Quality of hydroponic forage corn cultivated on different by-product substrates

Abstract

Hydroponic corn cultivation is an efficient, fast, and feasible alternative for periods of food scarcity; however, there is still little information on the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the produced biomass, especially with regard to substrates. This study aimed to evaluate the productive and qualitative aspects of hydroponic feed corn grown on different substrates with a cultivation period of 15 days. Four substrates were evaluated: 1) fermented whole açaí seeds, 2) crushed açaí seeds, 3) sugarcane bagasse, and 4) ground Tifton hay, with five replications under a randomized block design. Substrate temperature was monitored during the production period. After harvesting on day 15, roots length (RL), shoot length (SL), biomass dry matter content (BDM), dry biomass yield, forage dry mass productivity, crude protein (CP), and ash content were assessed. There was no correlation of growth period and substrate temperature. RL was not affected by substrates, BDM was lower in treatment 3, CP was not influenced, and ash content was higher in treatment 1. In general, the best development was observed in treatment 1 because of the absence of distinction regarding qualitative parameters (CP and ash) and higher granulometry of whole açaí seeds which affects mass density and substrate aeration, thus allowing higher dry biomass yield.