Hydroponic forage of corn and millet grown on different organic substrates

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the production and nutritive value of the hydroponic forage of corn and pearl millet grown in different organic substrates. It was carried out in a completely randomized design in 2 x 3 factorial scheme with four replications. The grasses used were corn and pearl millet and sugarcane bagasse, chopped elephant grass and chopped Brachiaria grass as substrates. The harvest was carried out 15 days after sowing, with seed density of 2 kg/m², irrigated with water and commercial nutrient solution. The productive parameters and chemical composition of the hydroponic forage were evaluated. The use of sugarcane bagasse substrate resulted in a greater production of total dry mass for corn among the other treatments, which reflected in better efficiency in the production parameters. As for substrates composed of chopped grass, lower values ​​of neutral detergent fiber were identified in both corn and pearl millet. The substrates and grass species affect the evaluated parameters, in which the use of sugarcane bagasse resulted in greater total production of dry mass using corn. The substrates based on chopped grass reflected in biomass with reduced fiber content, high levels of digestible nutrients, in addition to high protein content.