Effect of mineral nutrition on green hydroponic maize forage production

Abstract

Hydroponic green forage (FVH) consists of specialized production of vegetal biomass from initial seedling growth, which represents an alternative to conventional grazing systems for animal feeding. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of mineral nutrition applied by a nutrient solution on yield and mineral composition of maize FVH. Two nutrient concentration treatments were applied: High nutrition (Na) and Low nutrition (Nb), and a control treatment with water (Te). The study was conducted in 2015, in a greenhouse located in the Agricultural Experiment Station Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM), Alajuela, Costa Rica. Seed was selected and prepared by disinfection, imbibition and aeration. It was then pre-germinated for 3 days in a wet chamber in plastic trays at a density of 3 kg.m-2. Plastic trays were then moved to a production greenhouse in which they remained for 11 days until harvest. Application of nutrient solution had no significant effect (p>0.05) on fresh weight (PF), dry matter (DM) production, conversion efficiency (EC) and mineral composition of maize FVH. For all treatments (Na, Nb and Te), mean values of PF (15.28 kg.m-2), EC (5.08 kg.kg-1), height (27.7 cm) and mineral composition of maize FVH, presented optimum values compared to what is reported by other authors. The results suggest that under conditions similar to this study, the use of nutrient solutions for FVH production is not necessary.