Abstract:
Natural pastures are becoming less productive due to high grazing intensity. To meet the
demand for green fodder, hydroponic techniques are alternatives to supplement pasture.
A study was conducted in the Fogera district to evaluate the effects of harvesting age and
barley varieties on morphological characteristics, biomass yield, chemical composition,
and economic benefits under hydroponics. HB-1307, Debark-1, Tila, and Local barley at
6, 8, 10
, and
12 harvestings were used. Data were subjected to a GLM analysis of variance
procedures SAS version 9.2. All morphological parameters except a number of leaves per
plant (NLPP), stem weight (SW), leaf-to-stem ratio (LSR) & all chemical compositions
were significantly different (P<0.01) harvesting age (HA) and different barley varieties.
Plant height, shoot length, leaf length, and all chemical compositions were significantly
different (P<0.01) by the interaction effects. The highest plant height (21.26 cm) and
(21.39%) CP were obtained from Debark-1 on the 12 days of harvesting. The highest
fresh fodder biomass yield (FFBY) 203.50 t/ha, and dry matter yield (DMY) 36.21 t/ha
were obtained at 12 days of harvesting. In the case of harvesting age, all morphological
parameters increased in the progress harvesting age, except for LSR. All morphological
characteristics were significantly affected (P<0.001) by different barley varieties except
for the NLPP, SW, and LSR. The highest net return 2,923,002.25 ETB/ha was obtained
from Debark-1 at the 12 days HA and the lowest 941,201.13 ETB/ha was recorded at
Tila variety on the 6 days HA. Except for LSR and DM, all morphological and chemical
compositions have a positive correlation. From the study, it can be concluded that based
on FFBY, DMY, CP, and economic benefits Debark-1 was the recommended variety on
the 12 days HA, followed by HB-1307, Local, and Tila investigated in the current study.