Evaluation of the production of green fodder hydroponically grown with different doses of silicon from two varieties of maize Zea mays. L. under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the production of hydroponic green fodder from Morocho Blanco and Morocho Amarillo maize varieties subjected to different doses of silicon under greenhouse conditions at the Botana experimental farm of the Universidad de Nariño 1°9’29.86” LN, 77°16’33.85” LO, 2870 msnm. A 2x3 factorial design was applied, where one factor corresponded to the maize varieties and the other factor to the silicon doses (0,025 and 0,5 ml/L) that were applied to the nutrient solution, for a total of six treatments and three repetitions. The variables that were evaluated were plant height and green fodder yield. Regarding plant height, the silicon dose of 0,025 ml/L showed the highest average (14,48 cm) compared to 0 and 0,5 ml/L doses, which did not show significant differences among them. In terms of fresh fodder yield, the interaction showed that the Morocho Blanco variety with a silicon application of 0,025 mg/L was statistically better than the other interactions, with an average of 10,34 Kg/m did not show significant differences.