Study on the Application of Hydroponic Barley Fodder in Livestock Production

Hydroponic barley fodder, as a means of supplementing green forage sources, offers several advantages including good palatability, easy digestibility, high vitamin content, short growth cycle, and sustainable production. Currently, hydroponic barley fodder is being used as livestock and poultry feed in regions and seasons that lack green forage, both domestically and internationally. Hydroponic barley fodder is a green feed obtained by short-term cultivation of barley grains under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. Studies have shown that under conditions of 20°C temperature, 55% relative humidity, pH 6.5, light intensity of 4500 lx, and a tray tilt of 6.5°, hydroponic barley fodder produced over 7 days achieves the highest cost-performance ratio. Compared to hydroponic barley fodder, hydroponic wheat fodder has the advantage of lower production costs (with the average price of barley being 6.72 RMB/kg, while wheat is 4.66 RMB/kg).

Research on the application of hydroponic barley fodder in livestock production is relatively scarce. In studies involving monogastric animals, Khatsaeva found that adding hydroponic barley fodder-based feed additives to quail diets promoted gizzard development; Ali et al. reported that adding 15% hydroponic barley fodder to the dry matter basis of turkey diets could increase daily weight gain and feed conversion rate while reducing feed costs; Harerimana et al. discovered that the addition of hydroponic barley fodder in piglet diets should be limited, otherwise it could reduce daily weight gain, dry matter intake, and feed conversion efficiency; Francis et al. found that replacing alfalfa hay with hydroponic barley fodder in racehorse diets had no significant impact on body weight and body temperature, indicating its potential as a horse feed source. In ruminant animal studies, Castillo et al. found that sheep fed with hydroponic barley fodder had higher daily weight gain compared to both grazing sheep and those fed with concentrate; Guerrero-Cervantes et al. found no significant effect on reproductive parameters when hydroponic barley fodder partially replaced the basal diet of pregnant ewes; Bari et al. reported that adding 25% hydroponic barley fodder (dry matter basis) to dairy cow diets could increase milk yield and milk fat content.

The contents of dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat, calcium, and phosphorus in hydroponic barley fodder are 15.63%, 15.67%, 4.57%, 5.80%, 0.16%, and 0.77%, respectively. The crude protein, crude fat, and phosphorus contents are higher than conventional roughages, while the crude fiber and calcium contents are lower. Based on the forage grading index (GI) comparison, the GI value of hydroponic barley fodder is higher than that of wheat hay, alfalfa hay, wheat straw, wheat silage, corn silage, and hydroponic wheat fodder. In summary, hydroponic barley fodder has the potential to be a high-quality feed source for livestock and poultry.