. It was concluded that corn grain was more appropriate for silage than corn forage, because at the same stage of growth it produced a better quality silage with a higher dry matter content and a 41.3% higher grain yield, promoting higher weight gain and better feed/gain ratio in the feedlot beef cattle.

Table 3: Animal performance during 90 days in feedlot.

DG: Daily weight gain (kg/day)
DFI: Dry matter intake (kg/day)
FG: Feed/gain ratio (kg DM/kg DG)
1. CV = 16.0%
2. CV = 6.9%
3. CV = 7.3