Abstract

This study was conducted at Soilless Culture Unit, Azemor Agribiz Limited, Ibadan to evaluate the effects of sources of water (fish hatchery wastewater (FHW), borehole water (BW) and nutrient solution (NS)) and days to harvest (8, 10 and 12 days after sowing (DAS)) of two forage crops (maize (Zea mays) and wheat (Triticum aestivum)) for green fodder production and water use efficiency under hydroponic conditions. The experiment was conducted under average room temperatures of 25.27o and 27.92oC and humidity of 82.8% and 64% in the morning and evening, respectively. The results showed that the pH of the irrigation water samples ranged from 6.20 to 6.70 while the nitrogen and P contents varied from 0.01 - 0.02 %. Maize crop used more water efficiently on the 10 DAS using NS and wheat at 8 DAS using BW, while total water use (lt/kg fresh matter) was lowest on the 10th DAS using NS and BW to produce maize and wheat fodder, respectively. Generally both crops used less than two liters of water to produce 1 kg green fodder. A fresh yield (t ha-1) of 60.42 was recorded in maize using NS as against 58.38 recorded in wheat using BW. Dry matter yield (t ha-1), DM% of fresh fodder and green fodder (kg tray -1) were highest using NS in maize but not for wheat using NS. In conclusion maize crop can be considered the better choice for production of hydroponic green fodder with better water efficiency and yields using nutrient solution.

Key words: Hydroponic, days to harvest, fish hatchery wastewater, borehole water and nutrient solution, maize, wheat